CONTD. FROM PAGE 1We have also been quite involved in promoting cricket in Canada latelyand this is one of the reasons why we are here today as well. At CIBC,we strongly believe that the individual differences enhance our effec-tiveness as a bank and we are proud to associate with Y Media whoshare the same values.Yudhvir Jaswal, CEO group editor of Y media which organizes Mid-week South Asian Awards thanked CIBC's commitment and welcomedits generous support in recognizing the achievements of extra-ordinarySouth Asians in Canada and worldwide. "Earlier we felicitatedInternational Cricketer, Harbhajan Singh with CIBC MidweekSouth Asian Sher-E-Punjab Award. It is impor tant to recognizeSouth Asians like Harbhajan Singh who make a difference inthe community as they not only represent the talent of today, butare also an inspiration for the achievers of tomorrow. Our en-deavour is to recognize South Asians for their achievements,"said Yudhvir Jaswal."We would also like to acknowledge our sponsors senior vicepresident, Raza Hasan and associate vice president, VenkiRaman at CIBC and , Jake Dheer ofRogers TV, Federal Conser-vative candidate for Markham Unionville Bob Saroya, GursharanBobby S idhu d i rec to r o f A l l i ance Lega l Se rv ices ,GeorgeNikitopoulos and Burke Boyd from Team Chrysler,Navi Singhfrom Bolton Nissan,PrashantRai&MurariThapliyal ofThapliyal&Rai lawoffice,AvtarBedi, SimarBedi and MallikaBedi of Atlantic Web Printers,financial advisor PankajMonga,mor tgage agent TarunVirdi,MukeshBhardwaj of Bhardwaj & Associates, RameshwarSangha of Sanghalaw office, HarpreetSidhana from Alternate Mortgage, ManpreetMinhasof Minhas law office, Kula Sellathurai of Intercity International, ManuBajwa of MB Financial Servicesfor their tremendous contribution and

support."Media Partner of the event are BadarChowdery of Akhbar-E-Pakistan andGeo TV and Jake Dheer of Rogers TV.Event Décor partner for the event is PiyushRawal of Karma Design Stu-dio Inc. and hospitality partner include HarpreetSethi of Radisson Plazaand GinniSethi of Grand Victorian Convention Centre.Established in 2007, Midweek South Asian Awards recognize and honourthe achievements of South Asians in Canada and worldwide. In theprevious year's popular bollywood actresses like SayaliBhagat andKashmiraSahah rocked the show with their stunning performances.Thisyear, the 6th Annual CIBC Midweek South Asian Awards will be held onOctober 12th at the RadissonPlaza, Mississauga.CIBC Midweek South Asian Awards will be given in the followingcategories:* CIBC Midweek South Asian Business person of the year* CIBC Midweek South Asian Award for Diversity* CIBC Midweek South Asian Sher-E-Punjab of the Year* CIBC Midweek South Asian Award for Courage & Bravery.* CIBC Midweek South Asian Humanitarian of the Year.* CIBC Midweek South Asian Entrepreneur of the Year* CIBC Midweek South Asian Youth of the Year* CIBC Midweek South Asian Professional of the Year.* CIBC Midweek South Asian Artist of the Year.* CIBC Midweek South Asian Teen of the YearSouth Asians form a large and vibrant community in Canada - close to 1.5million. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, South Asians havebeen settling in Canada. Presently, South Asians are actively involved inCanadian politics at all levels, run small to large-scale businesses, par-ticipate in community service, and hold positions of influence in varioussectors.

THE CELEBRATION GETS BIGGER AND GRANDERTHE CELEBRATION GETS BIGGER AND GRANDER

CIBC and Y Media announce partnership for6th Annual Midweek South Asian Awards

RABBI SHERGIL IS EXPECTED AT 6TH ANNUALCIBC MIDWEEK SOUTH ASIAN AWARDS

Rabbi Shergill born in Delhi is an Indian musician famous for his debut album Rabbi and thechar t-topper song of 2005, Bulla Ki Jaana. His music has been described variously as rock,Sufiana, and "semi-Sufi semi-folksy kind of music with a lot of Western arrangements."Rabbi himself has been called "Punjabi music's true urban balladeer".A graduate from Delhi's Khalsa College, Rabbi was a par t of the local hard-rock music scenein his graduation days. Inspired by Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Jimmy Page, Rabbi star tedwriting his own songs and made a few demos. Rabbi's father was a Sikh preacher and hismother is a college principal as well as a Punjabi poetess.His self-titled first album Rabbi, mostly composed and written by himself was released in2005 which turned out a huge success and its title track "Bulla ki jaana main kaun", becamean instant hit. Rabbi writes in Punjabi, and "It is my pride", he says.***Rabbi has since worked as a music director and lyricist for the Hindi movie, Delhi Heights.His song tere bin is one of the major hits. He has also performed at the World Social Forumin Brazil, played at the inauguration of the Tri-Continental Film Festival in New Delhi andvarious other Live Shows. His song 'Tu Mun Shudi' from the movie 'Ranjhana' connectedwith a very wide audience across the globe specially the youth.His songs are deeply philosophical and blends archaic, almost lost, Punjabi phrases into farmore recent Indian rock music with great ease. His song 'Challa' from the movie "Jab Tak Hai Jaan" was once again a great hit.Rabbi Shergill with his distinct and original style in music hits a space that is emotionally right on the button, transcending alldivides Rabbi's songs move beyond language into pure music.

(FROM LEFT) JAKE DHEER, THE STATION MANAGER AT ROGERS; KUNDAN JOSHI OF JOSHI INC.; PREET JASWAL, CFO ATY MEDIA INC.; HARPREET SETHI, OWNER OF RADISSON PLAZA IN MISSISSAUGA; RAZA HASSAN, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENTAT CIBC; VENKI RAMAN ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT AT CIBC, FARHA MURAD AND SANDEEP SANGHA. (FILE PHOTO)

Hamza Faruqui will beperforming at 6thannual CIBC MidweekSouth Asian AwardsHamza Faruqui - singer, music composer, and lyricist was bornand raised in the Middle East, where he star ted singing at theage of 10 with his first live per formance. There has been nolooking back since.Hamza comes from a highly educated family, both his father andolder brother are dentists and his mother a microbiologist. Hamzagraduated from the university of Mumbai with a bachelors incommerce but his true passion has always been music.He lived in Saudi Arabia till the age of 16 and during that periodhe performed in over 50 stage shows all over the Middle East. At16 he left for Canada to study but he didn't leave his musicbehind, Hamza moved to Mumbai in 1999 to pursue his musiccareer as a playback singer where he recorded with some of thebiggest composers in the bollywood music industry like A.R.Rahman, Pritam, Sajid-Wajid, Himesh Reshammiya, Anand RajAnand, Mithoon Sharma and many more.Some of Hamza's super hit songs are Man tu talabat from themovie Superstar, Ke bin tree jeena nahin from Aggar, MissionIstanbul title song, Paisa Paisa, Dum laga, Tinka tinka, Maulafrom Allah ke Banday and many more.Hamza has performed all over the world and his performancesrange from high voltage and power packed to soft and romanticwhen he does his famous unplugged sets. He has performedalongside the biggest ar tists in the music scene today and hasheld his own. He's done supporting vocals for Lucky Ali, per-formed in (Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi, Masoori, Kathmandu,Pokhra, Vancouver), some of his live performances include un-plugged The Love Sessions with Atif Aslam in Dubai in 2011,Mission Istanbul release in Delhi and Dehradun. He is the onlysouth asian ar tist to perform at the Burj Al Arab Dubai in July2011.Hamza has sung, composed, and wrote for movies like:Superstar - Man Tu TalabatMission Istanbul - Mission MissionAggar - Ke bin tere jeena nahiDil dosti etc - Dum LagaAggar - Aggar (Title)Apna Sapna Money Money - Paisa PaisaJawani Deewani - Dil DIwana-Arabic VocalsAryan - Its a Beautiful DayNazar - Title track Remix - ArabicThe Killer - HibbakiPaisa Vasool - Paisa Vasool3 - Drivin Me CrazyAkhari Decision - Yeh AsmaanTurning 30 - Tinka TinkaAllah Ke Banday - MaulaShaapit - HayaatiFursat - Be CarefulWith his solo album on its way, Hamza now lives in Mississaugawith his wife Shabnam Hamza Faruqui.

DR. AJAY K.

VIRMANI

President and

CEO of Cargojet;

Film Producer

As President & CEO of Cargojet, Canada's larg-est cargo airline that provides a premium over-night air cargo service, Ajay Virmani throughhis tremendous business career has truly de-fined the word, "entrepreneur." His numerousyears in the transpor tation field in Canada havemade him a leader in this industry, owningand managing logistics companies with rev-enues, in excess of hundreds of millions ofdo l l a rs . V i r man i immig ra ted to To ron to ,Canada, from his native New Delhi, India in

1975. On arrival, he possessed a Bachelors degree, positive work ethic, drive and determination tosucceed in his adopted country. In spite of his determination and his drive to succeed, Ajay's firstjobs included washing windows and selling life insurance. In 1979, Ajay began working as a cus-tomer service clerk at Cottrell Transpor t. His talents and initiatives were soon recognized. By1982, he was promoted to the position of Assistant Controller of the 100 million dollar company hewas employed with. Ajay was soon promoted to Vice President of the Air Freight & InternationalDivision of Cottrell. This division was stagnant and was in dire need of an innovative new leader.Ajay fulfilled this need. Upon completing 15 years with Cottrell and being promoted to Senior VicePresident, Ajay took a bold move, and began his own company. In 1990, Commercial Transpor tInternational (Canada) Ltd., was established with Ajay Virmani at the helm. In 1992, Ajay expandedagain by supplementing the International arm of his business and purchasing Fastair Cargo Sys-tems, a major Canadian Domestic Freight Forwarder. By 1999, Ajay's companies had sales inexcess of 100 million dollars, over 500 employees, 12 offices across the nation and par tnership andrepresentation in over 50 countries, thus making his Group of Companies very attractive to apotential purchaser wanting to enter the Canadian market. Cargojet, under Ajay's leadership haswon every industry award, including "Cargo Airline of the Year" for the past ten consecutive yearsby the Shipper's Choice as well as many other industry awards. Cargojet today operates for ty allfreighter cargo aircraft carrying excess of over 750,000 lbs of cargo across Canada every business night,and servicing 13 major Canadian city centers.

DR. ALOK

MUKHERJEE

Chair of the

Toronto Police

Services Board

Alok Mukherjee has been Chair of the Toronto Po-lice Services Board since September 2005. He isthe Past President of the Canadian Association ofPolice Board and is a member of the Board of Di-rectors of the Ontario Association of Police Boards,having served as its President. With his focus onpromoting effective and affordable community-basedpolicing under civilian oversight provincially and na-tionally, Dr. Mukherjee is actively involved in Ontariogovernment's Future of Policing Advisory Committee.He is frequently called upon to speak on policing is-

sues to a variety of audiences. He brings a unique perspective to law enforcement issues from his experiences in a highlymulticultural and multiracial environment. Dr. Mukherjee has worked as an educator and a consultant. He has writtenextensively in a variety of areas including diversity and inclusivity, employment equity for racially visible and aboriginalpeople, and anti-racist education. Dr. Mukherjee has held several public appointments, including membership on theToronto District School Board Safe and Compassionate School Taskforce and the Ontario Civilian Commission on PoliceServices, and has served as Vice Chair and Acting Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission.Dr. Mukherjee has received several awards for his volunteer activities and for his outstanding work at a professional andsocial level. He is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal.

AMRIT

MANGAT

Member of Provincial

Parliament

Parliamentary Assistant

to the Minister of

Consumer Services

Amr i t Manga t r ep resen ts the r i d ing o fMississauga-Brampton South and was firstelected to the Ontario legislature in 2007.Mangat has served as Parliamentary Assis-tant to the Minister of Transpor tation, theMinister of Intergovernmental Affairs, andMinister Responsible for Seniors. She isthe first South Asian woman ever elected inhistory to the Ontario Legislature.

Prior to immigrating to Canada, Mangat worked as a teacher. In addition to teaching, she managedseveral small businesses and worked as a senior administrator in a law firm.Mangat has volunteered for various organizations, including the Rotary Club and the India Rain-bow Community Services of Peel. She holds a BA, MA (Economics), B.Ed., M.Ed. and is a memberin good standing of the Ontario College of Teachers.Mangat lives in Peel Region with her husband, Dr. J. S. Mangat, a prominent lawyer.

ANU

SRIVASTAVAFinancial Controller

of Arts, Culture &

Theatre Division in

the City of Brampton

Anu Srivastava, is best known for her effor tsin the field of community service, promotemulticultural events and celebrate South Asianheritage. She was instrumental in hosting theIIFA awards in Brampton and during the months ofthe awards preparation, she truly integrated with thelocal community, achieved strong partnerships, com-munity sponsorships and handled business relationsfor the City of Brampton. She programmed severalcultural performances in collaboration with the IndianConsulate & Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce for

Year of India in Canada. Anu is part of the Board of Panorama India as Treasurer. In this role she is the champion of all fundingand strategic direction of the organization. She has also helped organize the India Day Parade at Yonge & Dundas Squareand some of the significant events like Diwali celebration at Queen's Park with Premier, Panorama Indian Idol, India'sRepublic Day celebration, Maths Competition, Scotiabank Debate; to name some. Anu is also the Committee Member atthe Trillium Health Centre Foundation and Chair of Silent Auction for the Trillium Diwali Gala Fundraiser. The Committee &Chair which she has been a part of has raised millions of dollars for the Trillium Health Centre. "Om Fracture Clinic" inTrillium Health Centre was built through the funds that were fundraised. Anu has received several recognition awards andcertificates through the Government of Ontario, Indian Consulate and the levels of the government. Anu was recognizedas Midweek's top 10 South Asians in Nor th America. Anu continues to work tirelessly to service thecommunity and fur ther promote culture & South Asian heritage. Anu is married to Arun Srivastava whois a businessman and pioneer in bringing banking industry's cheque processing & digital imaging toCanada. She is a devoted mother to her children Rahul and Richa.

DR. ADITYA

JHA

Aditya Jha is a philanthropist & social activist athear t and also a passionate serial entrepreneur.His entrepreneurial pursuits include star t-uptechnology ventures (software product develop-ment and IT services) as well as brick and mortar turn-around businesses (Chocolate manufacturing, Real Es-tate and Fine dining/Fast food restaurants) in Canada,Thailand, and India. He co-founded a software company,Isopia Inc., after having a successful career at Bell Canadaas General Manager, eBusiness & Product Marketing. In

July 2001, despite the downturn in the technology industry, Isopia was a major acquisition by Sun Microsystems Inc., USA.His current entrepreneurial engagement as CEO (International Operations) is to spearhead a niche Indian IT servicescompany, Euclid Infotech Pvt. Ltd., which has customer base in over 100 countries. He is also the President & CEO ofTransCard Capital Inc., that provides financial services to tourism industry & Real Estate investment for Latin America andespecially for Cuba. Aditya is Member of the Order of Canada (Canada's highest civilian honours- recognizes lifetimeoutstanding achievement, dedication to community and service to the nation) and is recipient of the Queen Elizabeth IIDiamond Jubilee Medal. He was conferred Honorary Doctorate (2009) by Ryerson University's Ted Rogers School ofBusiness Management, Champions of Public Education in Canada Hall of Fame (2013) by The Learning Partnership. He is theCanadian Immigrant magazine's (Toronto Star) Top 25 Canadian Immigrants 2010, South Asian Philanthropist 2010 (Mid-week news magazine), and Top 30 Most Influential Indo Canadians (India Abroad magazine- Power List 2009). The IndoCanada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) awarded its 2004 Technology Achievement Award for his achievements in the field ofTechnology. He received CEO award, President's Award and was also selected as President's Club member for his profes-sional excellence at Bell Canada. He is recipient of community service awards and recognitions from various nationalorganizations. Aditya is the appointee of the Government of Canada to the Board of First Nations Financial Manage-ment Board. His academic appointments includes: "Member of the Board of Governors" of Sheridan College ofTechnology & Advanced Learning, "Entrepreneur in Residence" role at the School of Business, Centennial Collegeand "Advisory Council Member" of Dean, School of Social Services, Ryerson University. He served asboard member of two TSX listed public companies and on Government of Ontario's Ontario Investment &Trade Advisory Council. He was the National Convenor of Canada India Foundation (2009-11) and has alsoserved on the Board of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce and as International Coordination Commit-tee Member of Non Resident Nepalese Association.

