Minutes of the Monthly Meeting held on November 25, 2013, at Committee Room No 2, Queens Park

Present:

Thomas S. Saras
Neel Nanda
Maria Voutsinas
Tatyana Fursenko
Ned Blair
Mohammad Tajdolati, Dr.
Teshome Worldeamanuel
Charles Devasagaygam
Sandeep Prahkabar
Raky Prehbakar
Suku Balasubramaniam
Saad Alsafar
Suleyman Guven
Paulraj Kathir Oli
Ahmed Shah Hotaki
Mohammad Bagher Samimi
Ricky Castellini
Logan Lagande…
Yanathan Annobil
Arif Ahmed
Tharmasri Rajah
Thiru Navukkarasli
Suhanty Tharmasrirajan
Bhaskar Sharma
Nishad Sharma
Janiela Spirlac
Monika Kucinskaitye
Marek Goldyn
Khan Khoda
Wendy McCreath
Neruana George
Maan Sara
Nishartid Dr
Srimal Abeyewardene
Ranjit Wicks
Raffi D. Boghossian
Janusz Niemczyk
Mulugeta Zergaber
Sultan Ali Shunbuli
John Saraidaris
Jatinder Jaswa
Ali Mahboub Shadkhoy
Adu Raudkavi
Arif Ahmed
Mujibor Rahman
Teshome Wordeamanluel
Mehmet Onayli
Suhan Ali Shunbill
Bab Ristic
Susana Donan
Hai-Tien Lin
Nagamany Legendrinligan
Mohammad-Bagher Samini
Ahilakuwaran Multhukymaracamey
Saeed Soltanpour
Srimal Abeyewardene
John SaraIdaris
Luba Cherny
Hermie Garcia
Mila A. Garcia
Sue Chum
Logan Logendraliugan

Agenda

1. Welcome Remarks by the chair.
2. Minutes of the previous meeting
3. Report of the President.
4. Presentation by Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace
5. New Business
6. Adjournment

Welcome Remarks by the Chair:

Mr. Thomas Saras chaired the meeting and declared the meeting open. Dr. Tajdolati moved a motion to approve the agenda. Teshome Wondermanuel 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 October 21, 2013. Dr. Tajdolati seconded it. The motion was carried.

President’s Report/Discussions:

• President Thomas Saras began with the preparation of the educational seminar beginning in December 6
• President Saras suggested that we allocate a Pick up Van for the purpose of transporting members coming from different Provinces for the conference. The Van would be used to pick up the members from the Airport to their Hotel. Motion Suleiman Guven moved a motion to this regard. Dr Tajdolati seconded it. The motion was carried.
• President Thomas Saras emphasized the educational seminar in December will be an historic event for the ethnic media industry in Canada. Members from all over Canada would participate in this historic event.
• President Thomas Saras mentioned that there is limited space available for registering for the Educational Seminar which will take place in the Markham Campus of Seneca College. The registration fee is only $105 for the three day seminar. He said members attending the conference would also get a preferred rate to stay at the Delta Hotel in Markham during the time of the conference. He mentioned that he will mail the agenda and topics of the educational seminar to all members of NEPMCC.
• President Thomas Saras acknowledged the hard work put in by the Faculty of Seneca College towards the preparation of the educational seminar and expressed gratitude to the assistance given by Ministry of Heritage, Government of Canada. There were various discussions towards the preparation of the educational seminar and many members contributed their ideas and thoughts towards the event.
• President Thomas Saras acknowledged the honour given by Lt. Governor in hosting the NEPMCC awards ceremony every year
• The Gala dinner of the seminar will take place on December 7 at the Seneca College campus in Markham and tickets for the gala dinner were available during the meeting.
• Members interested to volunteer for welcoming guests during registration should submit their names to the office of the President and will be part of the welcoming committee.

Presentation by Canadian Catholic Organization for Development of Peace-Kelly Di Domenico, Communications Officer
A Delegation of officers from Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, including Kelly Di Domenico made a brief presentation about their organization and the kind of work they do for the communities across the globe.

DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE (The Canadian Catholic Organization for DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE) is the official international development organization of the Catholic Church in Canada and the Canadian member of Caritas Internationalis. DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE is a membership led organization supported by parish collections, individual donations and government grants, principally from the Canadian International Development Agency. The delegation mentioned that they believe that Canadians of all religious beliefs have a responsibility to help the world's poor and disadvantaged, either by urging governments, corporations and others to implement change, or by donating time or money to support development efforts. The delegation spoke at length the effects of irresponsible mining affecting the communities where mining takes place. They want Canadians to know that the precious metals and minerals under their feet are being extracted and exported with the promise that the required investment will bring development to their region. However the revenues from mining are not leading to long term development for communities and in many instances, communities are facing gross injustices.
Suleiman Guven, Rakhee Prabhakar, Ahmed Shah Hotaki, Mereck Goodyn and other members participated in the discussion.
President Thomas Saras acknowledged the presenters for their time and hard work they put for the community.

Adjournment:

The Chair Thomas Saras moved a motion to adjourn the meeting. Maria V seconded it. The motion was carried. The Chair President Thomas Saras adjourned the meeting at 9:30 pm. There will be no meeting in December due to the educational seminar. The next meeting would take place on January 13, 2014 at Queens Park.