Remarks by Thomas S. Saras, President and CEO of the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada, at the introduction of the Awards ceremony at the L. Governor’s Suite, “Music Room”, at Queen’s Park, Toronto. On
Thursday October 30, 2008  at 6:00 pm

Your Honour, Mr. John Tory, Leader of the official opposition of Ontario, Mr. Michael Prue MPP, distinguished Guests, members of the diplomatic corps, Ladies and Gentleman:

President's Remarks at the introduction of the Awards Ceremony 
Remarks by Thomas S. Saras, President and CEO of the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada, at the introduction of the Awards ceremony at the L. Governor’s Suite, “Music Room”, at Queen’s Park, Toronto. On
Thursday October 30, 2008  at 6:00 pm

Your Honour, Mr. John Tory, Leader of the official opposition of Ontario, Mr. Michael Prue MPP, distinguished Guests, members of the diplomatic corps, Ladies and Gentleman:

Remarks by Thomas S. Saras, President and CEO of the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada, at the introduction of the Awards ceremony at the L. Governor’s Suite, “Music Room”, at Queen’s Park, Toronto. On
Thursday October 30, 2008  at 6:00 pm

Your Honour, Mr. John Tory, Leader of the official opposition of Ontario, Mr. Michael Prue MPP, distinguished Guests, members of the diplomatic corps, Ladies and Gentleman:

It is an honour and a great privilege for me to be welcoming you today to this function, the celebration of the 31st annual recognition of the impact  members of the ethnic press and media and also, members of the ethnic communities, have on the Canadian society.

Today’s celebration is recognition of their considerable contributions to our democracy and also to multicultural fabric of our society.
Today we salute their contributions and recognize their struggles for human rights, for equal opportunities, for peace and understanding among the Canadians and the world and for justice and respect for all humanity.

With their outstanding efforts we managed to bring change and progress in our society, in order to prevent any form of oppression, injustice or hatred, which is a wedge designed to attack on our peace-loving Canadian society.

We are most grateful to you, your Honour, for hosting this event. It 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 communities of Canada.
We are most grateful to you, Your Honour, for this gesture of encouragement and support you provide, by hosting this ceremony for the presentation of the Awards. We are also thankful to your staff, this wonderful group of civil servants, for their support and enthusiasm in organizing this event.
Your present here today also signifies your concerns, care and recognition of the social realities of this great country of ours and also the importance of the ethnic communities in the Canadian multicultural mosaic.
We are also thankful to Government of Ontario and the members of the Legislative Assembly for their support.
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.

Finally, we want to express our gratitude to all participants in today’s ceremony, as they contributed to most to the success of this event with their presence.

We earnestly hope that our organization n will forge ahead to greater accomplishments and achieve the most by working together and using our collective influence.

Thank you for your participation and congratulations to all our honourees.