Minutes
of the Monthly Meeting held on January 6, 2009
Located
at committee room 230, second floor, Queen’s Park, Toronto
The
minutes is prepared by Shabnam J. Janani
The
highlights of the meeting:
·
The influence the
economic crisis has on ethnic press and media
·
A new lease
agreement for the office
·
NEPMCC ‘s
Canadian Journalism t Training Workshop
·
March meeting-
election time
·
World Street
Festival 2009
The
meeting was officially started with Clyde McNeil’s welcome remarks at
6:00 P.M.
Soon
after the members’ approval of the last monthly minutes by brother Shah
Hotaki and Mohammad Taj-Dolati as a seconded, the two representative of Silent
Voice Organization began their presentations by talking about the
programs and services that their organization offers to deaf youths and
adults in Toronto. Some of
their programs include Sign Language Summer Program for children and their
families as well as a Housing Recourse Center for them. If you are
interested in raising the awareness of such programs in your community or
wish to make a donation, please visit their website: www.silentvoice.ca
Shortly
after, the report by the president began.
Report
by the President:
Mr.
Saras began the report by talking about the economic crisis and its
influences on ethnic media and press. He introduced a motion to send a
letter to the all three levels of government asking for their support.
Most of the organization’s members are considered to be small/medium
businesses and some are at higher risk of losing their businesses in
this current economic climate, he said. In that regard, Mr. Saras already
spoke with the office of the Prime Minister to discuss the pressure of the
crisis on ethnic publications. By introducing the motion, Mr. Saras again
emphasized on the current condition and said we should take action by
approaching all levels of government to ask that they not cut the
advertisements for ethnic press and media.
To
continue, the president mentioned the increase of the office rent at the
City Hall and his effort to resolve the disagreement of paying the new
amount of rent requested, which was almost triple the amount of what the
organization used to pay. After a long dispute, the new lease contract
agreement for the office becomes $415/month for the next five years-it was
previously $300/month.
Another
subject the president raised was concerning the Canadian Journalism t
Training Workshop. The 3-4 day workshop will gather more than 500 members
of the organization from different cities throughout Canada to help them
become more familiar with the law and ethics of practicing journalism in
Canada. Please note that only
members of print/newspaper are eligible to attend this event. More
information will be provided in following meetings, as NEPMCC is still in
the process of making basic arrangements for the event. The event will
most likely be held in early summer.
The
president distributed hard copies of the organization’s constitution
for members review.
The electronic version of the constitution has been sent to all members
via email as well. In the March meeting an election will be held for the
renewal of executive and board of directors’ positions. Please be sure
to attend this very important meeting.
Regarding
the annual GST payments to the Revenue Canada, the president suggested
each publication individually check with Revenue Canada and meet their
requests on time. But in general he believes that publications will be in
the position of paying no more than $1700-1800 per year.
Mr.
Saras also introduced a motion for participation of the members in this
year in World Street Festival 2009. The festival will be held on September
27th of this year. The motion has passed and Shabnam Janani
seconded it.
Another
issue that he raised was in regards to members asking for help with the
deportations of their family and friends.
Please do not wait until the last minute if you decide to talk to
him about these issues, and if the deported person has a lawyer, do not
bring the case to his attention, as he does not wish to interfere with the
case.
After
the report by President, the meeting was carried on by regular questions
and answers.
Adjournment:
Mohammad
Taj-Dolati moved a motion to adjourn the meeting and Neel Nanda seconded
it. The motion was carried and the chair officially adjourned the meeting
at 8:40 pm.
Don’t
forget to mark your calendar for following:
·
February 9th (6:00-9:30
p.m.): the next monthly meeting.
Following were presented at the meeting:
Thomas S. Saras
Clyde McNeil
Halimi Mohammad Amin
Neel Nanda
Hai Tien Lin
Gerald V. Paul
Ahmad Shah Hotaki
Nasim Daneshvar
Kevin Wang
Mohammad Tajdolati
Shabnam Janani
Tanas Jovanovski
Srimal Abeyewardine
Ranjit Wicks
Gamini Ablseygliglu
Irene Keroglidis
Syleyman Guven
Dr. Raofat Gindi
Ned Blair
John Saraidaris
Raina Sen
Ranbir Chauhan
Hermie Garcia
Mila Garcia
Massood Mashadi
Dumitru Popesku
Hassan Zerehi
Luba Cherny
Bikram Lamba
