SEPTEMBER 15,2005

  Remarks by Thomas S. Saras  at the L. Governor’s Event

Your Honour, distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is an honour and a great privilege for me to be welcoming you today to this function.

Today we are celebrating the impact that ethnic communities have on Canadian societies.

We are most grateful to you, your Honour, for hosting this event. This is the second year that you have extended to us this courtesy. By doing this you have not only honoured our organization but also the entire ethnic community of the Canada. We are most grateful to you, Your Honour, for this gesture and also to your staff for their help. Your presence also signifies your concerns, care and recognition of the realities and the importance of the ethnic communities in the Canadian multicultural mosaic.     

We are also thankful to Premier McGuinty, the Hon. Howard Hampton, leader of the NDP of Ontario, The Hon. Mike Colle, Minister of  citizenship and immigration for Ontario, His worship David Miller, Mayor of the great City of Toronto, the Hon. friend of ours Jim Karygiannis, M.P, parliamentary assistant to the federal minister of transportation, also the Hon. Efthymios Efthymiadis, Consul General of Greece to Toronto, for the honour of his presence, and the others with us here today from the Legislative Assembly and the City, for their support.

It was almost three millenniums ago, that Aristotle, one of the greatest minds of the ancient world, declared: “all men are equal”.

This principle has become an underpinning of modern democratic societies all over the world. Yet, three thousand years later we are still battling inequality in all areas of society.

Aristotle’s vision for democracy was grounded in the fact we should train our citizens to live life always aware that his or her civic role is its most abiding, and that only when a culture embraces its diversity, and people strive to do no harm to one another, can it be considered truly civilized.

Equally, he pointed out that Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Information are important pillars of a successful democracy. They are also of utmost importance to the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada.

In the pursuit of these principles, our editors, writers and publishers work hard to spread knowledge of the world’s events, in their neighborhood and every corner of the planet, to the citizens of Canada.

They also provide an outlet for the expression of their thoughts and opinions on these matters. These are our primary objectives. To achieve these objectives we need the help of many people and for this we are grateful.

It is important to point out that our organization does not represent journalists alone.

It encompasses all aspects of newspapers production as well as every form of electronic media our generation has been blessed to enjoy.

These outlets do not have corporate backing and are run by professionals who have the drive to serve the members of their ethnic communities.

To many of these people, producing the paper is a daily struggle.

Yet some have been successful enough to have been around for forty or fifty years.  It is this spirit of courage and commitment that we are honouring here today. 

Today we are also honouring members of different ethnic communities for their success and their efforts to make a difference in the lives of all Canadians. They came to this great Country of ours seeking to make positive contributions to society.  This they have achieved.

Thus by recognizing this evening’s recipients we acknowledge our appreciation for what they have done so far and at the same time wish them luck and encourage them to continue these efforts in the future.

Thank you and Congratulations to all of you.