Minutes of the Monthly Meeting held on July 13, 2026, at City Hall, via Zoom
Present/Attendees
Thomas S. Saras
Mohammad Tajdolati
Neel Nanda
Maria Saras-Voutsinas
Rosemary Sadlier
Ricky Castellvi
George Guzman
Bill Fastis
Nishantha Don
Hon. Basilio Giordano
George Bakoyiannis
Dimitri Papadopoulos
AR Nathan
Arif Ahmed
Zenaida Ferry
Ravi
Ranjit Wicks
Ghulam Rasool
Manan Gupta
Elsayed Nasr
Khalid Hamid
Thanasis Kourtesis
Ernesto Donan
Martha Pinzon
Nishantha Don
Bridgette Fontille
Sukumar Tamil Journal
Roberto Hausman
Jonathan Annobil
Emmanuel Ayiku
Mohammad Bagher Samimi
Kathy Gerasklis
Medhat Oweida
Syed Hasson
Sima Ghaffarzadeh
Shahidul Mintu
Denis Poirier
Jennifer Zhu
Hon. Joe Volpe
Ayubowan Sri Lanka
Leila Monteiro Lins
Deborah Shatz
Gezahegn Mekonnen
Lankathas Pathmanathan
Susana Donan
Kethes Kumar
Michael Li
Shail Prasad
Essie
Ragee Arasaratnam
Fiza Syeda
Yuri Natchetoi
Khalid Hamid
Michale Li
Maria Swietorzecki
Lucy Yang
Elsayed Nasr
George Guzmas
MB Samimi
Susana Donan
Rupinder Rue Hayer-Bains
Neel Nanda
Mohammad Tajdolati
Olga Kaleev
AR Nathan
Ragee
Nishantha Don
Ayuban SriLanka
Manan Gupta
Ernesto Donan
Kathy Lin
Sima Ghaffarzadeh
Denis Poirier
Ghanian News
Fiza Syeda
Rue Hayer-Bains
Leila Monteiro- Lins
Eugenia Bakchinow
Ghulam Rasool
Ranjith Wicks
Kathy Gerasklis
Luba Cherny
Helen Wang
Sean Pickard
Jonathan Annobil
Margaret Bonikowska
Abi Kethees
Said Henry
(Names as per Zoom)
Goyum
Tausif
Zuhair Alshaaer
MB Samimi
Gonzalo Cooper
Thomas Saras
Ragee Arasaratnam
Mohammad Tajdolati
Ned Blair
Zuhair
Helen Wang
Dimitri Papadopoulos
Pooyan Tabatabaei
Elsayed Nasr
Margaret Bonikowska
Ernesto Donan
Susana Donan
Yuri Natchetoi
Deborah Shatz
Roberto Hausman
Tamil Journal
Olga Kileev
Neel Nanda
Kathy Gerasklis
Rosemary Sadlier
Shahidul Mintu
George Guzmas
Basilio Giordano
Logan Logendralingam
John- CCTimes
Lucy Lyang
Elena Iliadi
Houman
Kamal Nava
Ayubowan SriLanka
Liisa Qureshi
AR Nathan
Martha Pinzon
Zenaida Ferry-Kharroubi
Ghulam Rasool
Jennifer Zhu
Syed Hassan
Shail Persaud
Ramsankr Sivanathan
Tahani Elghazalay
Marianna Michalitsianou
Isabel Inclan
Agenda of the Day:
- Welcome remarks by the Chair
- Minutes of the previous meeting
- President’s Report/Discussions
- New Members/New Business
- Adjournment
Welcome Remarks by the Chair:
Mohammad Tajdolati chaired the hybrid meeting of July 13, 2026, and declared the meeting open. Anfisa Lyasota moved a motion to approve the agenda, seconded by Yubeing. The motion was carried unanimously.
Minutes of the previous meeting:
George Guzmas moved a motion to approve the minutes of the previous monthly meeting, and Rosemary Sadlier seconded it. The minutes of the previous monthly meeting were approved unanimously.
President’s Report/Discussions:
- President Thomas Saras welcomed members to the monthly meeting of July 13, 2026, and expressed his hope that everyone was enjoying a pleasant summer. He also suggested that NEPMCC consider organizing a family-and-friends gathering in September, following the conclusion of the Canadian National Exhibition. Turning to association business, President Saras addressed the recent letter concerning the Aid to Publishers program and noted with concern the proposed reduction of approximately CAD 93 million. He emphasized that such a significant cut would create serious challenges for ethnic and community publications that rely on this support to continue serving their Canadian readers.
- He further reported that NEPMCC continues to pursue a stronger and more equitable compensation arrangement with Google on behalf of members of the ethnic media industry.
- Members were advised that any correspondence received from Radio-Canada concerning the Local Journalism Initiative should be forwarded to the Office of the President for review and appropriate follow-up.
- President Thomas Saras thanked Maria Voutsinas for her tireless efforts in support of NEPMCC members. He also reminded members that the SMJ deadline was July 13 at 4:00 p.m. and encouraged them to ensure that all required materials were submitted on time. President Saras further reported that he is actively working with the Premier and the Government of Ontario to seek stronger support for NEPMCC members. He also informed members that the official opening ceremony for the NEPMCC booth at the Canadian National Exhibition will take place on Sunday, August 23 at the Enercare Centre, Hall B, at 11:00 am, and encouraged members to support the event and the promotion of their publications through the booth.
- Dimitri Papadopoulos raised a concern regarding an incident in Montreal in which he reported that he had been assaulted while carrying out his journalistic duties. President Thomas Saras acknowledged the seriousness of the matter and suggested that Mr. Papadopoulos prepare a written account of the incident so it could be properly documented and brought to the attention of members.
New Business/New Members
Hon. Joe Volpe conveyed the strong concerns and frustration of publishers and editors arising from the sudden reduction in funding by the Federal Government under the Aid to Publishers program and other related initiatives. He noted that these funding cuts had been implemented despite the collective contribution of ethnic media, which plays a significant and often broader role than mainstream media in serving diverse communities and addressing information gaps. He further emphasized that, notwithstanding this impact, mainstream media continues to receive a disproportionately higher level of government funding.
Adjournment: Hon. Joe Volpe moved a motion to adjourn the meeting, and George Guzmas seconded it. The motion was carried. The Chair adjourned the meeting at 7:45 p.m. The next monthly meeting will take place on Monday, August 10, 2026, at 6:00 pm, via Zoom.
The above minutes of July 13, 2026, were prepared by the Secretary General and Senior VP of NEPMCC, Neel Nanda.
