Minutes of the Monthly
Meeting held on April 12, 2010 at Queen’s Park
Present:
Thomas S.
Saras
Bikram Lamba
Irene
Keroglidis
Neel Nanda
Asha
Rajak
Saad Alsafar
Rob
Androsevich
Mohammad
Bagher Samini
Hai
Tien Min
Muse
Kulow
Suleyman
Guven
Ned Blair
Hassan
Zerehi
Bahram
Bahrami
Viara
Dimitrova
Parry Long
Mohammad
Tajdolati
Iosif
Spataru
Mario
Spataru
Maia
Critea-Viera
Teshome
Woldeamanuel
Jonathan
Annobil
Dumitru
Popescu
Gerald Paul
Logan
(L), Logendraligan
Srimal
Abayewardine
Dr.
Khan Khoda
L.
Pathmanathan
Shahidul
Islam Mintu
Bengali Times
Susana
Donan
Jose Donan
Moorthy
Sellathurai
Muluken
Muchie
Jatin
N.
John
SaraIdaris
Trifon
Haitaw
Juhani
Miinisto
Vaper Sana
Riaz
Hussain
Pakistan Abroad
Aaron
Berhane
Erithrean Press
Luba Cherny
Russian Press
Fatima
Crerar
The Summerhill Group
Mila
Astroya- Garcia
Hermie
Garcia
C.
Senthi.
Saad Alsubar
Abdul Syed
Ahmed Hotaki
Bahram
Bahrami
Ranjit Wics
Emmanuel
Ayiku
Agenda
1.
Welcome Remarks by the chair.
2.
Minutes of the previous meeting.
3.
Presentation by Mayoral Candidate Rocco Rossi
4.
Presidents Report
5.
New Business (Motions)
6.
Adjournment
Welcome Remarks by the Chair:
Dr.
Bikram Lamba chaired the meeting and declared the meeting open.
Suleman
Guven moved a motion to approve the agenda of the meeting. Asha Rajak
seconded it. The motion was carried.
Minutes of the previous
meeting:
Suleiman
Guven moved a motion to approve the minutes of the previous monthly
meeting held on March 8, 2010. Mohammad Tajdolati seconded it. The motion
was carried with the following amendment “Children under 16 years of age
would not be eligible to attend the Canada Day Celebration”.
.
Presentation by Mayoral
Candidate: Rocco Rossi
·
The speaker began by thanking the President for accommodating his
request to address the Council. Khan Khoda, Feredun Rahmani, Aaron Mefith,
Sulemein Guven and other members participated in the discussion following
his presentation. The following are the highlights of his presentation and
discussion
·
Diversity is our strength. The last several years we do not see any
progress in the City. No one says they get 50% value today than 7 years
back. Three key things 1) budget figures do not reveal the truth. We need
a transparent process. We need to confront the growing labour cost of the
City. 2) Transit and transportation
is the second key thing. There is very little confidence in the
administration of the City. 3) Economic Development in the City. For too
long the City has taken businesses for granted. We need strong links to
the rest of the world. The ethno cultural communities do not see
themselves reflected in City Hall. We
can take back the City and make it a magnet.
·
There are three basic big things,
1)You don’t overspend,
·
2) Second key thing by connecting people. 3)
Third key is job
creation and economic development. For four and a half years the City has
no economic development plans. The key to success is feasibility.
To ensure
that this spring’s budget is Toronto’s last budget crisis, Rossi
would, if elected:
·
Move the city budget to multi-year operational planning;
·
Regain control of labour costs by ordering an immediate hiring
freeze for all but essential services personnel — EMS, police and fire
services;
·
Fundamentally re-invent the way the city delivers services by
allowing the private and not-for-profit sectors to bid on city work;
·
Eliminate Toronto’s debt by monetizing non-essential assets, such
as Toronto Hydro; and
·
Enter into broad negotiations with the province on the future of
the TTC, and committing the city to look at governance changes and
alternative service delivery and financing models for future transit
projects.
·
There is no other city in the world as welcoming to new comers as
Toronto is. We are far slower in transit from a city like Madrid.
·
Transit is central to our future as a city and region.
·
And building mass transit takes money, partnership and leadership.
·
Take any one of these away and the formula fails – as it did in
March when the provincial government delayed several LRT lines that had
already been approved.
.
President
Thomas Saras thanked Mr. Rocco Rossi for his presentation and wished him success in
his endeavors.
Immediately
after the chairman called upon Mr. Rob Andreyevich from the City of
Toronto to make a presentation. “New webpage for City” and
articulately answered all questions posed by members.
