Minutes of the Monthly Meeting held on September 8, 2014,

at Committee Room No 2, Queens Park

Present:

Thomas S. Saras
Neel Nanda
Adu Raudkavi
Khan Khoda, Dr.
Maria Saras-Voutsinas
Tatyana Fursenco
Daniela Spirlac
Ishkhan Ghazarian
Peter Galiatsos
Ricky Castellvi
Jonathan Annobil
Suleyman Guven
David Nguyen
Teshome Woldeamanuel
Mohammad  Bagher Samimi
Nishantha Don
Nita  kang
Andrea  Micieli
Charles Dava
Janusz Niemcrzyk
Ahmad Shah Hotaki
C. Senthi
Mohammad Tajdolati
Isa Melo
Peter Galiatsos
Ranjit Wicks
Kenty Khan
John Saraidaris
Gertic Ugoh
Mila Astroga Garcia
Hermie Garcia
Paulraj  R.
S. Sivamohan
Marek Goldyn
Maricelle Delgado Parrenas
Ned Blair
Inga Cernei
Luij Aparicio
Paula McKeygei
Srimal Abeyewardene
Muhammed Enad
Arif Ahmed
Mujibor Rahman
Dumitru Poposcu
Tharmasri Rajan
Susan Donan
Saad Alsafar
Hai-Tien Lin
Nagamany Legendrinligan
Ahilakuwaran Multhukymaracamey
Luba Cherny
Logan Logendraliugan

Agenda

• Welcome Remarks by the chair.
• Minutes of the previous meeting
• Report of the President.
• Presentation by Toronto Tax Payers Coalition
• New Business
• Adjournment

Welcome Remarks by the Chair:

Mr. Thomas Saras chaired the meeting and declared the meeting open. Suleiman Guven moved a motion to approve the agenda. Maria Saras- Voutsinas seconded it. The motion was carried

Minutes of the previous meeting:

               President’s Report / Discussions:

• President Thomas Saras informed the members about Government funding for Publishers under Canadian Magazine Fund. The office of the President would help members seeking assistance.
• The office of the President is negotiating hard with organizers of PanAM 2015 for group advertising to members of NEPMCC.
• The President thanked members who attended the meeting with the Canadian Forces earlier in the morning of September 8, 2014 and expressed disappointment on those who confirmed to attend but did not attend the event.
• The office of the President will be soon announcing the annual award winners for 2014. The venue and date of the award ceremony will be announced after confirmation with the LT. Governor’s office.

• President Thomas Saras informed members that his office is working towards making a report on the annual ethnic press exhibition at the CNE.
• The Opening Ceremony of the Annual Ethnic Press Exhibition at the CNE which took place on August 17 was a grand success.  Many distinguished representatives from all three levels of government, participated at the event.   The booth for NEPMCC was strategically located in Hall B of the International Markets Pavilion of Direct Energy Centre, where thousands or probably millions of CNE guests visited every day and therefore it was a great Public Relations opportunity for publishers to be part of the NEPMCC exhibitor booth at the CNE.
• There was a great reception following the opening ceremonies, at the Green Cafe inside the Hall, where drinks and food were served on behalf of the organization. President Thomas Saras thanked all members and volunteers who worked hard for the successful Ethnic Press Exhibition at the CNE
• President Thomas Saras suggested of bringing out a booklet reflecting on the history of NEPMCC
• The President informed the members that some applications for funding have been rejected as the said publications were not clearly indicating about the writers of their articles. To this extend the President suggested the need for a special information session for all members in cooperation with the Canadian Heritage in order to get more clarity on Government programs.
• President Thomas Saras also said that some members are calling the office only when they need a help or support for their projects and after receiving help they never participate in the affairs of the organization. Effective immediately, said the speaker, his office will not prepared to engage in any special services for such members who do not participate in the affairs of the organization. This is your organization and therefore all of us have to support and work together for the success of all of us, concluded the speaker.
• President Thomas Saras like in the previous monthly meetings urged those members to pay their annual membership who have not yet paid their annual membership fee to renew their membership with the organization. NEPMCC has a lot of projects waiting in 2014 for the benefit of ethnic media industry and all projects have cost associated with them. Many members have benefited being a part of NEPMCC and paying membership fees in a timely manner is a duty of all members. President Thomas Saras informed that many members are still to renew their membership with NEPMCC.
• Motion Ranjit Wicks suggested to collect the ticket money for Annual Dinner in advance during the meeting of October. Various discussions were held on the price of the ticket for annual dinner. Ranjit Wicks suggested the ticket price to be $30. Jonathan Annobil seconded it. The motion was carried.

Presentation by Toronto Tax Payers Coalition

Led by founder and President Matthew McGuire, Nita Kang and other members of Toronto Tax Payers Coalition

Matthew McGuire thanked NEPMCC for inviting their group to make a presentation.
The Toronto Taxpayers Coalition is a non-partisan advocate for the municipal Taxpayer. They are committed to lower taxes, less waste, and holding government to account with respect to how they spend your hard earned money. While taxes are a fact of life, properly tendering contracts and prudent fiscal planning, budgeting, and spending will dramatically reduce the tax burden on our residents.
Toronto Tax Payers Coalition informed the members about their tax payers survey published on their website which gave grades to all city councilors based on their annual performances.
              Mathew McGuire then opened the floor for discussions
Jonathan Annobil, Janus Adu Raudkavi, Peter Galiatsos   and other members took part in the roundtable discussion on a wide range of topics affecting the city of Toronto.

President Thomas Saras thanked the coalition for their presentation to the council.

Adjournment: