We have a jam packed show! New music from Juno Award winner Danny Miles, we sat down with Joe Cash and he’ll let you know about his hot new single Citrus and how he’s overcome challenges over the years.
Plus, we discuss Fan Expo Toronto; some of this year’s guests include John Cena, Mr. T, Sean Astin, Denise Richards, Mel Gibson, etc! Marking their landmark 30th ediition, this is Canada’s biggest celebration of Sci Fi, Fantasy, Gaming, Anime, and Horror! Attracting over 130,000 fans annually, Fan Expo delivers four days packed with fandom fueled experiences. In addition to meeting your favorite celebrities, you can dive into immersive attractions, explore over 1,000 exhibitors, attend star studded panels, and stroll through artist alley.
Michael Druker of TriTAG joins Bob Jonkman to talk about all things transport, traffic, and transit. Micheal tells Bob about the history and the work that TriTAG does, how TriTAG performs its advocacy, some interesting details on the Light Rail Transit project and Phase Two now being built to Cambridge, how Phase Two can avoid the pitfalls of transit projects in other cities, other projects of TriTAG like the Frequent Transit Network, and the resources available on the TriTAG website.
Michael Druker introduces TriTAG, a local organization that’s been around since 2009, that’s all about people being able to more easily walk, bike, and take transit in Waterloo Region. The advocacy takes place through events, info tables at events, but the focus is on the website, the newsletter, news roundups, and the deep dives they do on policy topics and advocacy focus. There will be an election questionnaire for the upcoming municipal election. Sometimes TriTAG presents at municipal councils, and will sometimes reach out to staff or politicians, but mostly they encourage the public to get in touch with their elected officials.
6m50s
Right now the City of Kitchener is working on their Mobility Master Plan, something where more public input can really make a difference in what gets prioritized. It’s possible to be invested in a policy that’s just not possible due to, for example, budget constraints. Providing positive feedback as well as negative is very valuable; positive voices is something staff and politicians will listen to; they like to know their efforts are appreciated. But it’s easy to take things for granted when they are going well. Is it social media that’s responsible for negativity with council projects? Not just transport but housing and finance. TriTAG can offer a balanced view. It’s not useful to despair or not despair based on the social media algorithms. Michael has not seen a trend, either positive or negative, driven by social media. There are things that capture people’s imagination, in a way that other things don’t, even though they’re important. It depends on how much work is put into public engagement.
12m11s
Introduction to Cold Shoulder by Awake & Dreaming.
Does TriTAG reach out to the province on provincial transporation issues? Not really, most of their advocacy is local.
16m48s
Michael gives some of the history of TriTAG, starting in 2009 with the “Waterloo Region Rapid Transit Project.” Even then, the vision of TriTAG was to give people a choice is choosing their mode of transport: Walking, biking, transit. The issues even extend to land use. TriTAG lost some steam after Light Rail Transit was established in Waterloo Region, but it is now getting a fresh start. Even if transport issues appeas completely solved, there will still be a role for TriTAG. Bases on past performance, there will be lots to do in the future. Even now, there is an approved project for Phase Two of the LRT to Cambridge.
21m30s
The LRT was planned in two phases, there was no way that the entire project could have been funded in one phase. But now that Phase One is done, it does what it was designed to do, and people like it. This matters to people, who want to live next to the LRT. Now we need to bring this to Cambridge, but why stop there? One of the themes in the transit world is the cost of transit construction. When the LRT was proposed, it seemed like a really expensive project, but that was because it seemed unproven. Now that it does work, the cost on a comparative scale was pretty low. That’s not the case in other areas (Toronto’s Eglinton Crosstown LRT, Finch West LRT), and there are knowable reasons for why that happened. We want to take better charge of those reasons when we build Phase Two to Cambridge. If we build cost-effectively, then we can build even more transit infrastructure.
25m56s
What’s the resistance to Phase Two of the LRT? The project is approved, there’s an approved route, although there are some land use questions. Today, the actual barrier is funding — the Region of Waterloo is seeking upper level funding. Bob has heard that costs for Phase Two have ballooned; Michael says that cost estimates have ballooned. The cost estimates have gone up, in part from using the same poor cost practices used in the Toronto LRT projects. But we don’t have to follow the lead of those projects, we can follow the lead of Phase One and build it more cost-effectively. TriTAG hopes that funding can be used for programs that are more than just Phase Two. If we keep building, build in stages, build as we build other infrastructgure, then we keep the knowledge of how to build transit. Michael thinks that the main start will probably be delayed until after the municipal election, but there are other small projects that have prepared for LRT construction.
Other projects TriTAG is working on: “Frequent Transit Network”, already in the business plan for Grand River Transit. Frequent transit is a game changer, at 10-15 minute frequency the service changes qualitatively, people don’t have to allocate time for route planning and waiting for transfers. There are already some frequent routes, the challenge is to add frequency on other routes and to make it consistent, on evenings and weekends. TriTAG has just written an article: Why GRT needs a Frequent Transit Network. People already understand frequent transit from other cities and subway systems. Some people in rural areas would be happy with any transit service at all. Frequent service should be cheap and simple, no additional infrastructure is required, no additional ticketing systems, no new bus stops, only some extra buses and operators. Michael says some routes are already doing frequent service at busy times, although additional bus service will require more maintenance and may wear out the buses faster. But the GRT fleet is fairly new, Michael says buses have a service life of about 14 years. Bob has lived in places where the buses were 20 years old.
44m12s
Talking about the things available on the TriTAG website https://www.tritag.ca/: Newsletters, a weekly news roundup with mobility news, walking, biking, transit, and land use, highlighting what people can get involved in, consultations, feedback, events, plus there are analysis posts, and a series on LRT expansion called IONize Waterloo Region. People can subscribe to the newsletter and news roundup, and follow on the TriTAG social media accounts. Bob mentions an article Kitchener to Stratford by Transit. Michael lists a few other good articles, and reminds us of the upcoming muncipal election.
46m10s
Bob thanks Michael and gives the end credits.
CKMS Community Connections airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 from 3:00pm to 4:00pm on Mondays.
This segment with Regime Radio was aired on July 23rd and includes Tristan and Elliot performing at the July 17th, 100th Anniversary of The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 126 in Preston Cambridge. For video clips, go to Radio Waterloo on Instagram. Information about the RCL www.legion.ca
What’s up, y’all? Here is tonight’s Clean Up Hour, complete with a bit more complaining about Sony/Playstation — fun, fun, fun!
Tracklist:
Future – 2018
Curren$y, Corner Boy P, & T.Y. – Money Put Away
G Perico – Spray Bottle
YG & Shoreline Mafia – Hollywood
Larry June – Organic Motion
Phil Ade & Casey Veggies – P.O.P
Slim 400 – VIP to the Parking Lot
Jay Worthy, Kamaiyah, & Cardo – Bull****
Polyester the Saint – Midnight Jam
Snoop Dogg & Soopafly – Can You Control Yo ***?
Tha Dogg Pound & Paul Wall – Make Dat ***** Pop
Rick Ross & Yung Miami – She’s My Star
Wiz Khalifa, JasonMartin, & Ty Dolla Sign – Top Down
Rick Ross, Young Breed, & DJ Nasty – Do It One Time
The Pharcyde – Soul Flower (Remix)
Knoc-Turn-Al – Love Slave
Dom Kennedy – Miracle on 143rd
Khary & Abhi the Nomad – Beach Sounds and Oceans
Drake – Stuck
Lance Skiiwalker – Test of Times
Sango & Big Sean – Big Little Lies
Fred Again & The Streets – Mike (desert island duvet)
Steve Lacy – nice shoes / in your world
Latto & Doja Cat – Okayyy
Syd & Cube – Closet
Young Jeezy & Pharrell – Rumor Has It
Kamaal the Abstract (aka Q-Tip) – Even If It Is So
Rav – BET BET
John Wells – shoulda listened to nip
Suga Free – Santa Santa
Here’s the track list for the 8th episode of Audio Salad!
You can listen below via the embedded player near the bottom of this post.
CKMS FM 102.7 11am EST – 12pm EST
Start Time
Title
Performer/Creator
11:00:00
BACK & FORTH
PROLIFIC TRICKS
11:00:09
SHOW INTRO
JASON PATTERSON / PROLIFIC TRICKS
11:00:59
EGO
REBECCA SICHON
11:04:02
DON’T LIKE YOU ANYMORE
TANIKA CHARLES
11:07:05
FOLLOW
TEA FANNIE
11:10:22
POLITICS
PHOENIX PAGLIACCI FEAT CADENCE WEAPON
11:14:17
UPSIDE DOWN
PROLIFIC TRICKS
11:18:14
NATURALLY
MOKA ONLY
11:20:51
DJ SPEAKING
JASON PATTERSON / PROLIFIC TRICKS
11:21:57
RECIPE
ERIC SCHENKMAN
11:26:32
RUNAWAY
HIPNOTIC
11:30:07
DJ SPEAKING
JASON PATTERSON / PROLIFIC TRICKS
11:30:48
LONG GAME
CHARLOTTE CORNFIELD
11:35:44
THE PROCESS
ALANNAH MATTY
11:39:04
NO PROBLEM
CANDICE B
11:42:28
FALLING STARS
THE DELLA KIT
11:45:46
PLAY NO GAME
RAEYA
11:48:09
THIS SUMMER
PROLIFIC TRICKS
11:50:41
DJ SPEAKING
JASON PATTERSON / PROLIFIC TRICKS
11:53:45
BURY ME
ELINA FILICE
11:57:08
DJ SPEAKING
JASON PATTERSON / PROLIFIC TRICKS
See you next time, Thursdays from 11am EST – 12pm EST!
Audio Salad is an eclectic mix of rock, hip hop, reggae, indie, alternative, and much more. Each week will be a new journey, with an emphasis on Canadian talent.
Audio Salad is hosted by Canadian recording artist Prolific Tricks aka Jason Patterson and airs on CKMS 102.7 FM Radio Waterloo, Thursdays from 11am EST to 12pm EST & on demand.
My debut album, Down to Earth (2026), and additional tracks are available at ProlificTricks.Bandcamp.com & all music platforms.
I can be reached at ProlificTrickery@Gmail.com or on Instagram @ProlificTrickery @AudioSaladCKMS and would love to hear from you!
Aislinn Clancy and Petemi Ajibode are our studio guests today on The Agriculture Show. Aislinn and Petemi brought some great work stories, agricultural stories, and tunes to play. Our playlist:
Kitchener, ON — For the first time, King Street in downtown Kitchener has been transformed into a week-long pedestrian-only space as the City launches King Street Unplugged, a pilot project aimed at creating a more people-focused downtown.
Running from July 26 to 31, the event closes a section of King Street between College and Young Streets to vehicle traffic, replacing it with live entertainment, games, workshops, markets and family-friendly activities. Mayor Berry Vrbanovic says the initiative builds on previous car-free events but marks the city’s first attempt at a week-long pedestrian experience.
Manager of Downtown Development and Innovation Aura Hertzog says the project responds to community feedback seeking more welcoming public spaces where residents can connect while supporting local businesses. If successful, the pilot could become an annual event.
The city will evaluate the initiative by gathering feedback from businesses and visitors, monitoring attendance and measuring community engagement throughout the week.
Local businesses are already seeing positive signs. Mandy Kowitz, owner of Square Peg, says she noticed increased foot traffic on the first day and expects more customers throughout the week.
Visitors also welcomed the idea. Resident Mila Purcell says closing King Street for a full week creates a more enjoyable downtown experience and hopes the event returns next year.
My music is also available at golenkazzian.bandcamp.com and can be heard 24/7 at https://www.youtube.com/@GolenKazzian or https://hello.citrus3.com:2020/public/gokazz (24/7 radio station)
Episode XXXII of Reader’s Delight features authors Alison Gadsby, Crystal AJ Smith, and John Degen, as well as What’s In A Name with Erica and Andrew from Old Goat Books in Waterloo, Ontario.
Crystal AJ Smith and I talk about her debut novel Gitwaałtk (Gordon Hill Press and The Porcupine’s Quill, 2026), the characters she created, the Highway of Tears, and what prompted her to write the book, then she reads from the novel.
Book: Gitwaałtk
John Degen discusses the genre of “Nordic Noir” and the crafting of his new novel, the whodunnit Seldom Seen Road (Latitude 46 Publishing, 2026) before reading an excerpt from the beginning of the book.
Social Media:
Instagram: @jkdegen
Facebook: John Degen
TikTok: Shore Report
Book: Seldom Seen Road
Erica and Andrew from Old Goat Books in Waterloo, Ontario tell us how the name of the store came about.
Adrean Farrugia, jazz pianist and educator, talks to Bob Jonkman about improvisation, commercial music, composing music, performing, and Adrean’s performances at the Uptown Waterloo Jazz Festival.
Talking about the time signature of High Five, in five/fourths time. Introducing Adrean Farrugia, pianist, composer, jazz musician, and teacher. Adrean talks about his teaching career and the Contemporary and Commercial Music program at the Wilfrid Laurier Faculty of Music. Laurier celebrated its 50th anniversary, and has expanded its Faculty of Music from mostly classical to jazz.
10m05s
Talking about Improvisation — how can you teach that? There is an impression of “lesserness” for improvised music. But high-level improvisation requires a vast skillset on one’s instrument, a level of technical mastery that is comparable to that of a concert pianist, and on top of that there needs to be a deep grasp of musical theory, and the ability to apply it. Adrean compares improvisation to having a conversation: using a set vocabulary and grammar to spontandeously express ideas. Many of the skill sets for classical music and jazz music are identical, but they are different styles, for different audiences. At Laurier the classical and contempory music is not siloed, but integrated together. Adrean is teaching an improv class equally populated by jazz and classical majors.
16m11s
Is jazz and classical “commercial” music? Not like rock, pop, and hip hop. But the disciplines of rock, funk, gospel, hip hop, country are all rooted in jazz music. If you study jazz then you’ll be quite well equipped to play in a funk or R&B band. Adrean likens it to chef school: Why would a Japanese chef specializing in tepanyaki study French cuisine? But when you study culinary arts you study everything to get broad knowledge, and filter that into a specialty. The vast majority of jazz students don’t become jazz musicians, but become really well educated rock and pop musicians, or film or video music composers. As a “commercial” music program there are courses for music production, and business of music courses to address writing grants, booking tours, promotion.
20m59s
Talking about composing music as a part of “commercial” music. In jazz there is a culture of writing your own music; in classical music a performer can have a good career without ever composing anything. Adrean tells us about composing “production music”, music written specifically for use as licenced music for film. Music is written and performed in particular styles, and searchable in the music libraries. This is not AI generated music! Adrean has produced a few “production music” albums, and has heard it used in movies and commercials. But even with billions of plays on the internet, there is not a lot of revenue from royalties. No-one is getting rich from writing music, unlike the 1950s when someone could write a hit song and retire on the proceeds from that one song. Adrean doesn’t consider himself a ‘Composer’, but a performer who composes.
27m03s
Introducing Blued Dharma, talking about performing as a duo, and how actual jazz music is different from production music.
The challenges of peforming as a duo. Challenging for the listeners too. Talking about playing in other groups, and upcoming albums. New albums provide an excuse for touring and booking some gigs, almost certainly at The Jazz Room.
39m55s
Talking about upcoming performance at the Uptown Waterloo Jazz Festival, Friday at 3:00pm backing for Jessica Lalond, and on Sunday at 1:30pm with his own band: Adrean Farrugia on Piano with bassist Roberto Occhipinti, drummer Ethan Ardelli, saxphonist Allison Au, and special guest Brad Good on trumpet. Shoutout to Derek Hines, the music director for the Jazz Festival. Festivals have been declining, but Adrean says they’re important cultural events for communities.
44m00s
Cultural events provide a way for an audience to be connected to performers — it is too easy today to not engage with the rest of humanity. But Adrean sees just the opposite in the students he teaches; some reject technology in order to hang out “in real life”. Adrean gives the example that young people have far more diverse Spotify playlists than older people. Older generations derived their identities from music, but younger people listen to music because they like it. One silver lining to streaming services is that it makes music more accessible. Adrean says today’s music students are leagues better than students from the 1990s. But the convenience of streaming can still breed bad habits of laziness, entitlement.
50m28s
A hasty summary of the Jazz Festival and a hasty goodbye.
CKMS Community Connections airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 from 3:00pm to 4:00pm on Mondays and alternate Fridays.
Packing is local to Kitchener and they visited Regime Radio for interview and live jam! Thank you Packing! @wearepacking on IG – Packing on streaming platforms.
Regime Radio Waterloo support local arts, groups, and businesses
Packing are a local Kitchener band, consisting, per image from left to right: Dylan, Emmit, Matt, and Carlos.
by: dan kellar
Waterloo, ON – Throughout the summer, youth in Waterloo region will be organizing weekly fresh produce markets with vegetables grown at 6 communities gardens and sourced from several local farms. Dozens of youth, aged 14-19 are participating in theYouth in Food Systemsprogram which involves innovative approaches to garden and market management.
In a press release, Grace Ihejiamaizu, the Program Manager for Youth in Food Systems wrote “This year, youth Market Leaders have also helped design different Pay What You Choose approaches for their markets, exploring how fresh, local food can be made more accessible while giving young people practical experience in leadership, teamwork and community engagement.”
