NATIONAL ETHNIC PRESS AND MEDIA COUNCIL OF CANADA - NEPMCC
ANNUAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE MEMBERS AND ELECTIONS FOR THE RENEWAL OF THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD
Minutes of the Monthly Meeting held on March 9, 2009 at Queen’s Park, Committee Room #2, Main Legislative Building, Toronto

PRESENT:
Thomas S. Saras, Dr.Bikram Lamba, Dr. Khan Khoda, William Doyle-Marshall, Sandro Miranda, Suleyman Guven, Dumitru Popescu, Bahram Bahrami, Hassan Zerehi, Asha Rajak, Tanas Jovanovski, Srimal Abeyewardene, Michael Shiravand, Irene Keroglides, Dr. Raafat Gindi, Raina Sen, Mohammad Reza Tabrizi, Luba Cherny, Ned Blair, Ahmed S. Hotaki, Nassim Daneshvar, Jolanta Cabaj, Naganue Longan, Zbigniew Koprowshi, Gerald Paul, Neel Nanda, Susana Donan, Eddie Donan, Kevin Wang, Danielle Zhu, Aris Babikian, Hai Tien Lin, Kathy L. Lin, Mila Artoga Garcia, Hermie Garcia, Mohamed Tajdolati, Niaz Salimi, Bahram Bahrami, Ranjit Wics, Moorthy Sellathurai, Peremanath Arhsarthnam, Sukamar Balasubramaniam, John Saraidaris, Sunu Rao, Halimi Mohammad Amin, Taha Hassaniani, Fred Powrtaher, Emmanuel Ayiku, Jemal Seyyed, Fereydoon Rahmani, Zanes Abudullah, Aaron Behrame, Teshome Woldeamanuel, Amir Mahim, C. Senti, Muluken Muchie, Emmanuel Ayiku, David Ferdinands, Sabnam Janani, Maryam Aghvami, Tanas Jovanovski, K. David Lim, Halimi Mohamad Amin, Hossein Pourhaider, Trifon Haitas, Massod Mashedi

PARTICIPANTS BY PROXY:
Hon. Basilio Giordano, Helen Wang, Thanh Quy Nguyen, Rino Vultaggio, Dimitre Angelatos, Kathy Angelatos

REGRETS:
Clyde McNeil  (Out of the Country)

AGENDA:
1.Welcome remarks by the Chair
2.Minutes of the previous meeting
3.Elections 2009
4.New Business (Motions)
5.Adjournment

WELCOME REMARKS BY THE CHAIR:
The chair of the meeting, Dr. Lamba welcomed everybody to the meeting and declared the meeting open. Ned Blair moved a motion to approve the agenda of the meeting. Srimal Abeyawardene seconded the motion, which was carried by all.

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING:
Hassan Zerehi moved a motion to approve the minutes of the previous monthly meeting held on February, 2009. Srimal Abeyawardene seconded it. The motion was carried.

MATTERS ARISING OUR OF THE MINUTES:
There were no issues that were discussed from the previous minutes.

