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CKMS Community News, Newsroom

Kitchener Centre by-election: candidates offer ideas to solve child care chaos in the riding

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The reason the Kitchener Centre by-election was called is because the previous MPP, Laura Mae Lindo, stepped down and one of the challenges she cited was the difficulty of obtaining childcare.

In a presentation this past April to regional council, the Region of Waterloo Community and Children’s Services reported as of February, a total of 7,214 children ages 0 to 4 years were on the waitlist for a licensed child care space in Waterloo Region. The population of Kitchener Centre is about 19.7% of the entire region. (Kitchener Centre’s population, according to 2016 figures, which are the latest available, was 105,260 and the Regional population that same year was 535,154).  The government has announced beginning next year that the starting wage for Early Childhood educators employed by operators in the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system will increase to $23.86/hour.

With the Kitchener Centre by-election this week, CKMS took the opportunity to ask the four front-runner candidates what they think about the state of childcare in the region, the pay rise and, how if elected MPP, they will be able to influence staff hiring and retention?

The four main candidates are Rob Elliott of the Progressive Conservatives, Debbie Chapman of the NDP, Kelly Steiss of the Ontario Liberal party, and Aislinn Clancy of the Ontario Greens.  Three attempts over 10 days were made to contact the Progressive Conservative candidate Rob Elliot, but we did not hear back from the PCs in time for broadcast.

In response to our question, Aislinn Clancy focused on space and labour. She said that parts of the riding are a childcare desert, and Clancy believes more can be done to incentivise underused buildings such as community centres and churches, to develop childcare centres. Clancy also focused on bringing more respect to the profession of early childhood education and in doing so, continue to increase their pay.

Debbie Chapman said that she would like to see free childcare. She also noted that ten dollar a day care is great, but the waiting lists are very long and that puts parents in difficult situations.

Kelly Steiss noted that even though there is 10$ /day childcare, there aren’t enough workers to keep the system going. She was disappointed it took the Ontario government so long to sign on to the federal agreement. Steiss said early childhood educators do important work and paying them well is an investment in our future.  She also noted that $23.86 is a good place to start in relations with these workers.

This is one in a series of shows about the Kitchener Centre by-election in which we ask candidates some of the lesser-asked questions that are important to our community.

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

Kitchener Centre by-election: candidates discuss how they will attract medical professionals to the riding

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Whether you believe the Ford government is helping or hurting the healthcare system in Ontario, there is no question that the system is struggling with demand and labour shortages, among others. Earlier this year, the Region of Waterloo announced plans for a new hospital to meet the demands of a growing population.

However, as the Ontario College of Family Physicians recently noted that in September 2022, there were almost 79 000 people in the Region who did not have a family doctor. The College predicted that in a little over three years’ time, this number could double to 150,000, or about one-third of the local population.

To accommodate this, Health Force Ontario estimated that the Region will need at least 76 doctors, while the Waterloo Region Health Coalition estimates at least 140 nurses are needed.

With the Kitchener Centre by-election happening this week on November 30, CKMS took the opportunity to ask the four front-runner candidates that with these serious shortages and rapidly increasing population, what will they do to ensure the Region can attract these health professionals to the area to meet our current and future needs?

The four main candidates are Rob Elliott of the Progressive Conservatives, Debbie Chapman of the NDP, Kelly Steiss of the Ontario Liberal party, and Aislinn Clancy of the Ontario Greens.

Three attempts over 10 days were made to contact the Progressive Conservative candidate Rob Elliot, but we did not hear back from the PCs in time for broadcast.

First up is Debbie Chapman of the NDP, invoking the name of Tommy Douglas to establish the NDP’s credentials in public healthcare. Chapman is against privatization and notes that it extracts resources from public system. She notes there is a clear shortage of doctors, and much of that responsibility lies with the College of Physicians and Surgeons, who, she believes, need to admit more doctors into the profession. Ms. Chapman said we need to do more to encourage bridging programs for foreign doctors, and that we need to be concerned about nurses and their health so they don’t encounter working conditions like what transpired during the pandemic. Chapman says that private nursing agencies will destroy the public health care system.

Aislinn Clancy of the Green Party says that the government flushed money away by taking the nurses to court. She talked about how agency nurses are very expensive and undermining the public system. She said to deal with staff shortages, we need more spaces for doctors to be trained, encourage more people to take the training, find better opportunities for bridging programs, and provide support for doctors by encouraging them to work in multidisciplinary teams that would relieve their workload.

The Liberals have placed healthcare at the centre of their platform. The liberal candidate for Kitchener Centre, Kelly Steiss, said municipalities need to build infrastructure and support arts and culture to create a thriving city. Liberals support public funding and believe the government is putting the health care system risk.

Chapman and Clancy noted they want to find ways to enable foreign trained medical professionals to work in the riding in their chosen profession. While Chapman and Clancy focused entirely on the system, increasing medical school admissions and restricting private nursing agencies, among other ideas, Steiss also talked about improving the riding through increasing things like infrastructure and arts and culture to increase the desire to live here. The three parties we talked to all disagree with privatization.

This is one in a series of shows about the Kitchener Centre by-election in which we ask candidates some of the lesser-asked questions that are important to our community.

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

Kitchener Centre by-election: waiting on a train that never arrives

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In early November the NDP leader Marit Stiles introduced a motion called on the government to provide a timeline and funding commitment for the Kitchener GO Line expansion, which was then promptly voted down by the Conservatives (66 to 30).

With the Kitchener Centre by-election this week, CKMS took the opportunity to ask the four front-runner candidates if, after all the effort that has been applied, the government still won’t budge, what can they add to this effort?

The four main candidates are Rob Elliott of the Progressive Conservatives, Debbie Chapman of the NDP, Kelly Steiss of the Ontario Liberal party, and Aislinn Clancy of the Ontario Greens.

CKMS News made three attempts over 10 days  to contact the Progressive Conservative candidate Rob Elliot, but did not hear back from the PCs in time for broadcast of this story. The other three candidates responded and spoke to CKMS News about GO train service in Kitchener Waterloo.

First up is Debbie Chapman of the NDP who says two-way, all-day GO service is a top priority for her and her party,  and despite the Conservatives voted down the motion, the fight continues.

The Liberals have also called for all-day and all weekend train service to Toronto. Kelly Steiss, the Liberal candidate explains how people have been pushing for more GO trains and acknowledges the frustration riders feel.

Aislinn Clancy of the Ontario Greens noted how the PCs have said they are supportive of the idea of increased GO service, but then vote against it. Clancy has called on focusing on financial elements of the decision to appeal to the Conservatives. All levels of government to speed up the process to secure increased GO service.

CKMS asked the candidates who agreed to speak about  their familiarity with local transit is and if they actually use it, asking them “When was the last time you went to Toronto on the GO train?” and “When was the last time you took the GRT (Grand River Transit buses) and Ion Rapid Transit Service (light rail)?”

Debbie Chapman of the NDP had not taken the GO transit to Toronto recently, but does take local public transport

Aislinn Clancy of the Greens has had recent experience on GO transit and the GRT and highlighted the problems that she has experienced and heard.

While Kelly Steiss of the Liberals has not had recent experience with GO Transit, her campaign staff have. She also has recent positive experience with the Ion.

This is one in a series of shows about the Kitchener Centre by-election and in which we ask candidates some of the less-asked questions that are important to our community.

 

Radio Nowhere, Shows

Radio Nowhere Episode 38, 11/25/23

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Download: https://soundfm.s3.amazonaws.com/RadioNowhere231125Episode38.mp3, 58m00s, 80.0 MBytes

Facing Bonnacons Of Doom
Ruby Soho Rancid
Back In the U.S.S.R. The Beatles
Boys from Tralee Patty Griffin
Lo/Hi The Black Keys
Hypnotized Fleetwood Mac
Ten Years Gone Led Zeppelin
Stray Cat Blues The Rolling Stones
I Heard it Through the Grapevine Marvin Gaye
Classical Gas Mason Williams
Grey Light of the Moon Alex Seel
You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go Madeleine Peyroux
Ozymandias (with Warren Ellis) Marianne Faithfull
The Boxer Simon & Garfunkel
Surfin the Soil The Peace Leeches
CKMS Community News, Newsroom, Shows

Amid tax increases, Kitchener City Councillors struggle with previous cycling funding commitments, “We’ve gone way too far.”

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MP Holmes
Kitchener, ON

City of Kitchener Councillor Bil Ioannidis said that we have gone way too far with cycling infrastructure. The Councillor made the comments at the Finance and Corporate Services committee meeting on Monday, November 20. The committee was reviewing the city of Kitchener’s 2024 draft operating budget that is to go to the mayor for approval in early December. The budget includes approximately $5.5 million to advance the strategic priorities, which were determined in the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan. Some of these areas, and the funding given to them in this budget include:

$700,000 for downtown cycling grid and infrastructure;

$424,000 in traffic calming;

$300,000 trail improvements for the Active Transport plan;

$1.2 million for the Housing for all Strategy;

$117,000 for the Creative Hub;

$173,000 to expand community centre hours; and

$240,000 to launch additional special events, including one new major festival in 2024.

Councillors raised a series of questions about different strategic priority funding options, but it was the competing interests of cycling, trails, and traffic calming that occupied most of the meeting. In addition to Councillor Ioannidis’s remarks, other councillors balked at both the $700,000 given to the downtown cycling grid and infrastructure and the $300,000 for additional cycling and trail connections, while traffic calming, a much more important issue in many of the councillors’ opinions, was afforded only $424,000.

City staff tried in various ways to address the concern about too much attention paid to cycling which came from at least 3 of the councillors attending. Councillor Paul Singh asked where the $700k for the cycling infrastructure came from, and why it had been applied to the cycling infrastructure. First Jonathon Lautenbach, city of Kitchener CFO explained the city’s position and then Justin Readman,· General Manager, Development Services at city of Kitchener, elaborated the funds are the final phase of a long-term capital investment that the city agreed to undertake years ago.

Councillor Christine Michaud also noted that she’s not hearing complaints about cycling but rather about the speed that people drive their cars and the need for traffic calming. City staff said that traffic calming has been funded in the past and what is in the budget reflects what Council has previously agreed to, based on what each area needs. But Michaud reinforced her concerns, and desire for more funding, to contend with traffic calming and reducing drivers’ speed.

Councillors Dave Schnider and Jason Deneault expressed strong interest in improving signage in parks for trails and cyclists. Councillor Schnider noted you can get on a trail and go all the way around the city but there are no signs informing people they can do so. City staff assured Council a comprehensive wayfinding strategy is going to be revealed soon.

Councillors Ioannidis and Margaret Johnston asked about lighting on trails and parks, but were informed that lighting beyond the major trails (namely the Iron Horse Trail and the Spurline Trail) is too expensive.

The Kitchener City operating budget also included funding for new and continuing services and infrastructure. Kitchener City Chief Financial Officer, Jonathan Lautenbach summarised the tax increases for services and infrastructure, which include a 3.9% per year rise in property tax (that’s a $47 rise over last year) and 6.3% increase in utilities (a $77 increase).

Next week is the final week for any changes to the budget. Public are reminded next Monday, November 27, is public consultation night and the Council will also examine the Capital budget on that same evening. For more information on the 2024 operating budget, the city of Kitchener has a detailed description on their website here.

 

Listen to the show above:

Shows, Through The Static

Through the Static Episode 19 – 22/11/23

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A chill and laid-back evening with laid-back tunes spanning decades and genres. Whether you want neo-psychedelia, classic hip-hop, or indie deep dives we’ve got it here for you! Grab something cozy and check it out.

  • The River – King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
  • On the Run – Fat Night
  • Doo Wop (That Thing) – Ms Lauryn Hill
  • Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey (Medley) – Paul McCartney
  • 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover – Paul Simon
  • Derdimi Dökersem – Altin Gün
  • Everyone You Touch – Shearwater
  • High Horse – Kasey Musgraves
  • Guinesses – MF Doom
  • Be My Fire – The Blue Stones

https://radiowaterloo.ca/category/through-the-static/feed/?tag=podcast

 

Shows, The Regime

Drew Rouse on the Regime with Yenny – Part 1/3 – Includes his song: “The Mountain”

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Touring artist, singer/songwriter: Great Canadian! First Nations corraborator and advocate. Shot a documentary from horseback to support the Xeni Gw’etin First Nations people in British Columbia [posted on YouTube: Cayuse: In The Valley Of The Wild Horses – Drew Rouse 2005].

 

Touring artist, singer/songwriter: Great Canadian! First Nations corraborator and advocate. Shot a documentary from horseback to support the Xeni Gw’etin First Nations people in British Columbia [posted on YouTube: Cayuse: In The Valley Of The Wild Horses – Drew Rouse 2005].

Drew Rouse!

From The Void

From the Void #73 November 21th

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Welcome to Episode #73 of From the Void

Tonight is all about Opeth!!!

My new podcast with Co – Host Peri Urban is on YouTube, it’s called The Listening Eyebrow and its about deep listening to good music.

ALSO!!! I released  a new album. Everything, Vol. 3 Spotify, You Tube23 and Bandcamp or where ever you stream your music!

Subscribe to the Podcast

See you in the Void!

IG fall funding drive 2023
SHARE ON SOCIAL! #radiowaterloo
CKMS Community News, Newsroom

CKMS News 2023-11-21 – ACORN Ontario’s Rental Registry

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CKMS News -2023-11-21- ACORN Ontario’s Rental Registry

by: dan kellar

Waterloo – Over 8,000 renters have registered their units with ACORN’s Rental Registry since the grassroots social and economic justice organisation launched their map based online database at the end of the summer. ACORN Ontario told CKMS News in a statement that “the rental registry will track rising rents across the province.” which they say will “lead to better, publicly-available housing data that can help protect and create more affordable housing”.

Today’s shows features interviews with Acer Bonapart, the chair of ACORN Waterloo Region, which since its launch earlier this year, has focused primarily on tenant rights and housing issues. Additionally, CKMS speaks with Geordie Dent of the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations (FMTA), a non-profit organization founded in 1974 which advocates for better rights for tenants.  The show also includes comments that the ACORN Ontario chapter provided to CKMS News. 

ACORN Ontario told CKMS News that the registry was created by the Montreal based non-profit Vivre en Ville,  saying  “The registry was first introduced in Quebec and has over 30,000+ rents voluntarily registered. The rental registry is easy, quick and secure as it was designed to be compliant with SOC2 cybersecurity standards.“, standards that meet requirements for governmental use.

According to rentals.ca, which has for years tracked such data, average rents across the country are still rising at over 100$/month, with a one bedroom apartment in Waterloo averaging 1,944$ a month in October.  Two bedroom apartments are now averaging 2,543$ a month, nearly a 15% increase from last year at the same time.  

While many provinces have some form of rent control, in Ontario since Doug Ford dismantled the existing system in 2018, that control comes in the form of a 2.5% maximum allowable increase to the rent after a 12 month period. 

However, the Landlord and Tenant Board, an arm of Ontario’s legal system, often allows this maximum to be exceeded after being convinced by a landlord’s request. As Geordie Dent explains, the board approves the above guideline increase “in the neighbourhood of 90-95% of the time”. Additionally, the maximum increase also does not apply between tenants, meaning the landlord can increase the rent any amount they want on new tenants once the old ones move out.

