Ottawa, September 27, 2019. “The Canadian Ethnocultural Council (CEC) and the Canadian Ethnic Media Association (CEMA) are pleased to collaborate with the Leaders’ Debates Commission to spread the word about its mandate and ensure that everyone has an opportunity to know, where and how to access the leaders’ debates for the upcoming 2019 federal general election,” said Dominic Campione, President of the CEC. “By partnering with the newly formed Commission, we are helping to ensure that the ethnocultural communities will be able to hear first-hand what the federal leaders say about what matters most to them. We support the Leaders’ Debates Commissioner, David Johnston, who is encouraging Canadians to watch the upcoming national debates on October 7, 2019 in English and on October 10, in French. The former Governor General hopes the debates – which are available in ten languages – will reach as many Canadians as possible on the platform of their choice.
CEMA Ch
airperson, Madeline Ziniak encourages all Canadians, to view the debates and hopes that ethnic media will transfer the discussions and information to the language of comfort of viewers. She agrees with Commissioner Johnston that debates are an important part of the elections process and a way to ensure that institutions work for the public good and democratic process. “I am particularly impressed with special efforts made by the Commission to inform as many people as possible including youth, new immigrants and indigenous communities so that they can become better informed about our democratic institutions. This will strengthen their feelings of inclusion in Canada’s democratic process,” said Ms. Ziniak. (For in-depth interview with Leaders’ Debates Commissioner, David Johnston, go to:
https://www.facebook.com/414948065989108/videos/681431132364753/?epa=SEARCH_BOX)
The Leaders Debates Commission was created by an Order-In-Council to ensure that national debates are predictable, reliable and meet journalistic standards. The French and English leaders’ debates will be accessible in other languages, such as Cree, Inuktitut, Ojibway, Arabic, Cantonese, Italian, Mandarin, Punjabi through streaming and translation. The debates can be streamed for free at any time, and can be distributed through radio, digital and social media as well as television across the country.
“I kindly urge everyone to watch the debates and involve their family members, friends and all, and thereby experience democracy in action”, said Mr. Campione. “We want to encourage Canada’s diverse ethnic communities to watch the debates, to be better informed, find out what is relevant and important for them and partake in the electoral process.”
For more information about the Leaders’ Debates Commission please go to:
: www.debates-debats.ca / T : @debates_can / IG : @debatesdebats_can / FB : Debates.can
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The Canadian Ethnocultural Council is a non-profit, non-partisan coalition of national ethnocultural umbrella organizations which, in turn, represent a cross-section of ethnocultural groups across Canada. CEC’s mandate is to work towards equality of access and opportunity for all Canadians and to promote the understanding of the multicultural reality of Canada as defined in The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and The Canadian Multiculturalism Act.
The Canadian Ethnic Media Association is an organization for professionals engaged in the fields of print, radio, television, and online journalism; as well as creative writing. CEMA upholds the principles of Canadian citizenship and multiculturalism; and maintains the rights of freedom of expression without ethnocentric bias.
Canadian Ethnocultural Council (CEC)
Canadian Ethnic Media Association
c/o 2904 Highway 7 West, Unit 102, Website: https://canadianethnicmedia.com/
Vaughan, ON Canada, L4K 0K4 Telephone: 416-488-0048
E-mail: [email protected] / [email protected]
Website: www.ethnocultural.ca
Telephone 613-230-3867