PRESIDENT'S REPORT:
• Acting President Thomas Saras recognized the achievements of this organization.
• The President’s office is awaiting the outcome of application for funding for the second phase of the project aiding the professional development of the members of NEPMCC. If the funding is approved members of NEPMCC will be eligible to participate in a 3-day convention combined with professional training which could take place either on the last weekend of July or the first weekend of August at a major educational institution in Toronto. Members of the Canadian Heritage will be asked to participate and give details of the new programs and rules about the Magazine Funds to our members.
• The Prime Minister of Canada probably will be the main speaker at the graduation gala, the last day of the event. We cannot send an invitation until we know for sure the day and place the event takes place.
• The President will make an announcement as soon as he hears from the ministry of Canadian Heritage.
• All ethnic newspapers under the new policy would be eligible for funding under the Canada Magazine Fund, thanks to tireless efforts of the dedicated members of NEPMCC, and the understanding and help we received from Mr. Scott Shortliffe and the department.
• Recommendations made by NEPMCC to Heritage Canada were seriously considered.
• Members of NEPMCC will be eligible to apply for funding under the Canadian Magazine Fund exactly for the same amounts with the rest of the Canadian mainstream magazines.
• Approximately CAD$175 million is allocated for the media, by the ministry of Heritage Canada.
• The president expressed his gratitude and thanks to the R. Hon. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada and the H. Moore, Minister of Heritage Canada, for their understanding and their inclusive policies toward the Ethnic Press and Media.
• Acting President Thomas Saras read out a correspondence between him and Premier Dalton McGuinty.
• Letters were sent to Provincial Government and the PMO stressing the continuance of Government support and advertising campaign to ethnic media under these challenging economic conditions.
• NEPMCC has paid the fees for participation on this year’s "Word on the Street Festival".
• Acting President Thomas Saras received a letter from Canadian Forces for a media briefing. The media briefing would take place at 4900 Yonge Street.
• Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff might attend the next monthly meeting.
• Due to upcoming Christian Eastern on the 12 of April and the long weekend, the April monthly meeting has been moved to Monday April 20th, as Queen’s Park will be closed to public on Monday April the 13th.
• The venue of the next monthly meeting might shift to City Hall after confirmation with the Liberal Leader.
• Members elected today to their offices should be committed for the cause of the organization.
• Acting President Thomas Saras expressed his condolences for the demise of NEPMCC member and Chief Editor of the Tamil Publication Thamilar Senthamarai, Kanaka Arasaratnam to his eldest son. Many other members expressed their condolences on the demise of Kanaka Arasaratnam.
• Srimal Abeyewardene recalled his experiences with the departed soul and expressed his heartfelt condolence.
• Moorthy Sellathurai recalled his experiences with the departed soul, Kanaka Arasaratnam and read out a note expressing the condolences for the departed soul.
• The hard work and selfless dedication by the President has taken this organization to new heights. The entire membership present applauded the President for his untiring efforts.

CONSTITUTION:
• The Chair of the meeting Dr Lamba initiated a discussion on the Constitution. Hermie Garcia asked to incorporate the phrase, "the Organization is dedicated to struggle for the respect of Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Expression all over the international community and assist and help journalists in despair", to the constitution. The motion was accepted by all present.
• Constitution was circulated to the members. Members of NEPMCC had sufficient time to review the amendments made to the constitution.
• Hassan Zerehi moved a motion to accept the constitution as is with the Hermie Garcias' motion, seconded by Dr. Taljaotti.
• As no one had any other discussion, the Chair put the motion to vote. All present voted for the acceptance of the new constitution. No member up stained or voted against.

ELECTIONS 2009:

The names of the proposed Board of Directors were read out by the acting Chair Dr. Bikram Lamba. They were as follows:

Ex Officio members of the Board: Dr. Bikram Lamba, PhD. (Humanities and Communications). Ombudsman: for conflict resolutions and the professional integrity and ethics. Chair: Awards Committee and Chief Electoral Officer. "Hindi Press"
Clyde McNeil: Moderator of the meetings of the board. "CHIN Radio" (Trinidad)
 
THE EXECUTIVE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD:

PRESIDENT AND CEO
Thomas S. Saras, Editor-In-Chief "Patrides Review" (Greek)

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENTS

Hassan Zerehi, Senior VP Policy. Editor-In-Chief, "Shahrvand" (Persian)
Kathy Lin, Senior VP Professional Development. Publisher, "CCTimes" (Chinese)
Dr. Mohammad Tajdolati, Senior Advisor to President & Vice President Humanities and Languages, "Iran Radio" (Iranian)
Neel Nanda, Secretary General & Recording Secretary. "Masters in Business Communications" (Hindi)
Srimal Abeyerwardene, Treasurer. Editor, "Sri Lankan Reporter" (Singhalese)
Tanas Jovanovski, VP Controller. Publisher "Macedonia" (FYRO Macedonia)