BJ

SANDHU

Staff Sergeant

Peel Police

Staff Sergeant Sandhu began his policing ca-reer with Peel Regional Police in 1989, at21 Division in Brampton as a Uniform Patrolofficer. During his 23 years in policing, heworked in the Homicide Bureau, CriminalInvestigations, Neighbourhood Policing, In-te l l igence Serv ices and in the Divers i tyRela t ions Bureau. He successfu l ly pro-gressed through the ranks of Peel RegionalPolice, and now holds the rank of Staff Ser-geant in charge of a platoon of officers at

the Airpor t Division.From the outset, Staff Sergeant Sandhu has justifiably been proud of his heritage and has playeda very impor tant role as a police officer within our community. Throughout his career, he hasactively promoted policing within our community, and developed and built the strong relationshipthat Peel Regional Police enjoys today with the South Asian Community. His policing skil ls,combined with the intimate knowledge of different communities within Peel, have helped resolvemany conflicts and crimes over the years. While personally championing events such as "RaceAgainst Racism" and the "Diversity Cup", he has always encouraged inter faith and interculturalmeeting and dialogue, as well as called upon all of Peel's ethnic communities to actively par tici-pate in their local municipal affairs. His effor ts have resonated with the community at large; hehas won numerous awards for his contributions, and most recently was awarded the Queen'sDiamond Jubilee Medal by the Minister of Labour, Madam Linda Jeffery, where she dubbed him a"leader and a mentor" for the South Asian community of Peel. She personally thanked him for hisyears of public service, and remarked that "we are a better and safer community because of hisdedication to policing and public safety."

CEO, International

Operations, Euclid

Infotech Pvt. Ltd.

Chairman, POA

Educational Foundation

HON. BAL

GOSAL

Member of

Parliament

Minister of

State (Sport)

Hon. Bal Gosal moved to Canada in 1981 initiallyresiding in British Columbia. In 1983, Hon. Bal andhis wife Pawanjit moved to Brampton where theyhave raised their three children born in BramptonJasmin, Sanjot, and Priya.In May 2011, Bal Gosal was elected to the Houseof Commons as the Member of Parliament forBramalea- Gore- Malton and appointed as a Minis-ter of State (Sport) in May 2011. Minister Gosal

has made significant contributions to the community in Brampton both as a soccer dad and through hiscommunity involvement. His widespread involvement includes the Peel Region Police Services Board, theOntario Film Review Board, Brampton Board of Trade Marketing Committee, Peel Children's Aid Society Boardof Directors, William Osler Hospital foundation South Asian Round Table, Safe City Association Board, and Cityof Brampton Property Standards Committee. Bal Gosal has served as the Treasurer and founding member of theOntario Federation of Sports and Cultural Organization. He was also a Director, past Secretary, and Treasurer ofthe Ontario Khalsa Darbar Sports and Cultural Centre. In addition, he volunteered at the Brampton YMCA, actingas a director of Regional Council, and involved in the creation of the new Brampton YMCA building. Bal Gosalhas a Bachelor of Science degree and a Stationary Engineer 4th class Certificate. In 1984, Bal Gosal joinedMcDonnell Douglas Canada. In 1994, he joined Prudential Insurance as a financial advisor, which later becameLondon Life. In 2004, he became associated with Goodison Insurance and Financial Services in downtownBrampton and in 2008, Bal Gosal became associated with Rai Grant insurance brokers as he built a successfulbusiness in the Brampton community as an Insurance Broker and a Financial Security Advisor. As a Ministerof State for Sport, Bal Gosal helped promote, and advance the mission of Sport Canada, which is to enhanceopportunities for all Canadians to participate and excel in sport. He did so by developing federal sport policy inCanada, providing funding programs in support of sport, and by working together with partners to advancesport initiatives. The Government of Canada is the single largest contributor to sport in Canada, and is commit-ted to promoting a culture of sport and physical activity. Minister Gosal has supported our athletes during the2011 Pan and Parapan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, and the London 2012 Olympic and ParalympicSummer Games in addition to numerous national and international sport events hosted in Canada. In 2015,Canada will welcome the Americas for the Pan and Parapan American Games in Toronto. To ensure theseGames are a success, the Harper Government will make a significant investment in sport capital projects.

BOB

SAROYA

Bob Saroya arrived in Canada in 1974 with sevendollars in his pocket. Today he's a married fatherof three and a very successful business owner.Seeing his values represented in the Conserva-tive Party, and having spent nearly thir ty yearsin and around Markham, Bob is running for Par-liament in Markham-Unionville to bring his com-petence and jobs creation expertise to govern-ment, ensuring a seat at the table for all Canadi-ans.What's it like to move across the world - alone -at 17? What's it like to need to learn a new lan-

guage and figure out the new rules and culture? Most importantly, what's it take to survive?Bob knows.And he's helped create thousands of jobs in the process.Bob knows that the keys to success in a free, vibrant society include hard work, honesty, competence, andthe willingness to risk in order to get ahead. While others offer theoretical opinions on "the economy", Bob hasactually helped build the economy. While some elected officials miss dozens of work days each year withimpunity, as a business owner, Bob's work week is often 60 hours or more. And while some argue forspending more and more tax dollars on various welfare programs, Bob has spent his entire adult life doing thebest thing to minimize need for it - creating jobs.

GURSHARAN

BOBBY

SIDDHU

Gursharan Siddhu was born in England,but soon after he moved to India where helived most of his earlier years before hemoved to Canada in 1990. Bobby studiedbusiness information systems at DevryInstitution of Technology in 1997. He

began his career in the marketing field and in a very shor t period of time he star ted his ownfirm Alliance Legal Services in 2003. Bobby has worked with some very prominent lawyers inToronto such as Jack Fireman and Bill Wolfe. He has worked very closely with the JuvenileDiabetes research Foundation (JDRF), he is also one of the leading contributors to the Centrefor Independent Living in Toronto. CILT is one of a very few disability organizations in Torontothat is controlled completely by persons with a disability. It is a consumer-controlled, commu-nity-based resource organization that helps people with disabilities to learn Independent Livingskills and integrate into the community.Gursharan Bobby Siddhu is also one of the main fundraisers for many political par ties. He is asenior leader of Indian National Congress par ty, and an advisor to Punjab Pradesh CongressCommittee (PPCC). Bobby Siddhu is also the main advisor to Sardar Paratab Singh Bajwa(President, PPCC). Bobby Siddhu is very influential not only in the political circles in Punjab,but here in Toronto as well.He lives in Mississauga with his wife, son and a daughter.

Director of

Alliance Legal

Services

GINNI

SETHI

Ginni Sethi , President of Grand VictorianConven t ion Cen t re & Rad isson P lazaMississauga, and Chairperson at Black Dia-mond Enter tainments, is a successful , lead-ing business person who is making the com-munity proud.