The Landlord and Tenant Board does not specifically track how often they approve AGIs and their 2022-2023 report has a lot of incomplete data. A brief review of cases  by CKMS News centering on Above Guideline Increases on the Canadian Legal Information Institute, where all such cases are listed, reveals the 10 most recent cases were all decided in favour of the landlord, with the majority declaring: “The Landlord justified a rent increase above the guideline because of capital expenditures.”  

 While above guideline increases continue to have harmful effects on renters, ACORN Ontario told CKMS News the registry will provide “Greater transparency for renters so they can make informed decisions about where they choose to live”.  The statement concluded “Better housing data can help inform stronger affordable housing policies like those supported by Ontario ACORN’s ‘Real Rent Control’ Campaign. Over time, the registry will clearly show that rents increase astronomically in between tenancies on units that aren’t subject to rent control, and as a result of above guideline rent increases. These loopholes in our current rent control laws create incentives for landlords to renovict or demovict their tenants or neglect repairs until tenants get fed up and leave”. 

 

Radio Nowhere

Radio Nowhere Episode 37, 11/18/23

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Download: https://soundfm.s3.amazonaws.com/RadioNowhere231118Episode37.mp3, 58m01s, 80.0 MBytes

 

Baby Won’t You Let Me Rock n’ Roll You Ten Years After
Rosalie Bob Seger
Sweet Wine Cream
Moon Draws Water The Blueflowers
Unforgiven Apocaliptica
Chick Habit April March
Pyro Kings Of Leon
I Scare Myself Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks
I Want You Bob Dylan
Old Times Good Times Stephen Stills
New Speedway Boogie Grateful Dead
Cocaine Blues Dave Van Ronk
Welcome To Mali Amadou and Mariam
What Is Hip? (Live) Tower Of Power
CKMS Community News, Newsroom, Shows

CKMS News – 2023-11-17 – Reviewing the effects of the financialisation of housing

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CKMS News – 2023-11-17 – Reviewing the effects of the financialisation of housing

by: dan kellar

Waterloo – On Oct 30th ACORN, the grassroots social and economic justice organisation with chapters across the country, delivered over 400 tenant testimonials to federal liberal MPs including Waterloo’s Bardish Chagger. This action coincided with ACORN’s national housing spokesperson Tanya Bukart giving testimony to the National Housing Council’s review panel on the financialisation of purpose built rental housing.  Bukart’s testimony highlighted the effects on renters created by the stress of living in a precarious housing market, which has been transformed over the past decades, into an investment industry with profit seeking constantly driving up housing and rental prices.

Today’s show features interviews with Acer Bonapart, the chair of the Waterloo Region chapter of ACORN, and Mike Morrice, the Green Party MP for Kitchener Centre, who has been pressuring the government over the ongoing crisis in the affordability of housing in Canada since being elected in 2021.  Additionally, Geordie Dent of The Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations (FMTA), which advocates for better rights for tenants, adds comments on the financialisation of housing.

For the purposes of this review, the National Housing Council is using the Federal Housing Advocate’s definition of the financialization of housing which is “the growing dominance of financial actors in the housing sector, which is transforming the main function of housing from a place to live into a financial asset and a tool for investor profits.”  The definition continues “These may include asset management companies, hedge funds, pension funds, private equity funds, real estate investment trusts (REITs), real estate operating companies and sovereign wealth funds.”

The National Housing Council, which refers to reports commissioned by The Federal Housing Advocate adds “The financialization of purpose-built rental housing has been linked to a range of negative impacts for renters, such as evictions, rising rents and reduced building services and maintenance.” On this point the National Right to Housing Network, a grassroots tenants rights organisation also focusing on the national panel explains “Financialization of housing refers to the treatment of housing primarily as a financial asset and tool for maximizing investor profit at the expense of human rights among tenants and tenancy-seeking individuals.”

The show focuses on the financialisation of the housing market, immediate steps which could be taken to start addressing the affordability crisis, and the longer term role of government in creating and maintaining an affordable and quality housing supply to meet the needs of growing populations.

 

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

CKMS News – Report and support: Responding to hate motivated incidents in Waterloo with the coalition of Muslim Women

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CKMS News – 2023-11-16- Report and support: Responding to hate motivated incidents in Waterloo with the coalition of Muslim Women

by: dan kellar

Waterloo – With the recent release by the city of a new guide to navigate and report incidents of hate and discrimination in Waterloo, the Coalition of Muslim Women Kitchener Waterloo have yet another tool to offer from their growing kit to combat rising incidents of hate and discrimination.  The group worked with city staff and other community partners such as the Community Justice Initiatives, as well as the regional police services to create the guide, which  highlights the group’s online “Hate or Discrimination Documentation and Reporting Service” which is accessed at reportinghate.ca and receives hate incident and discrimination reports from across the country. 

This show features an interview with Sarah Shafiq, the director of programming and services for the Coalition of Muslim Women KW, an organisation which is described on its website as “a small, but mighty group of racialized Muslim women that have been standing up to hate, discrimination, Islamophobia, and gender-based violence since 2010.” 

The Interview focuses on the services that the group offers, the partnerships with the city of Waterloo and the regional municipality, and the surge in reports of anti-Semitic, anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and Islamophobic incidents reported in the past month.  Shafiq also mentions the feelings of disappointment and fear members of her community are experiencing, bringing up memories of the post 9/11 era of profiling and discrimination. 