VICE PRESIDENTS

Irene Keroglidis, VP Public Relations & Awards Committee. "M Magazine" (Greek)
Longan N. Longendralingam, VP Finance. Publisher, "Uthayan" (Tamil)
Luba Cherny, VP Cultural Affairs. Publisher, "Courier" (Russian)
Mila A. Garcia, VP Humanitarian and Immigration Affairs. "Phillipines Reporter" (Philippine)
Susana Donan, VP Latino-American Affairs. Editor, "El Centro Americano" (Latino)
Raina Sen, VP Social Affairs & Membership Committee (South Asian)
Hermie Garcia, VP, Human Rights and Free Speech. "Phillipines Reporter" (Philippine)
Aaron Berhane, VP, Journalists in Exile. Editor-In-Chief, "Mefith" (Eritrean)
Dr. Raafat Gindi, MD. VP, Health and Education. "Al Ahram Elgdeed" (Arabic)
Ahmed Shah Hotaki, VP Coordinator Special Events. Publisher, "Afghan Post" (Afghani)
William Doyle-Marshal, VP Journalists in Despair. "CHRY Radio" (Caribbean)
Dumitru Popescu, VP Print, Membership. Chair, "Observatoroul" (Romanian)
Asha Rajak, VP Radio, Membership. Chair, "Namaste Radio" (Nepalese)
Dr. Khan Khoda, VP Television, Membership. Chair, "Deshi Television" (Bengali)
Jolanta Cabaj, VP Federal Relations. (Polish)
Teshome Woldeamnuel, VP Business Promotion Coordinator. "TZTA" (Ethiopian)
Suleyman Guven, VP Middle East Affairs. "Yeni Hayati" (Turkish/Kurdish)
Emmanuel Ayiku, VP African Affairs. Chair & Publisher, "Ghanaian News" (Ghanaian)
Ned Blair, VP Community Outreach. "Photo-Reporter" (Caribbean)
John S. Saraidaris, VP Web Master and Public image. "Patrides on Line" (Greek)
Sharifa Khan, President of Balmoral Marketing Inc. Official Marketer of NEPMCC

AGENTS GENERAL:

Aris Babikian, Ottawa. "Armenian Horizons Ontario and Quebec"(Armenian)
Hon. Basilio Giordano, Quebec. Publisher, "Il Cittadino Canadese" (Italian)
Helen Wang, Manitoba. Editor-In-Chief, "Manitoba Chinese Tribune" (Chinese)
Thanh Quy Nguyen, Alberta. Publisher, "Vietnam Time Magazine" (Vietnamese)
Rino Vultaggio, British Columbia. Publisher, "Il Marco Polo" (Italian)

According to Article Three of the Constitution:
"The authority and powers of the Agent General are equal to those of the Senior Vice presidents. Each Agent General represents the Council in his Province and is responsible to organize the members of the local ethnic Press and Media in his jurisdiction. The Chairman of the elections committee and Acting Chair  of the General Assembly distributed the names of the candidates to the members and asked if any other member wants his name to be added to the list. Being non new member candidate for the board, Dr. lamba , asked the members to either vote in acceptance of the candidates or  reject any member they feel was not qualify. Hassan Zerehi moved a motion to approve the above mentioned names as the new board of directors and officers of NEPMCC for a period of two years. Dr. Taljolati seconded it. The motion was carried. All members present voted for the acceptance of the candidates. The new board of Directors of the NEPMCC will hold their respective offices for the period of the next two years: March 9th, 2009 to March 12th, 2011."
 
Dr. Lamba congratulated the new Board Members and warned them to be professionals and abide by the rules of the council.

NEW BUSINESS:
• Mila Garcia of the Philippines Reporter invited members of NEPMCC in celebrating 20 years of the newspaper.
• President Thomas Saras welcomed new members to the council. They were:
   - Parry Long, Publisher, "Ads Guide"
   - Kathy L.L Lin, Publisher, "Chinese Canadian Times"
   - Jolanta Cabaj, Editor–in-Chief & Publisher, "Nowy Kurier"
   - Dr. Fereydoon Rahmani, Chairman, "The Greater Toronto Kurdish House"
   - Dr. Khan Manzoor, E-Khoda- CEO & President, "Deshi TV"
   - Sandro Miranda, "Pan TV"
   - Susana H. Donan, Editor, "Centroamericano"

The Chair of the Meeting, Dr. Lamba, hoped that the new members would be active participants and contribute heavily for the cause of the organization.

ADJOURNMENT:
Ned Blair moved a motion to adjourn the meeting. Srimal Abeyawardene seconded it. The motion was carried. The Chair adjourned the meeting at 9:30 pm. The next meeting would take place on April 20, 2009. The Chief Speaker would be the Hon. Michael Ignatieff.