Ginni was born and brought up in an influential business family from Jalandhar, Punjab. She holdsa Masters Degree in Economics and ha s excelled throughout her academic career.Owner of many ventures, she is an innovative, tenacious and entrepreneurial businesswoman.She star ted her career, when she landed in Canada, the country that she now calls home. Vision-ary in her approach, she took her furniture business to an international level turning it into a globalmult i-mil l ionDollar company within a shor t time. She also jointly owns many other businesses, namely in thereal estate; sof tware development; construction; hospitality as well as events and enter tainment, and has achieved success in all realms.Today Ginni and her husband, Harpreet Sethi who is a well -known community figure, are proudowners of Grand Victorian Convention Centre and one of the most spectacular hotels of GTA -Radisson Plaza Mississauga, that has been awarded as '2009 Carl son Hotel of the Year' .A strong believer in philanthropy, Ginni has been an ideal member of the community . She hasgenerously suppor ted numerous charities through the Sethi Foundation, notably , the sizeabledonation of half a million dollars to the William Osler Health Centre in Brampton, one of Canada'slargest hospitals . She is the recipient of the AWIC Women of Distinction "Helping Hand" 2012award and recently she has been awarded with the "Queen' s Diamond Jubilee Medal " from theLieutenant Governor General of Canada.

President of

Radisson Plaza

Mississauga,

Grand Victorian

Centre

DR. GOPAL

BHATNAGAR

Chief of Staff

Trillium

Health Centre,

Mississauga

A cardiac surgeon with exper tise in 'beatinghear t' surgery and a successful career in car-d i ac resea rch and educa t ion , D r. Gopa lBhatnagar established Trillium's cardiac sur-gery program in 2000. His philosophy - thenand now - is that "every patient would get theoperat ion they deserve using wor ld-classbenchmarks as the minimum acceptable stan-dard." Prior to coming to Trillium, he was onstaff in the div is ion of cardiac surgery at

Sunnybrook & Women's Health Sciences Centre, and the University of Toronto. Dr. Bhatnagar haspublished numerous articles and has presented extensively. Dr. Bhatnagar is currently the Chief of Staff andstaff cardiac surgeon at Trillium Health Centre in Mississauga Ontario and Adjunct Assistant Professor ofSurgery, University of Toronto. Dr. Bhatnagar obtained is MD at the University of Western Ontario in 1986. Heobtained is M.Ed. from OISE at the University of Toronto in 1999. His passion for health care innovation is onlymatched by the strength of his commitment to the wellbeing of the Health Centre's patients and community.

HARPREET

SETHIOwner of Radisson

Plaza Hotel

(Mississauga)

President of Black

Diamond

Entertainments

Chairman and owner of the Radisson Plaza,Missisauga and the Grand Victorian ConventionCentre, Harpreet Sethi is well known for his gener-osity and volunteer work for numerous charities inthe community and on an international scale. Sethi,began his career as a businessman at the ripeyoung age of 16 and soon became a leader in tex-tile and distribution businesses. He then moved to

furniture industry, creating a never before seen success and took his company to over 1 billion dollors inturnover and spread across 20 countries. Over the 30 years, Sethi has developed over 200 commercial condosand over 150 award winning residential homes, has been featured in the 'Builder Architect' magazine andawarded ' The Builder of the year' Award. To honour his extra-ordinary achievements, Midweek awarded him'Hotelier of the Year' award. He is also a strong supporter of various communities and business organizationssuch as, AWIC, Canada India foundation, Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce, Lions Club and MissisaugaBoard of Trade. Sethi has actively supported various charities such as, Sick kids foundation, BAPS, CNIB,Centennial Foundation, KKI Institute along with several other charities in India and Canada. He also supportedthe Salvation Army 'Toy Mountain' campaign with a charitable gift of $10,000. Recently, Sethi was honouredwith 'Enterpreneur of the Year' award by Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce. He was also awarded 'SouthAsian Person of the Year Award' at Midweek South Asian awards in 2011. Married to Ginni Sethi, who is alsohis business partner, he has two children--Priya and Prince, whose names happen to be the inspiration behindnaming their company, Priyance Hospitality Inc.

Federal Conservative

candidate for

Markham Unionville

NAVAL

BAJAJ

President, Indo-

Canada Chamber

of Commerce

Naval Bajaj is a dynamic entrepreneur and abusiness consultant. He is the President ofIndo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC),a 35-year-old Toronto-based not-for-profit Ca-nadian organizat ion with a coast-to-coastpresence. He the Chair of Greater TorontoBusiness Alliance (GTBA), and a member ofthe Advisory Committee of Canada's ChiefNegotiator on Comprehensive Economic Par t-nership Agreement (CEPA) with India.

Naval was invited to attend Prime Minister Stephen Harper's roundtable on economic affairs, held inToronto January 2011.For several years, Naval has been actively associated with several Indo-CanadianDiaspora organisations in Canada, and has occupied leadership positions in the Rajasthan Association ofNor th America (Canada) and Panorama India. He is well known in the Indo-Canadian community for hisstrong conviction in the Canadian values of volunteerism and giving back to the community. Three yearsago, the executive council of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, Canada's oldest and the largestbusiness organization with deep reach in the Diaspora, nominated him to the board of directors. In thesubsequent year he was elected to the board again, and became the organization's Vice President,handling the prestigious por tfolio of finance and administration, and overseeing ICCC's membership andoutreach activities. In keeping with his high-octane per formance, it was no surprise that Naval waselected as ICCC's 25th President in 2012 for a two-year term. Under his leadership, ICCC has grown tobecome the largest organization of the Indian businesses and the Diaspora in Canada. Naval has turned thevenerable institution into an agile force working for bilateral relations between Canada and India, and enablingIndo-Canadians to integrate better into the Canadian mainstream so that they are able to contributebetter to the fabric of the Canadian society and its economy. During his tenure with ICCC, Naval hastaken the ICCC to greater heights by incorporating it with the spirit of collaboration with othersimilarly placed community-based organizations.

KULA

SELLATHURAI

CEO Inter-

Citi

International

Kula Sellathurai initiated and executed the firstSri Lankan community walk-a-thon to raisefunds for the Scarborough Hospitals and ex-ecuted a membership drive for the CanadianTamils ' Chamber to recrui t new members,which resulted in a 45% growth in one year.He also played a major role in facilitating theintroduction of a South Asian Trade Action Planby the Govt. of Canada to the South Asian busi-

ness community in Ontario. Sellathurai is a Member of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, Memberof the Canadian Tamils' Chamber of Commerce, Member of the Canada-Sri Lanka Business Council,Member of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce. He was also honoured with Par tner is BusinessExcellence Award by the Canadian Tamils' Chamber of Commerce in 2002 and Volunteer Award bythe Government of Ontario in 2003.

NAVDEEP

BAINS

Former

Member of

Parliament

The Hon.Navdeep Singh Bains, MBA, CMA, hasover ten years of experience in the public andprivate sectors with a demonstrated track recordof implementing new initiatives and drivingtransformative change from the Ford FinanceDepartment to the Prime Minister's Office.Elected to parliament in 2004, Bains served asHuman Rights Chair, Parliamentary Secretaryto the Prime Minister, Chair of Platform Devel-

opment and Party Renewal for the Liberal Party of Canada and in several senior shadow cabinet portfoliosincluding International Trade and Natural Resources.Bains has extensive experience in advocacy and public affairs and a successful track record of fundraising forvarious causes. Bains is a noted advocate on diversity; speaking to groups across Canada and is the recipientof various community awards recognizing his work on the issue. He is currently a distinguished visitingprofessor at Ryerson University, Ted Rogers School of Management and a lecturer at the University of Waterlooin their Masters of Public Policy program.Bains is on the board of directors for Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) and is a member ofthe advisory board for the Mowat Centre for Policy Innovation at University of Toronto.