This recent surge in hate incidents reflects the past several years of data available from both the Coalition of Muslim Women and Statistics Canada.  According to statscan, in 2022 police-reported hate crime incidents in Waterloo Region doubled to 144 events, representing 22.7 incidents per 100,000 of population, more than double the national average of 9.3 incidents per 100,000 of population. These numbers add to the 38% increase in hate crimes reported nationally in 2021, compared to 2020 data. 

The 2022 Snap Shot of Hate in Waterloo Region produced by the Coalition of Muslim Women shows a wide gap between the number of police reported hate incidents and the number of actual incidents which take place, with only 10 of 97 incidents that were reported to them ever being reported to the police.  With the new guide, the online reporting tool, and the other services offered by the Coalition of Muslim Women, Sarah hopes people will be comfortable in reporting incidents of hate and discrimination and be able to access the other services and supports the organisation offers.

 

Shows, Through The Static

Through the Static Episode 18 -15/11/23

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Today we start and end with some classic indie, and have an awesome 80s synthy dance party in the middle! Super fun late-night listen (or for any time of day), listen below!

  • Your Ex-Lover Is Dead – Stars
  • Favourite Boy – Half Moon Run
  • Come On Forest Fire, Burn the Disco Down – Rae Spoon
  • Blue Monday – New Order
  • Living On Video – Trans-X
  • Smalltown Boy – Bronski Boy
  • World in my Eyes – Depeche Mode
  • Subdivisions – Rush
  • Arias and Symphonies – Spoons
  • The Way We Get By – Spoon
  • Expert In A Dying Field – The Beths

https://radiowaterloo.ca/category/through-the-static/feed/?tag=podcast

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

Kitchener Mayor announces new housing incentives and new relationship with the performing arts in State of the City address

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MP Holmes
Kitchener, ON

In his annual State of the City address, on Thursday November 9, Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic made several new announcements, including new incentives to build affordable housing in the city.

Starting in 2024, the city of Kitchener, with the help of the federal government, will offer incentives to to build not-for-profit, supportive, and affordable rentals or affordable coops units. The initiative is meant to help construct more than 500 new affordable housing units and will cost over $5 million. These incentives consist of matching grants at $5,000 per unit to subsidize early-stage development costs. No-interest loans of an additional $5,000 per unit will also be available from the city. The mayor said more information will be release about this new initiative over the next few weeks.

This housing announcement comes on the heels of the previous announcement by Federal Minister Sean Fraser that $42.4 million of funding from the Government of Canada’s Housing Accelerator fund will fast track the construction of 1200 new local homes by early 2027. See the announcement here.

The Housing Accelerator Fund was launched by the Federal government in March of this year to assist municipalities to increase the housing supply.

The Mayor told the crowd how Minister Fraser noted that Kitchener has the most significant growth rate of any Housing Accelerator Community in Canada, of which there are about 500.

Other announcements the Mayor made in his address include changes to the community centre model to reflect changing and more diverse neighbourhoods and to help newcomers become more connected to community. The mayor talked about the city’s efforts to build a creative and ideas hub downtown and also announced a new relationship structure between the city and local performing arts organizations. This new structure consists of the city playing a larger part in the operations and promotions of the performing arts groups in order to boost tourism.

The mayor listed ongoing environmental goals such as increasing the tree canopy to 30% in all neighbourhoods by 2050 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, namely by converting city-owned combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles. He also noted plans to add a major new park near the Grand River, but did not provide additional details.

Despite talking in depth about housing, the idea hub, the environment and changes to community centres and the relationship with performing arts venues, the Mayor did not talk about the affordability or growing homelessness crises.

The ceremony was held at the Kitchener Market and featured videos with residents and each of the councillors talking about what has been accomplished in the past year.

A complete recording of the State of the City event can be found here. To learn more about the City of Kitchener’s 2023 – 2026 Strategic Plan and its vision for 2043, visit kitchener.ca/ourplan.

Listen to the story above

CKMS Community Connections, Shows

CKMS Community Connections for 13 November 2023: Fundraising Week, with guest Jack Bishop of the KW Santa Claus Parade

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Show Notes
Jack Bishop (a man wearing headphones and a blue golf shirt with a Lions Club logo sits at a microphone in front of a CKMS 102.7 banner)
Jack Bishop

Bob Jonkman makes a fundraising request for a new audio board, and talks to Jack Bishop, the chair of the KW Santa Claus Parade about this Saturday’s parade and the preparations that go into it.

The interview starts at 5m17s.