Presentation
: Fatima – Summerhill
Trifon
Haitas, Gerald Paul and others participated in the discussion following
the presentation from Fatima. The following are the highlights of the
presentation and discussion
·
Summerhill is a mission driven organization.
Their mission is to develop and execute strategies that move the
market toward better choices for consumers and the environment
·
For over 15 years, Summerhill has been instrumental in connecting
people to better choices for the environment and creating new markets for
environmentally preferable products and services. They empower consumers
to make a positive impact through more sustainable decisions and
behaviours in their daily lives.
·
Summerhill’s education, awareness, and outreach efforts have
helped to steadily increase the uptake of environmentally preferable
solutions – not only across Canada but also in the United States.
·
Based in Toronto with satellite offices in Saskatchewan and New
York, Summerhill has over 50 full-time staff and more than 2,000 part-time
environmental ambassadors employed for program delivery.
·
Summerhill works with forward-thinking companies and organizations
to effectively address complex environmental problems through the creation
of turn-key strategies and initiatives that move the market toward
sustainability.
Summerhill
clients and partners currently include:
·
Retailers
·
Utilities
·
Manufacturers
·
Government
·
Industry Association
In
conclusion Fatima expressed that NEPMCC is one the best forum to spread
the awareness among ethnic readership and thanked the council for giving
her the time to make a presentation.
Thomas Saras
offered her help and cooperation to carry forwards its noble mission.
President’s
Report/Discussions:
·
President Thomas Saras explained how members are eligible for tax
exemptions (Sales transition tax) for their respective publications.
·
Thomas Saras informed the members 1100 publications send
application to Ministry of Culture. Majority of members of NEPMCC have
been approved under the PAP. Cheques
will be mailed to publications depending on the number of circulation of
the respective publications.
·
One of the eligibility criteria for funding is to have 80-85%
Canadian content in the publications.
·
Members were urged to put stories of Canadians helping their
communities to integrate to Canadian society.
·
A survey on Socioeconomics facing member publishers and editors,
will be conducted on behalf of NEPMCC and presented to the Government in
order to prove the hard working conditions the sector is facing.
The survey will be first National Survey of its kind. The President
is working to make a proposal on behalf of the Council. If the proposal
comes through it will another landmark achievement for the entire ethnic
media sector.
·
President Thomas Saras informed the council that payment has been
made towards the participation on “Word on the Street Festival.”
·
NEPMCC received an invitation from UNESCO for a conference on Media
Statistics to be held in Montreal.
The president accepted the invitation and he is planning to participate in
the expert groups for designing the questioner for the survey.
·
Ethnic Press exhibition would take place on the week of May
10-May16 at City Hall.
·
“WORLD’S FREEDOM OF THE PRESS YEAR” is the Theme of this
year’s exhibition.
·
More than 180 publications serving more than 60 linguistic
communities of the Canadian cultural mosaic, are participating in this
year’s event.
·
The official opening of the exhibition is scheduled for Monday May
the 10th, at the Rotunda of the Toronto City Hall, at 6:00 pm.
·
Main speakers of the event would be the Hon. Michael Ignatieff, M.P,
Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official
Opposition, and Dr Erick
Hoskins, M.P.P, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration of Ontario on
behalf of the provincial Government. Following the speeches the NEPMCC is
organizing a reception for the quests.
.
·
Canada Day celebration would take place on July 2nd at Cypriot
Community Centre, 6 Thorncliffe Park Dr, Thorncliffe Park Toronto East..
Premiere Dalton McGuinty would be the guest of honour as the members of
the Council wish to express their gratitude for the action of his
government to exclude them from the HST.
·
President Thomas Saras informed the Council that Ombudsman Dr.
Lamba has gathered signatures for his nomination to the position of
Governor General of Canada and invited views and the opinion of the
members if this action constitutes a conflict of interest between the
personal business of Dr. Lamba and the office of the Ombudsman he
represents. Many members participated in the discussion and expressed
their opinions. Some of the members expressed the opinion that he resign
till the campaign for GG ends. Dr. Lamba after hearing from all members
expressed his opinion and said that the position of GG is not political
but an appointed position. He also mentioned that 20,000 signatures for
his nomination were selected by his well wishers and he did not initiate
anything. Finally Dr. Lamba submitted his resignation as Ombudsman of the
organization.
. .
New Business: The
council welcomed the following member
Riaz Hussain -Pakistan Abroad
Adjournment:
Mohammad Tajdolati moved a motion to adjourn the meeting, Dr. Khan
seconded it. The motion was carried. The chair adjourned the meeting at 9
pm. The next meeting would take place on May 17, 2010