The markets run every Wednesday until August 26 at Eastwood Collegiate Institute and Victoria Hills Community Centre in Kitchener, from 4:00pm – 6:00pm, and at the Fiddlesticks Community Centre in Cambridge from 3:00pm – 5:30pm.
This show features an interview with Luma Abuarqoub, the summer Youth Program Assistant for the Youth in Food Systems program. Luma details the work of the youth, and we discuss where the program fits in larger efforts of food security, and how the hazardous air quality brought on by climate change fueled forest fires in northern Ontario have affected their operations this summer.
The YFS program, now in its 5th year, is organised by Seeds of Diversity, a Waterloo based charity focused on seed-saving and resilience in local food systems.
What’s up, y’all? Like I always do about this time — first up, here are the submissions to the station that I have added to Libretime in the past week:
Laura Kelsey
Hidden Mountains
Folk
CanCon
The Phantom Rebels
Wake Up – Single
Rock
CanCon
The Scornful Four
Hopeful Music for Hopeless People
Jazz
No
Ryan Lindsay
Three Long Hauls – Single
Country
CanCon
Curio Curio
Curio Curio
World
No
Suralin
Every Day Slices Me
Rock
No
Don Denaburg & Friends
Hey Gordon – Single
Folk
CanCon
Shy Blossom
Eternity – Single
Rock
No
Avem
Avem
Punk
Tracks 10, 12-13, and 15 are explicit
CanCon
The Legendary Ten Seconds
Mellotron & Guitar
Folk
Instrumental
No
Chapter 33
Chapter 33
Punk
Track 5 is explicit
CanCon
Nelson Sobral
Searching For A Higher Love – Single
Blues
CanCon
Lauren Minear
Ellie – Single
Alternative
No
Scarlett Macfarlane
Ever After – Single
Pop
No
Jont
Another World – Single
Folk
CanCon
Strange Plants
What A Time – Single
Rock
CanCon
Erick Schenkman
Recipe – Single
Rock
CanCon
Michael Antelope
Calls Out The Window
Folk
CanCon
Alanna Matty
Epilogue
Folk
CanCon
Matt Johner
Luckiest Man Around
Country
CanCon
Kami
Week_8 – Single
Rock
CanCon
The Planetoids & bandcalledband
blue jeans – Single
Pop
No
Jay Williams
Club Dystopia – Single
Electronic
No
Ash Ravens
Last Letter From An Alien
Rock
CanCon
Igor Lisul
I Will Always Love You – Single
Rock/Instrumental
No
Rise Carmine
Under the Red Light
Rock
CanCon
Freshwater Funk
FWF Volume 2
Jazz
CanCon/KWCon
Janice Lacy
Embraced – Single
New Age
No
def sera
Uncomfortable – Single
Electronic
Features Oatmilkandcodeine
CanCon
Me, You, and My Metronome
Family Plan
Rock
CanCon
Felicity Hamer & Black Leather Rose
Felicity Hamer & Black Leather Rose
Folk
CanCon
The Goods
Summer’s Almost Gone – Single
Rock
No
Hayden Ryann
Walk Through Fire – Single
Country
Radio Edit Available
CanCon
Nylon Phoenix
Magenta – Single
Rock
No
Firas Zreik
Tarabesque
Jazz
No
Nora Stanley
Glass
Rock
No
Katherine Perkins
Molecules – Single
Folk
No
Carina
What U Like – Single
Pop
CanCon
Here is tonight’s Horizon Broadening Hour:
Tracklist:
Janice Lacy – Embraced
The Scornful Four – Sun Drenched Son
Firas Zriek – Fields of Figs
Curio Curio – Amor Doente
Freshwater Funk – Smooth Sailing
def sera & oatmilkandcodeine – Uncomfortable
Carina – What U Like
The Planetoids & bandcalledband – blue jeans
Tryangle Man – Tooka Martini
Joe Cash – CITRUS
The Legendary Ten Seconds – Old Torquay Fire Brigade
Laura Kelsey – 3327
Michael Antelope – Mud Jeans
Alanna Matty – Kitchens Scissors
Katherine Perkins – Molecules
Felicity Hamer & Black Leather Rose – Jeu Cruel
Matt Johner – Nothing Looks Good On You
Ryan Lindsay – Three Long Hauls
Don Denaburg & Friends – Hey Gordon
Avem – Another Trumpet Flower, Please
Chapter 33 – Digital Parents
Me, You, and My Metronome – Summer Stains
Kami – Week_8
Ash Ravens – Daydream Glow
Shy Blossom – Eternity
Nora Stanley – St. Elmo’s Fire
Quadra Sound – In Good Time
Rise Carmine – Terrestrial Love
The Goods – Summer’s Almost Gone
Igor Lisul – I Will Always Love You
ERITREAN COMMUNITY RADIO 26 JULY 2026 SHOW, ARTICLES ERITREAN FESTIVALS, ABOUT FINAL FIFA WORLD CUP 2026, TEN IMPORTANT POINTS TO KNOW ABOUT CANADA, INTRODUCING VILLAGES AND CITEIS FROM ASMARA TO FILFIL SOLOMUNA, AUDIENCE MESSAGES , ONTARIO WEATHER FORECAST.