Online: The Lions Club of Kitchener

Santa Needs You! | Santa needs you to help make the 2023 KW Santa Claus Parade happen! | Saturday November 18, 2023 | Volunteer Today! | Students can earn volunteer hours! Adults can also volunteer! lionskitchener@gmail.com (Santa Claus holding a poster a la Kilroy Was Here, with a Santa Claus logo in the top left corner)
 

Upcoming Events

Podcast

Download: ckms-community-connections-2023-11-13-episode146-Fundraising-Week-with-guest-Jack-Bishop-chair-of-the-KW-Santa-Claus-Parade.mp3 (57.4 MB, 59m46s, episode 146)

Index

Time Title Album Artist
0m00s Theme for CKMS Community Connections ccc CKMS Sunflower logo (yellow petals surrounding a black centre with white wavies all on a teal background)
CKMS Community Connections 		Steve Todd
0m53s Believer Deceiver (torso view of two people exchanging a package, while one person surreptitiously reaches for the other's wallet)
(single) 		Space Kitchen
5m17s Jack Bishop tells us when and where this year’s KW Santa Claus Parade takes place: Saturday, 18 November 2023; it begins at 10:00am at the corner of Frederick Street and Weber Street, and continues up Weber Street to Erb Street in Waterloo. Why so early? The Toronto Santa Claus parade is on Sunday, and the KW parade is always the day before. The route has changed from north-to-south along King Street to south-to-north along Weber Street, it’s because of the ION tracks and wires. Any wires on this route can be dealt with. It’s about an hour trip, with the head of the parade arriving at Erb just as the tail leaves Frederick.
8m15s The KW Santa Claus Parade is a community parade, for community groups to show their involvement to the public. There’s no limits to the groups that want to enter. There are fees, because it costs about $25,000 to put on the parade: policing costs, paying the marching bands, and other costs. The community groups pay a fee of $300, commercial entries pay $500. There are other thoughtful community people that sponsor some bands. Jack may still be able to squeeze in one or two last-minute entries if you contact him right away! There are about 80 entries, including community groups, marching bands, clowns. Jack is still looking for volunteers to help out, there are lots of costumes available. It’s a good role for young people; it’s a good experience. To enter, click on the 2023 Parade Registration Here button on the Lions Club’s Santa Claus Parade website.
13m44s Jack tells us what happens when people sign up for the parade. There’s a meeting for volunteers on Friday night, where they get outfitted with a costume. Then people come back at 8:00am on Saturday and get slotted into the parade. Jack makes it sound easy, but he’s been doing to for a while. There are about ten core people who manage the event, but it grows just before the event. Planning starts in the summer, and it takes four of five months. Working with the City, there’s an all-services meeting: fire, police, ambulance, transit… The same people are involved in the Oktoberfest Parade, good practice for the Santa Claus Parade. Jack organizes the order of the entries; it’s mostly random. But Santa goes at the end, the main sponsor goes at the start, the bands need to spaced out. Jack has had 15 years of experience. The parade was going for 25 years before the Lions took over, so it’s probably existed for 40 years.
20m10s I’m Here I'm Here | Josh Taerk (man sitting on a park bench facing away from the camera. There is a dead-looking tree in front of him)
(single) 		Josh Taerk
24m13s IG fall funding drive 2023 Some of the buttons and lights on the sound board don’t work, so Bob makes a pitch for a new audio board. You can help by making a donation at https://radiowaterloo.ca/give.
26m11s Jack explains how the parade logistics are organized. The floats line up at Frederick and Weber all the way back to Edna Street. Just before the parade starts there’s a Santa Claus Run, hundreds of runners all dressed in Santa Claus suits. A Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer inflatable float leads the way. When it (and the other inflatable floats) get to the rail overpass and other overhead obstructions the float is pulled down out of the way. The inflatable snowman is 20ft tall, others are only(!) 15 feet. The obstructions are pretty consistent over the years, so people get to know the route. Jack makes the organization sound easy, but reminds parade participants to arrive early to get on the float well before it leaves. At the destination there are buses to take people back, the floats need to arrange their own transportation back. The bands have their own buses, assembling at The Aud then picking up the band members at the end.
35m15s Jack says that booking marching bands has been a big problem. All the drum and bugle corps are gone! Some companies that sponsored bands are gone, and the organizers are gone. It takes a lot of dedication, a lot of money, and a lot of experience to manage a marching band, and people have gone on to other things. Covid has been a big factor too. Small bands, rock bands, just don’t participate much in parades. The Regional Police have a marching band, but only participate in the Oktoberfest Parade, not the Santa Claus Parade. Band members are getting older, and it takes a lot of stamina to march for an hour carrying an instrument and huffing and puffing into a trumpet or clarinet. Jack is always an organizer, but has never marched in a parade. He knows lots of people, which helps getting sponsorships. There are not many people who like to ask people for money. Bob is asking for donations today too, but with inflation people are not donating as much as they used to. Jack finds that getting permits from two City municipalities and one Regional municpality is easier year after year, there are lots of volunteers, no paid staff, to do that.
42m44s Hobo Waltz (single) Chris Temple
45m12s Jack has been up since 3:00 in the morning, working on parade stuff. The line-up keeps changing! Jack finds there can’t be too many people working on one job, better to have one person do it. And that’s Jack.
46m32s The Lions Club was formed just over 100 years ago in Chicago, the Lions Club of Kitchener was chartered in 1937. The Lions Club, right from the start, has been involved in vision-related issues. Helen Keller challenged the Lions to be the “Knights of the Blind”. There are about 25,000 members across Canada, every small community has a Lions Club. They do screening of kindergarten kids, kids who have never had their eyes checked. The Lions are tied in with the optometry school at the University of Waterloo. They have refractors used for testing. Kids are referred to optometrists, but not all kids actually follow up with appointments. The Lions will buy glasses for kids who need the financial assistance. The Lions Clubs have just created two new districts, and want to take this project across the country. Another major project is guide dogs for the blind, started in 1985. That’s expanded to hearing dogs, diabetic-sensing dogs, stress-relief dogs. There’s a school in Oakville for the finishing part of training a client with their dog. It takes a month to get trained! People can apply to the Lions Foundation of Canada in Oakville through https://www.dogguides.com/.
54m17s Another major project is the Citizen of the Year. This year’s recipient is John Tibbits, president of Conestoga College. He’ll be in the parade as a celebrity! The award is in May, the search begins in January. There’s a selection process, nominators have to write a letter to say what the nominee has done, then a selection committee makes the decision.
55m30s Bob thanks Jack, gives the credits, and introduces the last musical selection.
56m27s Hey Allie autogramm | Music That Humans Can Play (photo silhoutte of four people dancing, they're coloured in vertical pink stripes, with a teal background)
Music That Humans Can Play 		Autogramm

