Meeting Minutes - Oct. 18, 2004

Minutes of the monthly meeting held at Queen's Park on October 18, 2004 Present: Thomas Saras Indranil Nanda Srimal Abeyawardene Maxwell Wynter Hassan Zerehi Massood Mashadi Anne Dawson Eva Wazda Teshome woldemmanuel Kendrick Bob B. Ubale Elizabeth Wolski Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed Shah Hotaki Marek J. Cooldyn Clyde McNeal Jai Oja Maharaj Luba Cherny Emmanuel Ayiku Josivaldo Rodridrigues Iraj Emad Shahram Saremi Nahed El Taher Cindy Gu Emily Mills Dirk Tissera Mishelle Tissera Tanya Nutall Special Guest: John Cartwright –President Labour Council Toronto & York Region   Absent Mona Feng Dominique Leval   Agenda 1 Minutes of the previous meeting 2. Presentation by John Cartwirght – President Labour Council – Toronto & York Region. 3 President's Report 4. Discussions 5.End of meeting   Jai Maharaj 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 September 13, 2004. Minutes of the Previous Meeting: Hassan Zerehi moved a motion seconded by Elizabeth Wolski to approve the minutes of the monthly meeting held on September 13, 2004. It was carried. Presentation by John Cartwirght: The Chair welcomed John Cartwight, the President of the Labour Council Toronto & York Region to the meeting and invited him to make his presentation to the Council. John Cartwirght, thanked the chair for the invitation and made a video presentation titled “Breaking Barriers”. The video reflected on the story of equity and anti-racist work in Toronto in the past 30 years. The video included personal stories and experiences of activists, who were part of an anti-racism struggle within organized labour between 1970 and 2003.The analysis from this shows that the structures of organized labour changed only after workers of colour organized, pushed for and forced change while facing tremendous resistance and isolation. After the video presentation Mr. John Cartwright, spoke on the rapid changing demographics in the GTA and the contributions that they are making to the economy. He also spoke about the need to address the needs of the changing demographics by providing a better deal and infrastructure for this City. He stressed that the police force in the city should be a true reflection of the multicultural face of Toronto. Mr. Cartwright then took questions from the members on various issues and encouraged the ongoing partnership between the NEPMCC and the Labour council. Thomas Saras suggested that the Labour Council could provide with regular articles on Labour related issues to the members of the Council Thomas Saras thanked John Cartwright for his presentation and expressed confidence in working together towards achieving a common goal, a just and equal multicultural society. President's Report/Discussions: The President praised the efforts of Ahmadshah Hotaki. for his leadership in the “ Word on the street Festival”. He also expressed disappointment as very few newspapers from the members were displayed at the festival. He said the Council should work together to promote the interest of the industry. Thomas Saras mentioned that the Provincial Government is going to provide advertisements on a monthly basis to the members of the Council. He told the Council that he will be travelling to Ottawa on October 20, to meet with executives from the Privy Council and Public Works Canada, to discuss issues related to Government advertising. This meeting was arranged from the PMO and thanked Mr. Reed for his help on behalf of the R.H. Paul Martin. He said that he would also drop by the ministry of multiculturalism while in Ottawa for discussions for the upcoming national conference. There were then discussions on the seasonal get together which was scheduled for the month of December.  Hassan Zerehi suggested that Haroon Siddiqui, who is a columnist in the Toronto Star, would be available as a guest speaker if the seasonal party takes place on Monday December 6, 2004. Saras informed the Council that some friends offered to sponsor the seasonal party at a restaurant in Etobicoke or in the events hall of the Cypriot Community of Toronto at Toronto’s East Thorncliffe Park, which located just next to an Islamic worship centre. The President  then moved a motion to accept the invitation of the individuals and celebrate the seasonal party on December 6, at a restaurant or at the Cypriot Cultural Centre. It was carried. The President informed the members that there was an article published on the NEPMCC by the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail. Thomas Saras suggested that the Council could arrange for Guest speakers from time to time to discuss on important policy issues. End of meeting: The chair, Jai Maharaj adjourned the meeting at 8:30 p.m. The next meeting would take place on November 8, 2004 at Queens Park.