KHALID

USMAN

Director (Finance)

of the Canadian

Federation of

Intercultural

friendship (CFIF)

Khalid Usman is one of the Founding directors ofThe Canadian Federation of Intercultural friendship(CFIF). His vision of traditional Islamic humanitari-anism combined with his strong lifelong commit-ment to social justice encouraged Khalid Usmanand others to create an organization committed tobring together all major communities in the YorkRegion on one platform. A business leader, pioneerand philanthropist, Khalid Usman for the past 35

years has contributed his abilities to extensive voluntary involvement as an advisor, organizer, peace activistand fundraiser. He has won many awards for his advocacy work on behalf of the underprivileged and the needy.His voluntary activities also include organizing peace lectures and events, which eventually help in developingpeace and harmony among diverse communities. He has acted as a liaison between various South Asiancommunities to help motivate residents towards living in peace and harmony with each other notwithstandingtheir age-old political differences.Usman played a very important role in promoting peace between Muslims and Indian communities in the lateseventies and early eighties when the "PAKI" problem became a major headache for all South Asians. Hearranged seminars and meetings at the school and university levels to educate Pakistanis, and governmentofficials as well as other residents to help foster peace, harmony and brotherhood.

PARM GILL

Member

of Parliament

Parm immigrated to Canada at a young age with hisfamily, and resides in Brampton with his wife Amarpal,his two sons, Raman and Daman, and his daughterParmeet. After completing his studies Parm becameinvolved in a family business. He was first elected tothe House of Commons in May 2011 and was ap-pointed Parliamentary secretary to the Minister ofVeterans Affairs in September 2013. Parm has servedon a number of Standing Committees including Cana-dian Heritage, Public Safety and National Security,Health, and Procedure and House Affairs.The safety and security of our most vulnerable citi-zens is a priority for Parm. For this reason, in Febru-ary of 2012, Parm introduced his Private MembersBill, Bill C-394, entitled: An Act to Amend the Criminal

Code and National Defence Act (Criminal Organization Recruitment)<http://www.parl.gc.ca/LegisInfo/BillDetails.aspx?billId=5372401&Language=E&Mode=1>. This Bill received full support from the ConservativeGovernment. Bill C-394 passed the House of Commons on May 1st, 2013. The aim of the Bill is to protect our youthfrom being targeted by gangs, and making our streets, communities and neighbourhoods safer by providing our lawenforcement officers and justice officials with additional tools to address the growing concern of gang recruitmenthead-on. Parm believes in making our community safer for our children, respecting taxpayers, keeping our govern-ment transparent and continuing to make our economy one of the strongest and most stable in the world. Parmcontinues to be one of the hardest working individuals in politics, striving to contribute to a community and a countrythat respects the rule of law, economic strength, equality for all, and support for new Canadians. Parm makes it apriority to establish strong ties with all parts of his community through outreach initiatives - striving to be the bestrepresentative for the community as a whole and working to resolve the issues that affect Canadians. Parm believeshe has a duty to provide the best results for each constituent he represents. Parm has been heavily involved in ourcommunity in support of many wonderful organizations such as the Peel Regional Police, Toys-for-Tots, Amar KarmaOrgan Donation Society, the Salvation Army, Family Life Resource Centre, Canadian Cancer Society, Champions 4Change, and the Canadian Eye Sight International. Parm holds a conception of Canada that is based on providing thebest for our citizens. He wants to continue to focus on the economy as we enter our second phase of recovery - to fightfor lower taxes for our job-creators and continue to reduce unemployment and increase job growth. Brampton is oneof the fastest growing cities in the country and Parm believes, with hard work and dedication, we can continue thistrend by providing opportunities and financial security for our residents. Parm was elected by the great people ofBrampton-Springdale and looks forward to working alongside his constituents as we move forward together.

RAZA

HASAN

Raza Hasan is Senior Vice-President, Retail Lend-ing and Wealth Risk Management with the Cana-dian Imperial Bank of Commerce (“CIBC”). In thisrole, he is responsible for the risk oversight ofCIBC’s $175 billion mortgage and lending portfo-

lios as well as over $200 billion in assets under administration held by the bank’s Wealth Managementbusiness.Mr. Hasan joined CIBC in 2002 and has held a number of senior roles in its Retail Banking and WealthManagement businesses. This included leading CIBC’s residential and commercial mortgages division; aswell as its personal, small and medium sized business lending and insurance businesses.He currently serves on the Board of Directors for American Century Investments, a leading US asset manage-ment company. Mr. Hasan has been the executive sponsor of the CIBC South Asian Employee Network (CSAEN)since its inception. Today CSAEN is one of the largest Employee Affinity Groups within the bank.He is actively involved in mentoring and providing guidance to new immigrants and is also involved in fundraising activities for various (non-profit or not-for-profit) initiatives.In 2012, Mr Hasan was a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Award for his outstanding contribu-tions to Canada. Before joining CIBC, Mr. Hasan held leadership roles with Merrill Lynch Canada, the OntarioTeachers’ Pension Plan Board and Deloitte.He holds a Chartered Accountant designation from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Walesand has a degree in Accounting and Finance from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.Mr Hasan lives in Oakville, Ontario with his wife and four children.

Senior Vice-

President, Retail

Lending and

Wealth Risk

Management

(CIBC)

The BIGGEST South AsianMedia Group - Y Media

Y MEDIA HAS 6 MEDIA PLATFORMS• News Paper : Midweek

• Radio : South Asian Pulse

• Television : South Asian 360 degree

• Online : South Asian Daily.com

• Cricket : CPC Intercity Cricket Cup

• Events : Midweek South Asian Awards

We publish a weekly English newspaper called 'Midweek', run aradio show called 'South Asian Pulse', broadcast a TV show called'South Asian 360', organize Canadian Professional Cricket Tourna-ment and run an online news por tal called www.southasiandaily.com. We also organize one of the highly prestigious and the most suc-cessful events of the South Asian Community in Canada every year- 'CIBC Midweek South Asian Awards'

THE BIGGEST SOUTH ASIANMEDIA GROUP - Y MEDIAMidweek new paper covers the most relevant content for south AsianCanadians. We cover news from Canada , Community , International,South Asia , Business, Real Estate Auto, Health, Bollywood and Spor ts.Some of major news coverage from Midweek is also published in interna-tional media.Whether it was federal elections 2011 or IIFA awards or the Kirpan Issue fromQuebec Assembly -All these and many other stories were published first in Midweek and theninternational media for example times of India, in India sourced these storiesfrom midweek.Everyday 2 hours of thought provoking LIVE discussion on radio SouthasianPulse sets the tone for discussion in the Southasian Community. SouthasianPulse radio famous for delivering the stories behind the Headlines and bring-ing illuminating depth to the news content - We never shy away fromcovering contentious issues which do matter to South Asian CommunityGroup editor and CEO of Y media group Yudhvir Jaswal is arguably the bestknown Southasian Media personality in Canada. Yudhvir Jaswal & his wifewere recently invited to Prime Ministers Stephens Harpers official residence24 Sussex Drive. Yudhvir Jaswal appears regularly on Main stream media to cover importantissues. - CBC, Toronto Star, Omni News.Yudhvir Jaswal recently received Queens Diamond Jubilee Medal.Globe and Mail highlighted the power and influence of South Asianmedia and featured Yudhvir Jaswal

