Meeting Minutes - Jul. 12, 2004

Minutes of the monthly meeting held at Queen's Park on July 12, 2004 Present: Thomas Saras Sremial Abeyawardene Maxwell Wynter Hassan Zerehi Anne Dawson Kendrick Bob B. Ubale Dominique Leval Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed Shah Hotaki Marek J. Cooldyn Clyde McNeal Jai Maharaj Emmanuel Ayiku Indranil Nanda Emily Mills Nahed El Taher Cindy Gu Dirk Tissera John Saras Absent: Angela Kabouris Mona Feng Agenda 1 Minutes of the previous meeting 2. President's Report 3. Discussions 4.End of meeting Srimal Abeyawardene chaired the meeting and called the meeting to an order. He asked the council to approve the minutes of the previous monthly meeting held on June 14, 2004. Minutes of the Previous Meeting: Thomas Saras moved a motion seconded by Hassan Zerehi to approve the minutes of the monthly meeting held on June 14, 2004. It was carried. President's Report/Discussions: Thomas Saras began his report by commenting on the highly successful meeting with the Prime Minister held in June at the Four Seasons Hotel in Missisauga. He said the meeting with the Prime Minister was an “ historic event” as it was for the every first time that the Prime Minister of Canada came to address a press conference organized by the NEPMCC. He read out a letter from the Prime Minister dated June 28, 2004 congratulating the council on holding a very successful event and thanking the council for inviting him to the podium. He then read out his reply to the Prime Minister’s letter expressing in that letter that the council was honoured to have the Prime Minister attend the conference and address the concerns of the ethnic media. The letter also congratulated the Prime Minister for his victory in the elections held in June and also wished his new Government all the very best.  The letter also indicated that the council was eager to meet with the Prime Minister when his schedule permits him to do so, to continue the discussions on the issues raised by the members, as he had shown a keen interest to address those concerns. The President then drew the attention of the members towards the “Word on the Street” which would take place on Sunday, September 26 and once again urged the members to display their publications in large numbers at the booth reserved for the council. Thomas Saras then mentioned a letter which he received from the office of Lieutenant Governor, Hon. James K. Bartleman which expressed that the Lt. Governor is giving every possible consideration of meeting the council on Friday, September 10 at Queen’s Park. Thomas Saras then said that the event is almost certain and that he is expecting official confirmation by the end of the week. (July 12-July 18)  He said a few members from the council as well as a few deserving individuals from the various ethnic communities would receive plaques/certificates from the Lt. Governor. He told that the Premier of Ontario as well as a representation from the Prime Minister’s office would also be present for the event. The President then discussed the venue for the ethno media week, which would conclude with the annual event on September 5, 2004. He mentioned the costs of hosting the event at two of the possible venues, which was the Liberty Grand and the Marriott Hotel in Yonge and Bloor. Going through the costs and the facilities offered at both the venues, the council unanimously decided to host the event at the Forest Hill Room at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Toronto. He said that the manager at the Marriott Hotel has agreed to serve wine brought by the council and that the hotel would only charge a fee of $18 for opening each bottle. He said that he made arrangement for 40 bottles of wine (Greek wine) of which 20 bottles are going to be donated to the council and the council would have to pay for only the remainder of the 20 bottles. Thomas Saras told the council that Dominique Leval and Anne Dawson would meet with the banquet manager at the Marriott Hotel to discuss and finalise the menu for the evening of the annual event. The President urged the members to give the exact number of guests that each member would be bringing with them for the annual event.  He emphasized that the numbers should be accurate so that the treasury would be ready to meet with the expenses. Any no shows at the event would unnecessarily drain the treasury of the council. Later on during the meeting there was a paper circulated in which the members present at the meeting gave the number of guests that each member would be bringing for the annul event (the number was 83 approx.). Thomas Saras expressed his disappointment that many members did not submit their nominations for the awards by the agreed upon deadline (June 30). He then urged the members to submit their nominations by Friday July 16 and extended the deadline for nominations till that date with the approval of the council. He also asked the members to give the exact number of people attending the event including the award recipients and their family members by Friday July 16, 2004. The President then discussed on the steps that are being taken by the council to develop the infrastructure of the ethnic media industry in partnership with Heritage Canada. To ensure the ongoing dialogue with the ministry of heritage and multiculturalism, he emphasized the need of forming a committee that would negotiate with the ministry on various issues concerning the ethnic media industry. He asked the members who could totally commit their time in working towards these issues to join this very important committee. The committee is as follows: Thomas Saras (chair) Srimal Abeyawardene Hassan Zerehi Maxwell Wynter Anne Dawson Clyde McNeal Tanya Nutall Cindy Gu Alternates: Dirk Tissera Emily Mills These names would be submitted to the ministry of heritage for future meetings with them. Discussions: Jai Maharaj inquired on the outcome of the conference held on October 2003. On this, Thomas Saras mentioned that the conference was very successful in bringing out the deficiencies and hurdles that the ethnic media faces in their day-to-day operations. He said that one of the outcomes of the conference was the subsidising of the mailings of the ethnic newspapers by the Canadian Government. He also said that since the conclusion of the conference Heritage Canada has been in constant touch with his office in working towards implementing the recommendations made from the conference. There were numerous discussions on the ethno-media week.  Jai Maharaj suggested of issuing tickets for subsidizing the costs of hosting the annual event. He suggested that members could buy each ticket at a charge of $20 for dinner at the annual event. Many members shared his idea, but due to time constraints and logistics it was decided to implement this idea possibly next year for this annual event. Thomas Saras told the council that he is working very hard towards receiving donations from his corporate friends. He also mentioned that part of the costs of hosting this event could be recovered by publishing the annual book. (Advertising revenues) Herman Silochan initiated a discussion on the topic of local contents published in the ethnic newspapers. He stressed that ethnic newspapers should try to raise local issues in their newspapers as a way of making their voice known to the government. He observed that ethnic newspapers are not publishing enough on local Canadian issues. The ethnic newspapers tend to publish more news from their home countries and sometimes ignore local community issues. He said publishing more on local issues would encourage the younger generation to turn more often to journals published by their native communities. Herman Silochan also volunteered to gather various newspapers published by members of the council and bring them to the booth of NEPMCC at the" Word on the Street Festival”. Dr Ubale suggested that the council should allocate some time on burning issues and public policies in Canada. He said that once the annual event concludes the council should devote time for writing a strategy paper in order to have a clear direction for the future. Thomas Saras suggested of holding a convention to address policy issues through an alliance of publications and community organizations to increase lobbying and rallying for a common cause and objective. Emily Mills announced that she would be travelling to Washington to attend a conference on Journalism for blacks, Asians, Hispanics and Aboriginal journalists and would brief the council of it’s outcome in the next meeting. Maxwell Wynter praised the President in working tirelessly to create a strong organization. He said that it is the perfect time for members to start working towards reducing the burden on the President. He said that elections are 8 months away and those seeking office for the next term should step up and rise to the occasion by showing commitment to the organization and leading by example. Members should share a common vision in carrying the organization further and help it achieve its objectives. End of meeting. Following the remarks made by Maxwell Wynter, the chair Srimal Abeyawardene inquired with the council if there were any pending issues to address. As there were no other business to follow the chair adjourned the meeting at 8:30 p.m.  The next meeting would take place on August 9, 2004 at Queen’s Park