Didn’t have time to prepare an actual show this week, so rather than skip it I decided to live up to the show’s name and literally put (the highlights of) my library on shuffle, testing my knowledge of my own library on the fly. The results are definitely a little scuffed. But maybe charmingly so? I stand by enough of the tracks that showed up, anyway. Less so my chatter. Will hopefully be better with a slightly more curated library next time. I’d say more than half of these are tracks that I would put on an actual show.
Next tracks would’ve been Nine Inch Nails’ “Sanctified” and X’s “The World’s a Mess, It’s in My Kiss”. Those would’ve been good ones to play. Ah well.
Recording
Tracks played
Meat Puppets — “Split Myself in Two” (1984)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart [cond. Carlo Maria Giulini] — “Va’ là, vecchia pedante” (from The Marriage of Figaro) (1786)
William Finn [perf. Christian Borle] — “My Dogs” (2003)
Creedence Clearwater Revival — “Commotion” (1969)
Interpol — “Say Hello to the Angels” (2002)
Nick Drake — “Fly” (1971)
Flying Lotus — “German Haircut” (2010)
Ayumi Ishida — “Bye Bye Jet” (1977)
A Tribe Called Quest — “Luck of Lucien” (1990)
Big Thief — “Masterpiece” (2016)
Jean-Phillipe Rameau [cond. William Christie] — “Grands Dieux! De quels remords je me sen séchiré” (from Hippolyte et Aricie) (1733)
Jorge Ben & Gilberto Gil — “Meu glorioso São Cristovão” (1975)
The Beach Boys — “Look (Song for Children)” (1967)
Gene Vincent — “B-I-Bickey-Bi, Bo-Bo-Go” (1957)
New York Dolls — “Dancing on the Lip of a Volcano” (2006)
Cambridge, ON – A Cambridge bus driver is bringing a piece of history to local transit terminals through his passion for music. Tracy MacDonnell, a Grand River Transit (GRT) operator, uses his route breaks to step off the bus and play the fife, an 18th-century military instrument similar to a flute, for waiting passengers.
MacDonnell has been playing the fife for 36 years, after first learning the instrument while working at Toronto’s Historic Fort York. What started as a job requirement became a lifelong passion for traditional fife and folk music.
Over the past two decades as a GRT driver in Cambridge, MacDonnell has continued using music as a way to manage the stress of the job and connect with the public. Passengers have often responded positively, with some applauding his performances and sharing their appreciation.
In this CKMS News interview, MacDonnell discusses the history of the fife, how he became a bus driver, and why sharing a brief moment of happiness through music remains meaningful to him.
by: dan kellar Kitchener ON – Ahead of the official municipal campaign period, community builder, housing advocate, and mayoral candidate David Alton has started hosting a series of community townhalls which will focus on how to ensure that all residents share the same rights to live their lives and be integrated in efforts to “build a joyful city”.
The first event, which took place in June was The Right to Belong, with the second in the series The Right to Housing happening Saturday July 25th at the Chandler Mowat Community Centre in Kitchener. The other events will take place once per month in the lead up to the October election.
According to government data including the “Point in Time” count, nearly 2,400 people were experiencing homelessness in Waterloo Region, with about 78% of those folks experiencing “chronic homelessness. Provincially, the rate of homelessness increased by 25% between 2020 and 2024 and across the country according to the federal government “Over the past five years, the total population experiencing homelessness on a single night has increased by 59%”. The total number of homeless folks on any given night in Canada is over 65,000.
Candidate Alton, who was a recipient of the Region of Waterloo’s “Community educator award in housing” told CKMS News that “I see this campaign as a public education opportunity” and that each townhall will lead to calls to action and it is their intent to “Spread these calls to action and these platforms that are community built, to every candidate to try to get them as far as possible.”
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