Yudhvir Jaswal is the Producer & Host of South Asian Live TV showon Rogers TV.Y Media also produces a daily Live show South Asian 360 Degree onSSTV which is very popular in the Punjabi community right across Ontario.At National Level on CBC News Group Editor Yudhvir Jaswal hascovered federal and provincial elections, 26/11 Mumbai attack inIndia, World Cup Cricket, Quebec Char ter, and many other news.International media also values opinion of Group editor Yudhvir JaswalLast year during federal elections Yudhvir Jaswal appeared on 11different TV channels including Al Jazeera International.Today Y Media takes pride that we have raised the profile and brandawareness of many corporate houses in South Asian Community.Many retail businesses today depend on Y Media to get best salesand return on Investment.There is only one common religion among South Asians community - CricketWhen it comes to cricket we are number one in coverage and no othermedia even comes close to the cricket coverage that we provide onall our media platforms. No other media covers even 25 percent of thecricket coverage done by Y MediaY Media group also organizes major cricket tournament CPC Intercitycricket cup to suppor t the game of cricket in Canada and engageyouth in spor ts. Our CPC Cricket team has defeated the Canadiannational team 4 times consecutively. Our CPC Team also won theOntario elite T20 Championship. Group Editor Yudhvir Jaswal is verypassionate to suppor t cricket in Canada.And when it comes to promoting Bollywood movies - Y Media has nocompetition. No other South Asian Media house does even 25 percentof the Bollywood movie promotion business that we do.In the Last tenyears our media house has promoted more than 200 Hindi, Punjabiand English Films. Y media is the leader in helping to Organize PressConferences for events and premiere shows for upcoming movies.We have suppor ted to generate millions of dollars in Revenue foeMovies and Events.In 2011, Midweek was the only English news paper used to promoteDouble Dhamal, Singham, I am Singh, Body guard, Jine Mere DilLuteya, Yaar Anmule and Don 2In 2011 Exclusive interviews of bollywood stars like Kareena kapoor,Dipika Padukone, Prakash Jha, Salman Khan, Priyanka chopra, Shahrukh Khan were done by group editor Yudhvir Jaswal .Redefining Technology and Media Landscape the ONLY news por talfor Southasian Canadians SouthasianDaily.com was launched in 2007.Southasiandaily.com reaches to an influential Southasian Canadianaudience of early adopters who demand up-to-the-minute newsthroughout the day.

6 DIFFERENT MEDIA PLATFORMS• Newspaper : Midweek

• Radio : South Asian Pulse

• Television : South Asian 360 degree

• Online : South Asian Daily.com

• Cricket : CPC Intercity Cricket Cup

• Events : Midweek South Asian Awards

YUDHVIR JASWAL RECENTLY RECEIVED QUEENS DIAMOND JUBILEE MEDAL.ALJAZEERA INTERVIEWS YUDHVIR JASWAL CEO AND GROUP EDITOR OF YMEDIA.

YUDHVIR JASWAL IS THE PRODUCER AND HOST OF SOUTHASIAN LIVE A TV SHOW ON ROGERS TVEVERY WEDNESDAY 8-9PM

YUDHVIR JASWAL APPEARS REGULARLY ON MAIN STREAM MEDIA TO COVER IMPORTANT ISSUES -CBC NEWS TEAM AT MIDWEEK OFFICE

GLOBE AND MAIL HIGHLIGHTS THE

INFLUENCE OF SOUTHASIAN MEDIA

‘ THE GLOBE AND MAIL IS A NATIONALLY DISTRIBUTED CANADIANNEWSPAPER, BASED IN TORONTO AND PRINTED IN SIX CITIES ACROSSTHE COUNTRY WITH A WEEKLY READERSHIP OF APPROXIMATELY 1MILLION. THE GLOBE HAS DONE A LOT OF STORIES FOCUSING ON THEBRAMPTON RECENTLY AND THIS TIME THE SUBJECT WAS SOUTHASIANMEDIA. ON SATURDAY JULY 27 - 2013 THE GLOBE AND MAILPUBLISHED A STORY ON SOUTHASIAN MEDIA.

By DAKSHANA BASCARAMURTY

As published in The Globe and Mail

obtained documents thatshowed his department spentnearly $750,000 over threeyears monitoring ethnic media.Mr. Kenney said it was "themost important reading" he didin the morning.YudhvirJaswal, host of theSouth Asian Pulse radio show,hasn't connected with Mr.Kenney's replacement, ChrisAlexander, yet but said localConservative party members inthe South Asian communityhave told him they're workingto get Mr. Alexander on Mr.Jaswal's show."As a politician, you want toget your message out to thevoters in these ridings as muchas possible," says AprilLindgren, an associateprofessor at RyersonUniversity and director of itsJournalism Research Centre. "Ifthere are language issues youneed to surmount or if youwant to show that you areengaged with that communityand listening to its concernsand voices, ethnic media are anapt vehicle."That desire has let South Asianjournalists score sit-downswith a range of politicians whomight not respond to therequests of mainstreampublications. "We have moreaccess to them and the otherthing is they're not afraid totalk to us," Mr. Grewal says.On Mr. Grewal's office wall is aframed photo of him posingbeside Stephen Harper andanother beside Bramptonmayor Susan Fennell. There'sanother of him in the midst of afireside chat with formerOntario premier DaltonMcGuinty. Last November, hewas among a small contingentof reporters who travelled withStephen Harper to India. Hechatted with the prime ministerover samosas in the cabinduring the flight. This spring,he hosted Mr. Kenney on hisradio program for an hour ofheated questions on policy.

Mr. Jaswal has interviewedthe likes of Stephen Harper,Jason Kenney, John Baird,Michael Ignatieff and DaltonMcGuinty on his radioprogram since he started it in2007. "On my radio show Iwould rarely bring anybodyfrom Punjab. Rarely. We haveaccess to [Indian politicians] -we can bring them - andpeople will listen," he says.However, "I think we wouldrather discuss issues that arerelated with Canadians here."A recent broadcast delvedinto Canada's municipalinfrastructure deficit at lengthbefore switching over to adiscussion on so-calledhonour killings. Mr. Jaswalsays he spends six to eighthours a day studying a mix ofmainstream media fromCanada and South Asia toprepare for his show.In the coming weeks, SamiDhillon, a Bramptonbroadcaster, will learnwhether his pitch to getmandatory carriage of hisproposed Punjabi-languageTV station - the CanadianPunjabi Network - will beapproved by the CanadianRadio-televisionTelecommunicationsCommission. Theprogramming schedule hedeveloped includes a showabout truck driving (a fielddominated by South Asiansin the 905 region), newsprogramming and an hour-long talk show aboutwomen's issues.Based on records from theNational Ethnic Press andMedia Council of Canada ,there are 75 South Asiannewspapers and more than 55radio and TV productions inthe GTA, though the qualityand staffing of them varieswidely.Ms. Lindgren says thecontinued stream of SouthAsian immigration to the GTAensures that readership,

viewership and listenershipwill stay steady. However,Mr. Jaswal says that reachingfirst-generation Canadiansisn't enough. His goal is toreach the rest of thecommunity as well. This iswhy he publishes his weeklypaper, Midweek, in Englishand why he sprinkles English- sometimes in the middle of asentence in Punjabi or Hindi -into broadcasts of his radioshow."Especially when we talkabout community in Canadaissues in English, then theystart relating to this. Becausethey've read about it inmainstream (media)," he

says.Like their mainstreamcounterparts, Mr. Grewal andMr. Jaswal face competitionfor shrinking ad dollars fromother media - some much lesslegitimate than their own."Ethnic media give more timefor whoever gives themadvertisements," saysJagmohanSahota, a well-known political player inBrampton who has workedon multiple Liberalcampaigns.Ms. Lindgren analyzed thePunjabi Post's coverage ofthe 2011 federal election, andfound most of the politicaladvertising in the paper was

from the Conservative Party.She said she did not see any"overt bias." She did note,however, that the primeminister and other members ofthe Conservative partyappeared in the mostphotographs and were oftenmentioned first in a story.Because his paper is free, Mr.Grewal says there's only onehand that feeds the PunjabiPost and he isn't yet ready tobite it."[Advertising] is where we getthe revenue from and wecannot go against the peoplewho are giving us therevenue," Mr. Grewal said. "Weare not at that point yet."

