Meeting Minutes - Mar. 12, 2007

NATIONAL ETHNIC PRESS AND MEDIA COUNCIL OF CANADA   Conseil national de la presse et des medias ethniques du Canada   Minutes of the monthly meeting held at committee room N# 2, Queen's Park on March 12, 2007 Present: Thomas Saras Srmial Abeyawardene Clyde McNeil Hassan Zerehi Sima Zerehi Hassan Yilmaz Neel Nanda Dr. B. Lamba Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed Shah Hotaki Mohammad Tajdolati K. Arasoratna S. Balasubramanian Basilio Jordano Ned Blair Iraj Emad Massood Mashadi Mona Feng Andy Gui Irene Keroglidis Tanas Jovanovski Trifon Haitas Dumitru Popesku Emmanuel Ayiku Emily Mills Assadollah Zarrihmetir C. Senthi Hermie Garcia Mila Garcia Teshome Woldeamanuel N. Logendualgan Sultanar Bagn Alamgir Hussain J. Saraidaris Sabnam Janani Tania Nuttall Dirk Tissera Luba Cherny Daniella Zhu Niaz Salimi Absent: Kenrick Bobb Maryam Aghvami Agenda: 1. Opening Remarks by the Chair 2. Minutes of the Previous Meeting. 3. President's Report/ Discussions 4. Presentation by the Toronto Star Media Group 5. End of meeting Opening Remarks by the Chair: The chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and asked the members to approve the minutes of the previous monthly meeting, if there were no reservations.   Minutes of the previous meeting: Dr.Lamba moved a motion to approve the minutes of the monthly meeting held on February 12, 2007. Iraj Emad seconded it. The motion was carried.   Matters Arising out of the minutes: Thomas Saras and Dr. Bikram Lamba reminded everyone that there was a resolution passed in the last meeting to print a unified common editorial in all the membership publications on the issue of increasing the minimum wage in Ontario to $10. The President urged all the members present to publish it in their front-page editorial in case they have not done so and stressed the importance on taking a unified stance on such issues affecting the ethnic communities in Canada.   Special Mention: The President Thomas Saras thanked Srimal Abeyawardene for attending this meeting despite his mother being in the hospital and asked all the members to join together in a prayer wishing his mother a speedy recovery and the best of health.   President's Report/Discussions -The President informed the members that NEPMCC would have its new office space in the city hall by the middle of March. The National Post previously occupied this office. Regular visitors to the office would need security clearance to enter the building. -The President informed the members about the expenses incurred towards the purchase of new office furniture and office equipment and automation. Thomas Saras invited all the members to the new office and welcomed volunteers who could dedicate some time towards administrative work in the new office. -Thomas Saras praised Alamgir Hussain and his committee which were responsible for the annual dinner in January -The President suggested the NEPMCC to invite the Governor General for the annual event celebrating the 30th anniversary of the organization and also proposed to make her an Honorary Chair. He suggested that this year the Council should hold the annual event at a more prestigious location, as it is a significant landmark celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of this esteemed organization. -Thomas Saras reminded the membership to submit a brief about themselves, their publication/organization, and their history in Canada as a contribution towards the annual book, (Marking the 30th anniversary of the Council) before the deadline of March 31 to the Ombudsman of the Council. The annual book would be historic document and, once published would be available to National and in all the libraries of Canada and the USA. -Thomas Saras mentioned that a statement condemning the assassination of a journalist in Turkey (Hrant Dink) was circulated to all the members. The statement was then forwarded to the diplomatic houses in Canada. The same statement condemning the killing of Hrant Dink in Turkey was also published on the web site of NEPMCC.                         -Thomas Saras informed the council that he received a big volume of emails following the publication of the statement, which condemned the killing of Hrant Dink in Turkey. Some of them were critical asking the resignation of the president and some tried to scare the president by hinting treats and action against him. The President said that the cause of saving the life of a brother or sister anywhere in the world is worth of undertaking any personal dangers or changes even facing the possibility of violence against him.   He also mentioned that one of the members of the Council had objections to a portion of the statement. -Thomas Saras also read out a letter written by the Turkish Ambassador and addressed to NEPMCC and its President regarding the statement passed by NEPMCC on the killing of Hrant Dink. -There were numerous discussions on the above- mentioned topic. Srimal Abeyawardene, Alamgir Hussain, Emily Mills and others shared their views on this matter. -Hasan Yilmaz, expressed his reservations on portion of the statement condemning the killing of Hrant Dink. He said, that while he does not support the killing of any journalist in the World, the language of the statement according to him might not be appropriate. -Dr; Lamba then gave his decision on the matter. He said the office of ombudsman stands for impartiality. The ombudsman said he thoroughly investigated the matter and came to a conclusion. Dr B. Lamba introduced the motion “that the assembly of the members adapt and express their support the statement as is. The Chair Mr. Clyde McNeil, called a vote on the motion. All the members voted for with the exception of one member, which voted against. -The motion carried. Report by the Dinner Committee: Alamgir Hussain the chair of the dinner committee tabled his report on the expenses and revenue of the annual dinner held in January 27 at the Cypriot Community Centre in Thorncliffe. He praised the members of his committee for the hard work they put in towards making the event a grand success. He also thanked the President and the members of the council for their collective efforts towards the success of the event.   Elections of the new Board of Directors / officers of NEPMCC: Dr. Lamba informed the members of NEPMCC that the deadline of receiving nominations for the renewal of the executive and officers of this Council was February 1, 2007. He said nominations received after that date was not entertained. He read out the names of the following members and their new positions. The election was put on vote and every member present exercised his or her right to vote on this election. Dr. Lamba, as the chief elections officer informed the members that in cooperation with the members of the Executive, he would bring shortly the names and the position of each elected member according to his talent to serve the organization. The new board of Directors and officers of NEPMCC were elected with majority. Dr.Lamba moved a motion and Iraj Emad seconded it to approve the new positions of the elected officers. The motion was carried. The new Board of Directors and officers were elected for the period of the next 2 years, until March of 2009.   End of Meeting: Iraj Emad moved a motion to adjourn the meeting and Alamgir Hussain seconded it. It was carried by all. The Chair adjourned the meeting at 9:30 p.m. The next meeting would take place on April 16, 2007 at committee room N# 1, Main Legislative Building, Queen’s Park, Toronto. On.