TORONTO – The multilingual press plays a fundamental and irreplaceable role in Canadian journalistic panorama and for this reason it must be protected and promoted. This is the message that emerged at the gala evening on Friday evening, where the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC) conferred the most valued awards recognizing the merit of journalists in the multilingual marketplace of our country.

Corriere Canadese, with three awards, was the ethnic (non English or non-French) newspaper reaping the greatest number of recognitions. The awards went to the newspaper itself (accepted on its behalf by the publisher, the Honorable Joe Volpe), for the role it plays in and for the Italian community. Two other awards [editorial directions and administration] were granted in recognition for their work as Editor in chief and Administration to Francesco Veronesi and Rita Ellul respectively.

The awards ceremony, and the recognitions conferred, took place in the presence of representatives from all three levels of government (federal and provincial MPs, city councillors, trustees).

“It is a source of satisfaction and pride to be recognized as fulfilling an important role in the conveying news that is relevant informative and even entertaining to a fundamental and important segment of Canada”, commented Mr. Veronesi on accepting heis award, “I am sure my colleagues all agree.”

Indeed, in a period of great change, and with more on the horizon [including Bill C-18] on the horizon, the unknowns geminated by AI (artificial intelligence) in the entire information sector, the role of the Corriere Canadese, and more generally of the multilingual press and media, will become more and more central as a guarantee of a free, independent press that respects the demands of ethics in the search for  truth, transparency and openness.

Many political personalities took part in the evening’s presentation. Among them were federal MPs Parliamentary Secretary Paul Chiang, and Anna Roberts; the Minister for Education Stephen Lecce, the provincial leader of the NDP Marit Stiles; MPPs Aris Babikian, Sheref Sabawy, Vijay Thanigasalam, Effie Triantafilopoulos, Jill Andrew, Tom Rakocevic, Kristyn Wong-Tam; others include Toronto deputy mayor Jennifer McKelvie, Councillor Brad Bradford, TBDSB Trustee Teresa Lubinski; Cheng Hongbo (deputy Consul General of the People’s Republic of China). To them we add the other award recipients and their media colleagues, congratulations and best wishes.

HERE BELOW A PHOTOGALLERY FROM THE EVENT