On the verdant,manicured groundsof 24 Sussex Drive,JagdishGrewal was

something of an outsider. Lastmonth, he was at thejournalists' garden party theprime minister hosts annuallyat his residence. In the sea ofmainstream reporters, he wasthe only member of the Punjabipress at the event.Mr. Grewal is the editor of theCanadian Punjabi Post,Canada's first Punjabi-languagedaily, with a distribution of25,000, and he sees himself onthe same level as mainstreamreporters. And increasingly, thepeople he writes about agree.Brampton's South Asian media,long dismissed as merelyoutlets that brought news from"back home" to immigrants,has evolved dramatically in thepast decade. Now, these papersand broadcasters cover manylocal issues, have becomemajor community influencesand even score better access topoliticians than theirmainstream counterparts onoccasion."Before, it was just like thenews from Punjab. Now if youpick up my paper, you willhardly see any headlines fromPunjab. They're all from thefederal government, federalpolitics, federal policychanges," Mr. Grewal says.The operations of the PunjabiPost and many of itscompetitors have becomesophisticated enough that lastmonth, the City of Bramptonhired a "specialty mediamonitor" whose duties involveclipping stories of interest fromthe city's ethnic newspapers(most of which are SouthAsian) and responding torequests from ethnic media.One qualification for the job isfluency in Punjabi.The city is following the lead offormer federal immigrationminister Jason Kenney. LastNovember, the Canadian Press

YUDHVIR JASWAL, RIGHT, WITH TECHNICIAN WAHEEDAMAJID, HOSTS PROMINENT FEDERALPOLITICIANS ON HIS SOUTH ASIAN PULSE RADIO SHOW.

(J.P. MOCZULSKI For The Globe and Mail)

MIDWEEK SHER-E-PUNJAB AWARD GIVEN TO HARBHAJAN SINGH

6TH ANNUAL MIDWEEK SOUTH ASIAN AWARDS SAT 12TH OCT, 2013

SATISH

THAKKARFounder CEO

EFG (Canada)

Past President of the

Indo-Canada Chamber

of Commerce

Satish Thakkar is the Immediate Past Presidentof the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce(ICCC), a Toronto based not-for-profit Canadianorganisation with a coast-to-coast presence. He is amember of the advisory committee of Canada's ChiefNegotiator on Comprehensive Economic PartnershipAgreement (CEPA) with India. He is the Founder CEO ofthe Excelsior Financial Group (EFG Canada) - a financialand business-consulting boutique which besides its regu-lar business also focuses on enabling newcomers and

professionals to turn to entrepreneurship. The beginnings of his consulting practice were distinctly humble - he routinely usedthe local Tim Hortons as his makeshift office for prospective clients. Today, the Excelsior Financial Group (EFG) is amultidimensional, multi-faceted financial consulting boutique operating out of 6,000 sq. ft. premises in Toronto. The Group'score area of operation includes commercial financing, accounting, tax and business consulting. Over the last decade-and-a-half since Satish immigrated to Canada he has been actively engaged in what he terms as "social reengineering" whereby heassists newcomers - irrespective of their ethnic origins - to understand their talents, and nurtures the spirit of entrepreneurshipin them. His belief in the Canadian values of volunteerism and mentorship led him to work with both newcomers andprofessionals as a mentor to guide them into trying their hand at entrepreneurship. Over the last 15 years,Satish has helped innumerable newcomers and professionals turn into business owners. He believes inthe philosophy that charity will only solve an immediate problem, but creating the spirit of entrepreneur-ship will help both the person and the nation prosper. Satish's belief in making a positive contribution tothe society by fostering the spirit of enterprise that led him to take up an active role in the ICCC.

DR. TERRY

PAPNEJA

President of

AIM for SEVA

While some suppor t it with a religious zeal,others guffaw at the very mention of it, citingmyriad challenges. The talk of India emergingas a global economic power is often a topic ofheated debate and animated drawing room dis-cussions. There are a few however who, qui-etly, but resolutely work towards making a dif-ference with an infectious optimism, stronglybelieving that change is possible.Dr. Terry Papneja, President of AIM for SEVA,a Canadian not-for profit organization workingtowards educating underprivileged children in

India, is one of them. Owing to the effor ts of Dr. Papneja and a dedicated team, the cause has receivedextraordinary attention and suppor t from Indo-Canadians GTA, in fact has emerged as the highest donorcity in the world. In last year's $2.6 million have been raised. People have donated funds to build 20student homes (hostels) and suppor t 600 children's education and all living expenses. Terry, as he isknown among friends and colleagues runs a very successful dentistry practice in Brampton, havingstaff of 60 people. While scaling great heights in his profession, he has also made addressing the mostcompelling challenge faced by India, a mission of his life. Education, he strongly believes, "is the onlyweapon against pover ty and helplessness". It is empowering and the only everlasting resource onepossesses. "One may lose everything, but never one's education. It is education alone that can see usthrough any crisis," he strongly believes. Terry set up a school in Kareli. He committed $6000 to helpbuild the school every year for a period of ten years. While he was building the foundation of the school,he also set up a tutoring program to help some poor students after school. Every day they would go to ateacher's house for extra tutoring which helped them tremendously to move to the next grade andcomplete their education. The number of students who par ticipated in the program grew steadily andreached 35. With a growing immediate and extended family, Terry found it difficult to sustain the aid andstar ted reaching out to friends, urging them contribute to the cause. Knowing Terry's sincerity, suppor tpoured in easily from friends and the program grew fur ther.

VASU

CHANCHLANI

Co-founder of the

Sigma Group of

Companies; founding

member of the Canada

India Foundation

Vasu Chanchlani is a serial entrepreneurand a philanthropist suppor ting projectshaving transformational impact. Hisprofessional career began with TataConsultancy Services followed by seniorroles at the Nor tel Networks beforestar ting his high-tech entrepreneurialjourney that resulted in successful exitsfrom six technology ventures. His technol-ogy ventures attracted world-class

strategic investor likes of Cisco Systems and venture capitalists likes of Kleiner Perkins. Vasuis actively engaged with his philanthropic projects and besides committing his millions ofdollars; he ensures that his suppor t is planned, sustainable and impactful. He co-foundedCanada India Foundation (CIF) for deepening engagement between Canada and India usingpublic policy advocacy platform by engaging highly successful group of Indo-Canadians andfriends of Canada India corridor. To suppor t his goal in giving India and Indians a globalrecognition for their achievements, Vasu created endowment of one million dollar to set-up fundfor the "CIF Chanchlani Global Indian Award" that gives $50,000 every year to the awardrecipient. The award recognizes global leadership, professional excellence and exemplaryachievements of leaders who have done India and Indian Diaspora proud. Vasu also donatedanother million dollar towards $10 Million endowment for star ting a "Chanchlani India PublicPolicy Center" at the University of Waterloo, exclusively focused on the Canada-India corridorand its contemporary politics, society and economics. He has donated $1 Million towards $10Million fund for Chanchlani Research Centre, McMaster University to suppor t in understandingrole of genetic and environmental causes of common chronic disease of hear t and diabetesamong South Asians; develop new strategies for their diagnosis, treatment and prevention;provide a productive and innovative training environment. He has fur ther donated to McMasterUniversity additional $500,000 for a $25,000 annual Chanchlani Global Health Research Award.Vasu has fur ther made a gif t of $2 million towards $5 Million endowment to create the Centrefor South Asian Engagement at the University of Toronto; which will engage the South AsianDiaspora and enhance understanding of mainstream Canadians to advance Canada's strategicinterest in a globalized world.

VENKI

RAMAN

District Vice-

President, CIBC

Over the past 18 years, Venki Raman has ledseveral large teams to success in deliveringhigh customer satisfaction, coupled with strongbusiness results. Venki's motivational leader-ship style of his current team of over 400 peopleis reflected in the enthusiasm and passion withwhich his team members help clients achieve"what matters" to them. Venki is passionateabout giving back to the community and is astrong believer in investing in the youth. In thepast year, he has rallied his team to raise funds

and awareness for impor tant causes such as the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and United Way.Venki also personally committed his time to train and ride 160 km in the mountains of Italy in the fall of2012, in suppor t of the new Humber River Regional Hospital, soon to be Nor th America's first digitalhospital. He has also participated in number of races including marathons for various causes and mostrecently, completed the Ride to Conquer Cancer in early 2013.Venki runs workshops where he mentors, motivates and inspires at-risk youths and newcomers tofocus on their strengths to help them achieve their future endeavors. In the past 18 years Venki hasemployed over 250 newcomers of different cultural backgrounds and help them grow professionally andpersonally.He has been a leader in building momentum and awareness within CIBC of the South Asian culture andthe potential of the Indian Diaspora. A key success of this was CIBC's sponsorship of the IIFA IndianInternational Film Awards held in Toronto in 2011, and the on-going strong presence of CIBC in the SouthAsian community.Venki is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his contribution to the commu-nity at large.

