Canadian Ethnic Media Association

The Save Our Voice campaign that sought to overturn an Ontario tax law that would unfairly penalize the ethnic print media has been successful.

Ontario has agreed to amend the tax legislation, and the law firm helping several ethnic print organizations to fight the law, says on the surface it appears to meet with the Coaltiion’s objectives. The coalition also included CEMA. Fasken Martineu DuMoulin LLP, the law firm, will, however, also prepare an analysis for the Save Our Voice Campaign.

Meanwhile, we print below the redrafted legislation by Ontario’s Ministry of Finance. The government is hoping to receiveing feedback by January 25, 2008, before enacting this legislation. For previous stories on this subject, CLICK HERE.

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The following is a copy of an urgent appeal sent to allmembers by CEMA President Ben Viccari: “WE need your support on Wednesday, Dec. 12 at 10 a.m. at the Media Room Queen’s Park — irrespective of whether you’re print or electronic media,and here’s why…

Ace Alvarez, Dat Nguyen and I met yesterday with a group protesting some crippling taxation measures on Ontario ethnic print media and English/French community media. Please click here to see article on this website for details. As you can see, the very life of many ethnic newspapers is threatened (more…)

Below is a messagefrom the law firm Fasken Martineau regarding a special meeting on Dec. 7, 2007, of anethnic mediacoalition it is facilitating so as to fight unfair taxationthat is threatening scores of ethnicpublications

(Message sender – Jeffrey Graham (416) 865-5442):

As you may be aware, the Ontario government is now applying retail sales tax (PST) to many community and ethnic newspapers in the Province.

According to the Ministry of Revenue, many community and ethnic newspapers are NOT “exempt” as newspapers from provincial sales tax because some are bound with staples while others are not issued at least once a week.

Because of this, many ethnic and community newspapers, and the printing and publishing companies that supply to them, are being told to pay tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes! (more…)

Canada’s federal government spends hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising, both print and broadcast.CEMA believes that our ethnic media members also deserve a share of this.

As a result, board took up the issue with one of the advisors resonsible in Ottawa and we reproduce here the name of the contact and a PDF form that you can download and pursue some of the advertising dollars for your publication or broadcast show. The form is the new revised creiteria and questionaire that you must use. Please read it.

To download the form, CLICK HERE.

The federal government contact is:

Monique Desrosiers, Communications Advisor

Public Works and Government Services Canada

155 Queen St., 5th Floor / 155, rue Queen, 5e tage

monique.desrosiers@pwgsc.gc.ca

613-943-1567 Fax / Tlc. : 613-947-6696