CKMS Community Connections Hour One airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 on Monday from 11:00am to Noon, and Hour Two airs alternate Fridays from 3:00pm to 4:00pm.

Got music, spoken word, or other interesting stuff? Let us know at ccc@radiowaterloo.ca or leave a comment on our “About” page.

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Bonus Video

Download: CCC-2023-11-13-episode146-Jack-Bishopv30a7.webm, 177 MBytes, 56m57s

Show notes and podcast interview content is Copyright © 2023 by the participants, and released under a CC BYCreative Commons Attribution Only license. Copy, re-use, and derivative works are allowed with attribution to Radio Waterloo and a link to this page. Music selections are copyright by the respective rights holders.

From The Void

From the Void #72 November 14th

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Welcome to Episode #72 of From the Void

Tonight is all about Steven Wilson!!!

My new podcast with Co – Host Peri Urban is on YouTube, it’s called The Listening Eyebrow and its about deep listening to good music.

ALSO!!! I released  a new album. Everything, Vol. 3 Spotify, You Tube23 and Bandcamp or where ever you stream your music!

Subscribe to the Podcast

See you in the Void!

IG fall funding drive 2023
SHARE ON SOCIAL! #radiowaterloo
CKMS Community News, Newsroom

Housing advocacy organization questions denial of funding by Region of Waterloo

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Delegates representing housing advocacy organization A Better Tent City (ABTC) went to Region of Waterloo (ROW) council on Wednesday, November 7, asking for urgent help. The group was appealing a decision by the ROW housing department that determined ABTC did not fit the criteria for ROW funding.

ABTC has not yet received an explanation as to why it did not meet the criteria, and department officials have agreed to meet with the members of ABTC to explain later this month. Without additional and prompt financial support, the delegates warned, the project will not be able to continue.

The delegation included Jeff Willmer, Laura Hamilton, Marion Thomson Howell and Father Toby Collins. ABTC had asked for $236,000 under ROW housing provider funding scheme. This money would provide for dedicated staff to actively support residents to further stabilize their lives and obtain permanent housing.

Laura Hamilton described how the group began as a crisis response to unsafe living conditions and how it transitioned from an illegal unsanctioned encampment to a registered charity with community partners and over 100 volunteers.  Despite these achievements, Marion Thomson Howell noted how demand is increasing, “One year ago today, we had approximately 65 people who came around on a regular basis looking for support. As of Thursday of last week, we had 96 and that number grows daily.”

When ROW Chair Karen Redman asked about volunteers, Hamilton described typical tasks and the increasing demands on volunteers. She also described how much of the success of ABTC comes down to one woman, Nadine Greene, and why that is problematic because it leads burnout for the volunteer and excessive dependence on one person, which is not good for the organization in the long run.

Councillor Berry Vrbanovic asked, beyond finances, what the main challenges for the group are and what supports are needed to confront these challenges. Father Collins answered by characterizing the struggles of the people who rely on ABTC are facing. He noted the people they take in are extremely unstable and they need to be stable before they can start to move beyond their struggles.

Councillors Rob Deutschmann and Chantal Huinink tried to understand why ABTC didn’t meet the Region’s criteria while Councillor Colleen James asked how they are funded, if there is any government support, and more about the request for additional staff. Father Collins explained the organization’s revenue streams, the financial short fall, and need for staff.

Council noted the excellent work ABTC is doing, but, and while they understood why the group had made the request, some councillors were unsure how to interpret the performance measures. Councillor Craig asked about turnover – or how many people move on into permanent housing — on average per year. Thomson Howell, Hamilton and Father Collins reiterated their approach, highlighting that they don’t have dedicated staff to help people move on to other housing, and that was why they had come to council.

Councillor Jan Ligget returned to the turnover number and expressed concern over what seemed like a low performance indicator. She asked the group to clarify how they will improve their scores. Delegates explained how they can increase transitions with the additional  staff and when waiting lists for affordable housing are reduced.

No motions were put in place regarding A Better Tent City. The next Community and Health Services meeting on December 6.