Vic Dhillon is a member of the LegislativeAssembly of Ontario, representing the con-stituency of Brampton West for the OntarioLiberal Par ty. Dhil lon is one of four SikhMembers of the Legislature. He was electedto the Ontario legislature in 2003 re-electedin 2007 and 2011. Prior to the election,Dhillon served as the Executive Assistantto Colleen Beaumier, MP for Brampton West-Mississauga.Dhillon is passionate about helping the most

vulnerable. He has always taken a leading role in many non-profit fundraising campaigns, suchas initiating drives for the food bank in Brampton, finding a new home for the Knight's Table foodbank that aids the homeless, and led a local group that collected much-needed supplies for thedevastating ice storm in eastern Ontario, Tsunami in Asia and the Ear thquake in Pakistan to namea few. Dhillon was also awarded H.E Queen Medal for outstanding services to people of Brampton.He also introduced Bill 189 to highlight the impor tance of Khalsa Day and Sikh Religion.

VIC

DHILLON

Member of

Provincial

ParliamentVicky Dhillon represents the residents ofWards 9 and 10, two of the fastest growingwards in the City of Brampton.As Councillor, Vicky believes that safetyand security is most impor tant for theresidents of Brampton, and he works hardto keep our city drug free and safe for ourresidents. For his dedication and commu-nity work the Peel Multicultural Councilpresented Vicky with a Volunteer Appre-ciation Award. He also received the

President Scouts Award. Dhillon's priorities for the upcoming term include: establishingworking par tnerships with all levels of governments; improving regional and local roadsystems; opening new recreation centres in the area, more spor ts fields for physical activities,and increasing programs to celebrate the diversity and cultures of Brampton residents;protecting woodlots, marshes and wetlands. Vicky understands the cultures and values in thecommunity since he himself has been a respected member of his community having resided inWards 9 and 10 for the last 15 years.

VICKY

DHILLON

City

Councillor

THE SHOW HOSTS

JAKE

DHEER

Station

Manager,

Rogers TV

Jake Dheer is Station Manager for Rogers TV, serving the Dufferin-Peel region. He served asChairman of Mississauga Board Of Trade in 2008, Mayor Hazel McCallion's Gala for the Ar ts,Culture and Heritage in 2010 and Chairman for Sheridan College's Big Picture Gala in 2010 and2012. Jake remains a strong community volunteer on boards of several organizations like City ofMississauga's Economic Development Advisory Board, Mississauga Chinese Business Association,Trillium Health Par tners Foundation, Heritage Mississauga, Mississauga Tourism West TorontoAdvisory Board, Living Ar ts Centre, Peel Children's Aid Foundation, Legends Row, Community LivingMississauga Tribute Dinner Committee and Volunteer MBC to name a few. He is also the HonouraryChairman for the Alzheimer Society of Peel and The Liber ty Silver Foundation for the Ar ts. He is alsoHost and Producer of the popular South Asian radio program, Sitaron Ki Mehfil.Jake has been honoured with numerous awards and recognition in the broadcast industry and for hisvolunteer community work including being named Mississauga's 2005 Citizen Of The Year, 2009Paul Harris Fellowship from Rotary International, Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, TedRogers Innovation Award in 2011, Mississauga Board of Trade's Employer Of The Year 2012and, was recently named Mississauga's Top 30 Most Influential people by Mississauga News.Jake's enthusiastic stage presence has led him to emcee several high profile occasions and hehas often been asked to be the Keynote Speaker at numerous events around the region.Jake is married to Geeta and they have two children, Sonia and Arjun. He is a stout vegetarian.

ROGERS TV - BIOS OF HOSTS/PRODUCERS

LISA HOUSTON Lisa Houston, of the "Houston We Have a Problem" segment, isone of our co-hosts at Today's Talk TV. Her fun, light, inquisitivepersonality is not only revered every week on the show, it is veryevident in her personal life. "Have fun, be happy in your hear t,laugh as hard and as often as you can is the best medicine for allones woes" is her daily motto. As a busy career mom, shejuggles her time between raising two kids to balancing her careerin the world of finance and insurance to contributing her time tocharity work….Lisa enjoys life to its fullest!A native Torontonian, Lisa grew up with a diverse cultural back-ground of Burmese, Scottish with a touch of German that exposedher to many different cultures and perspectives. Having the op-por tunity to co-host a show that is dedicated to helping peopleconnect to their community by highlighting events, programs andcommunity services is right up her alley. "I really enjoy interact-ing with different people, listening and learning about their expe-riences, you learn more about yourself and who you are as anindividual".When Lisa has a moment of free time, she likes tohave a glass of red in one hand and a good book in the other.

CO-EMCEES - HOSTS AND PRODUCERSOF TODAY'S TALK ON ROGERS TV

SHANNON ROSEShannon Rose's career in media has spanned over 25 years.From numerous jobs as a model for infomercials such as TheHome Shopping channel, to spokesperson on commercials andpromotional videos for companies such as Scotiabank, HSBC,the Thales Group and the Ontario government, Much MusicEspanol, to on-air personality for such TV shows as Farandula,Planeta Rock on Telelatino Television Network, and T.O. Latinoand Todays Talk TV on Rogers Television.In the late 1980's, she star ted her career in TV as host and seg-ment producer for several shows such as Ole, Hablando De, OTICanada and OTI International.In 1990, she became the on-air host for the music enter tainmentprogram Farandula for 6 years. From there, Shannon went on tobecome the host and executive producer of the TV show PlanetaRock on TLN. A weekly magazine-style show focusing on theLatin-Rock music scene in Nor th America and interviewing in-ternational music stars such as Ricky Mar tin, Enrique Iglesiasand Shakira.This year she became producer and one of the hosts of TodaysTalk, a 1-hour interview show on the day-to-day events andlifestyle for people here in Peel Region and Brampton airing onthe Rogers network.

CHANDRA HILLBorn in British Columbia, Chandra grew up in the west coast andbegan her career in employment services. A pull to learn fi-nance moved Chandra to pursue a career in that sector, whereshe remained until she relocated to Ontario in 1999. Chandra pressed pause on her career to star t a family in 2003.While raising four children keeps her incredibly busy, she wasmotivated to re-star t her professional career as a Host and As-sociate Producer with Today's Talk. Chandra's passion for fash-ion and understanding in finding the best programs and ser-vices for families has motivated her to help connect peoplewithin the region of Peel and what their community has to offer.

STAGE PRESENTERS - REPORTERS FOR ACCESS PEEL ON ROGERS TV

BRITTANY GREEN JULIA COSBY

Brittany is a currently in her final yearas an undergraduate student atMcMaster University, majoring in Po-litical Science and Communications.Outside of academics, Brittany is alsoheavi ly involved with in theMcMaster's Students Union. Much ofher time on campus is spent volun-teering time to mentor first years withthe MSU Maroons, volunteering MSUAdvocacy, and working as events stafffor Campus Events.Brittany currently interns at Rogers TVPeel as a repor ter for Access Peel.After star ting off as a volunteer backin February, Brittany has worked on anumber of different productions, in-cluding Daytime Peel. In the future,Brittany hopes to pursue a career in acommunications role.

Julia is a Repor ter for AccessPeel, Rogers TV’s weekly lifestyleprogram that highlights thepeople, places and events thatmake up the region of Peel. Juliacan be seen in and around ourcommunity as she repor ts on thenumerous events taking placehere. She truly is EVERYWHERE!When she is not in front of thecamera at Rogers TV, Julia workshard to hone her skills in themedia industry as a full-timestudent of the Broadcast Televi-sion program at Seneca York.Julia hopes to one day become asuccessful repor ter covering theissues that matter most to herviewers. She’s on her way togetting there fast!