Minutes of the Monthly Meeting held on June 08, 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
Agenda of the Day:
- Welcome remarks by the Chair
- Minutes of the previous meeting
- President’s Report/Discussions
- Presentation by Adam Vaughan, Senior Advisor and Brand Ambassador, “Therme Group”
- New Members/New Business
- Adjournment
Welcome Remarks by the Chair:
Mohammed Tajdolati chaired the hybrid meeting of June 08, 2026, and declared the meeting open. Yuri Natchetoi moved a motion to approve the agenda, seconded by Kathy Lin. The motion was carried unanimously.
Minutes of the previous meeting:
Ernesto Donan moved a motion to approve the minutes of the previous monthly meeting, and Helen Wang seconded it. The minutes of the previous monthly meeting were approved unanimously.
President’s Report/Discussions:
- President Thomas Saras expressed his disappointment regarding the contents of the letter indicating that funding under the Aid to Publishers program would be reduced by approximately CAD 93 million. He noted that such a reduction would have a severe impact on many ethnic and community publications.
- President Thomas Saras mentioned that NEPMCC has been working hard to negotiate a better compensation agreement with Google for members of the ethnic media industry.
- President Thomas Saras mentioned that members who receive any emails from Radio-Canada regarding the LJI should forward them to the Office of the President.
- President Thomas Saras thanked Maria Voutsinas for her tireless work toward the betterment of NEPMCC members.
Presentation by Adam Vaughan, Senior Advisor and Brand Ambassador, “Therme Group”
True to Therme’s vision, the Therme Canada team is creating projects that benefit the mental and physical well-being of Canada’s diverse communities. The flagship location will be built at Toronto’s iconic Ontario Place. As part of the provincial government’s revitalization efforts across the site, Therme’s proposal will honour Ontario Place’s heritage and bring a first-of-its-kind experience to Toronto’s waterfront. The future location at Ontario Place will be situated on the West Island, and the plans include upgrading and maintaining the surrounding public spaces and parklands. This includes nearly twelve acres of public parkland, extensive multi-use trails, and a brand-new swimming beach that will be open year-round. Across the project, “Therme” is exploring techniques for habitat creation and restoration. The building will be topped with a four-acre green roof, where terraces covered in native plants will slope down to meet the ground. All water collected from the building and park will be gathered in tanks, cleaned, and returned to Lake Ontario. Mr. Adam Vaughan mentioned that “as we continue to refine our plans, we collaborate closely with a range of community organizations and stakeholders. These include the Mississauga’s of the Credit First Nation, whose treaty lands and territory include the Ontario Place grounds where Therme’s future location will be built.”
Following the presentation, Mr. Vaughan responded to questions from the floor.
Bill Fastis, Maria Swietorzecki, Marianna Michalitsianou, Isabel Inclan, Logan Logendralingam, Liisa Qureshi, and others participated in the question-and-answer session. Mr. Vaughan responded candidly to all questions raised.
President Thomas Saras thanked Mr. Vaughan and his team for their comprehensive presentation and encouraged Therme Group to consider advertising in NEPMCC member publications as part of its outreach to the diverse ethnic communities that form an essential component of the City and the country.
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 7:15 p.m. The next monthly meeting will take place on July 13, 2026, via Zoom.
The above minutes of June 08, 2026, were prepared by the Secretary General and Senior VP of NEPMCC, Neel Nanda.