 

Listen to the story above:

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

CKMS News -2023-11-14- Motion 86 and voter-led electoral reform

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CKMS News – 2023-11-14 – Motion 86 and voter-led electoral reform

electoral reform, citizens assembly, voting, federal election, democracy proportional representation, first past the post, waterloo region, fair vote canada, green party, ndp, by: dan kellar

Kitchener – On November 7th, Motion 86 on forming a Citizen’s Assembly on Electoral reform had its first debate in the house of commons. The motion seeks to establish a representative “Citizen’s Assembly” which would investigate alternatives to Canada’s first past the post electoral system, and inform the government on which proportional systems would best reflect the needs and preferences of the people in Canada.

The motion was brought forward by NPD MP Lisa Marie Barron, and built on the work of Mike Morrice, the Green Party MP for Kitchener Centre who was the first to second the motion back in June. Morrice’s second was followed by 18 other seconders from the NDP, Liberal, and Conservative parties, including Bardish Chagger of the Waterloo riding.  This cross party collaboration is exactly what Fair Vote Canada, one of the grassroots organisations who contributed to the motion, hopes will become standard operations in governments under an electoral system based on proportional representation. 

This show features interviews with Kitchener Centre MP Mike Morrice, and Evan Rosamond, the co-chair of the Fair Vote Canada chapter for Waterloo Region. 

Motion 86 was debated for its allotted hour, with many MPs announcing their support for the idea of electoral reform. Bloc Quebecois MP Martin Champoux applauded the motion, and called for MPs to have the courage to take action when it is time. Conservative MP Scott Reid stated the proposal was “half right”,  but recommended a referendum over a citizen’s assembly. 

However, support was not universal. Liberal MP Chandra Arya said that a citizen’s assembly would be “an attempt at an entry through the back door into a proportional system”. He then claimed that “Because of the proportional system, Israel cannot come to an agreement with Palestine.” Arya did not offer any evidence for either of his statements.

While the future of motion 86 and electoral reform in Canada is uncertain, the debate in the House of Commons will resume in the coming months, and with hope brewing around successful cross-party collaboration, Evan Rosamond remarked “it is better to talk a lot then to fight with everybody”.

Radio Nowhere, Shows

Radio Nowhere Episode 36, 11/11/23

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Download: https://soundfm.s3.amazonaws.com/RadioNowhere231111Episode36.mp3, 58m02s, 80.0 MBytes

 

7 and 7 Is Love
Skin It Back Little Feat
Sky Pilot The Animals
La Flûte de Pan Art of Noise
Venus In Furs (Stereo Version) The Velvet Underground & Nico
It’s Bad You Know R.L. Burnside
Born in Chicago The Paul Butterfeld Blues Band
Lightnin’s Boogie Lightnin’ Hopkins
I Always Get Lucky with You (Single Version) George Jones
Over Under Sideways Down (Stereo) The Yardbirds
Can Get a Witness Lee Michaels
Bitter Blue Cat Stevens
California Sun The Rivieras
House Burning Down The Jimi Hendrix Experience
What’s Going On Marvin Gaye

 

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

CKMS News – 2023-11-10 – City of Waterloo develops a new hate incident reporting guide

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CKMS News – 2023-11-10 – City of Waterloo develops hate incident reporting guide

by: dan kellar

Waterloo – As hate crimes and incidents of discriminatory hate have surged in Canada over the past several years, Waterloo Region has not been immune to the ugly trend, seeing the highest ever level of incidents in 2021 and then 2022.  As part of a response to these increases, the City of  Waterloo has developed a new guide to “support residents in navigating and reporting local incidents of hate and discrimination.”  The new resource “offers clear instructions on where to file a report and outlines what to expect throughout the process.”

In this show, we speak with Julie Legg, the Supervisor of Neighbourhood Services for the City of Waterloo, and Paulina Rodriguez, the Anti-Racism and Social Justice Advocate, also for the City of Waterloo.  The interview explores the development of the hate incident reporting guide, the importance of reporting hate incidents, and how this guide helps further the City of Waterloo’s inclusion and diversity initiatives, and create a city where as Julie Legg says “Hate isn’t welcome”.  

This new guide from the City of Waterloo was a collaboration which included community partners Community Justice Initiatives, and Coalition of Muslim Women of Kitchener Waterloo, as well as the regional police services.

In 2022, according to Statistic Canada, police-reported hate crime incidents in Waterloo Region doubled to 144 events  This represents  22.7 incidents per 100,000 of population compared to 6.7 per 100,000 in 2017 or 2.5 per 100,000 in 2018. In Canada, hate crimes rose 38% in 2021 from 2020, reaching 3358 incidents, and in 2022 surged even higher, with 3,576 hate crime incidents being reported.  That is on average 9.2 hate crime incidents per year per 100,000 of population.

As the Coalition of Muslim Women of Kitchener-Waterloo reported in their 2022 Snap Shot of Hate in Waterloo Region, only 10 of 97 incidents that were reported to them were ever reported to the police, suggesting that the police-reported numbers of hate incidents and hate crimes may be significantly lower than the actual number of these incidents that take place in the region.  

The new guide from the city, includes details on alternatives to reporting hate motivated incidents to the police, such as the reportinghate.ca website run by the Coalition of Muslim women of Kitchener-Waterloo.  According to Paulina Rodriguez from the City of Waterloo, these reporting alternatives are highlighted in an effort to support community members, and “meet people where they are at, where they feel most comfortable”.