Toronto, ON – Over two hundred members of the Toronto Armenian community gathered at the Armenian Community Centre on Friday, May 22, 2009, to take part in the first annual Hai Tad Day organized by the Armenian National Committee of Toronto (ANCT). The informative session which focused on major Armenian issues featured presentations by ANCT Chairman Shahen Mirakian, Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC) Executive Director Aris Babikian and Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Chairman Ken Hachikian.

Mirakian described the purpose of the Hai Tad Day as “one of the ways in which we communicate with the Canadian Armenian community in the Greater Toronto Area and let them know about the efforts of the Armenian National Committee in promoting the issues they care about in Toronto, across Canada and throughout North America.”

Mirakian discussed the responsibilities of ANCT, activities and initiatives of the organization throughout the past year, as well as future projects.  ANCT member Boghos Boghossian presented the new Frequent Donor Program which enables supporters to donate just a few dollars each month through a PayPal secured system, and discussed the need for ANCT to raise funds on an ongoing basis to continue to confront a growing opposition. Each and every donation will help ANCT increase the ability of the Toronto Armenian community to influence the critical decisions impacting Armenia, Karabagh, and the Armenian people.  The donation page can be accessed at www.anctoronto.org/donations

ANCC Executive Director Aris Babikian informed the audience about the work performed by the Ottawa office, especially the persistent opposition from the Turkish lobby constantly attempting to find “back doors” to try to overturn the Canadian government's recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Hachikian discussed several topics, via a live video stream from Washington D.C., including President Obama's April 24th statement, U.S Foreign Aid to Armenia, the Congressional Armenian Genocide resolution (House Resolution 252), the current situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and various other issues of concern to the community.

"Although the Armenian American community and the Armenian community worldwide felt incredibly betrayed when President Obama issued his annual statement on April 24, omitting the word Genocide, it is critical for us all to remember that we must not feel defeated," stated ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian.  "In fact, we should be motivated to take action; I encourage each and every Armenian in the United States and Canada to raise their level of participation in fighting for the Armenian Cause and to make a personal commitment to action," he added.

ANCT Chairman Shahen Mirakian	ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian via live video stream from Washington, D.C.	ANCC Executive Director Aris Babikian

The annual Hai Tad Day is geared to inform the Toronto Armenian community about issues that pertain to the community at large.

The Armenian National Committee of Toronto is a chapter of the Armenian National Committee of Canada, a grassroots organization that was founded in 1965 to address the concerns of the Canadian Armenian community on a broad range of issues.