The CKMS Community News receives funding from the Community Radio Fund of Canada and Heritage Canada through the “Local Journalism Initiative” project. Check out the country-wide LJI content at https://frequencynews.ca/
The journalists for the LJI project in 2026-2027 are: dan kellar, Leah Gerber, R Avery, Shalaka Jadhav, and Eren Berke Yörük.
As the municipal election heats up, a coalition of neighbourhood associations have teamed up to host two all candidate meetings for their electoral wards. According to a press release from the group, a goal of the events is to engage neighbours because “the people elected to local and regional office make decisions that directly affect our daily lives”
In a press release, Ann Liebau of the Uptown West Neighbourhood Association said “You don’t have to be a political junkie to care about your neighbourhood. If you care about your street, your park, your library, your water, you have a stake in this election. Rather than complaining about City Hall later, it’s far more productive to show up now and ask the candidates what they’re going to do.”
The first meeting, on Sunday October 4 from 6-8 pm, will focus on the five candidates seeking to become Mayor of Waterloo. The second meeting, on Wednesday October 7 from 7-9 pm, has two parts: first the seven candidates vying for Waterloo’s two seats on Regional Council, then the two people who want to represent Uptown Ward 7 on Waterloo City Council. Both events are happening in the Community Pavilion at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.
This show features an interview with Daisy Arseneault , the chair of the Uptown North neighbourhood Association.
For more information or to submit questions in advance, email allcandidateswr@gmail.com
Cambridge, ON – Saint Luke’s Place has officially broken ground on a new six-story, 192-bed long-term care home in Cambridge.
The groundbreaking ceremony was held Friday at the organization’s location on Franklin Boulevard, bringing together local officials, community leaders, project partners and residents to mark the start of construction.
“The demand for long-term care is only gonna grow,” said CEO David Bakker. “This will help more families and more residents access the care they need much closer to home.”
Bakker added that the new building will feature updated infection-control designs and expanded holistic care, addressing the growing demand for senior support across the region.
The new home is expected to expand long-term care capacity in a community facing growing demand for senior care. According to Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care data, Saint Luke’s Place currently has 408 people on its long-term care waiting list.
Local MPP Jess Dixon underscored the importance of securing provincial backing, noting, “Our need to provide homes for people as they age is only growing.”
The redevelopment will replace the existing 114-bed facility and add 78 new beds to help ease local waitlists, with construction expected to take about four years and finish in 2030.
As municipal elections are starting to heat up across the province, a new local organisation is promoting local democracy by helping to inform and educate Waterloo Region residents on all aspects of the vote.
This show features an interview with Alex Latta, a professor at Wilfrid Laurier University and a spokesperson for VisionWR who told CKMS News “We really believe in local democracy and holding politicians to account… and [we want] others in our communities to feel empowered to participate.”
Since starting their work last year, the group has hosted open meetings, run workshops, created toolkits, developed the vision statements, and has now launched the 2026 regional and municipal elections candidate and voter engagement hub.
According to a recent press release “VisionWR, is a new grassroots volunteer organization dedicated to promoting education, dialogue, and debate on the issues that will shape our shared future: climate change, housing, transportation, water, biodiversity, food security, well being and local democracy.”
To explore the 2026 regional and municipal elections candidate and voter engagement hub, visit VisionWR.org
by: Shalaka Jadhav
CAMBRIDGE, ON – Hosted at the University of Waterloo Cambridge Architecture Campus, “A Room of One’s Home” is an exhibition curated by Bianca Weeko Martin, and brings together the work of six Waterloo Architecture graduates and alumni whose research reflects on relationships between architecture, diaspora, memory, and cultural knowledge.
Employing drawings, publications, artifacts, and architectural research, the exhibition invites visitors into rooms where, through architectural inquiry, “home” can be understood as an evolving relationship across generations.
The exhibition and its artists covers several regions:
Ricardo Espinoza, the Caribbean Sea;
Hyjnid (Nidi) Metaj, Albania;
Angeline Reyes, the Philippines;
Giulia Simonetta, Italy;
Zaven Titizian, Syria/Lebanon, and;
Hiba Hasan Zubairi, the Indus River Basin.
Today I’m speaking with Bianca Weeko Martin, curator of “A Room of One’s Home.”
Bianca Weeko Martin is a writer and researcher weaving together architectural practice with theory and personal narrative. She is the author of the “Architectural Guide: Manila” and writes about art, space, and the Filipino diaspora for cultural institutions and publications. She recently made the 2026 CBC Nonfiction Prize longlist for her work “Tita Tallulah”.
“A Room of One’s Home” is on until October 1, 2026. Join Bianca to celebrate the exhibition closing, on September 24, between 5-8pm at the Riverside Gallery. At the closing, exhibiting artist Ricardo Espinoza will be leading a fabric transfer workshop.
This program is a part of the Local Journalism Initiative and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, Heritage Canada, and the CKMS Newsroom.
You can access archived versions of this program at radiowaterloo.ca/news, and listen to all the Local Journalism Initiative content at frequencynews.ca
If you want to get in touch with comments, or ideas about stories to cover, email us at news@radiowaterloo.ca
The theme music on today’s show was “Polyvinyl” by Anemoia, courtesy of the Free Music Archive, under the Creative Commons Attribution License. You can find it at the Free Music Archive—freemusicarchive.org
Waterloo, ON – The Terry Fox Run returns this Sunday for its 46th year, as the Terry Fox Foundation continues to support cancer research across Canada.
The Foundation surpassed $1 billion raised for cancer research in February. This year, about four million Canadians are expected to take part in runs across 600 communities, including Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge.
Terry Fox’s niece Jessie Alder says her uncle’s story and message continue to resonate with Canadians and people around the world. She also points to the progress being made through the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centers Network, which aims to expand access to precision medicine across Canada.
Terry Fox Foundation COO Martha McClew says the organization funds research through a rigorous peer-review process, with only a small percentage of submitted projects receiving funding. She also highlights the Foundation’s cancer research biobank, which contains cancer cells from 16,000 Canadians and is helping researchers share data and better understand how patients respond to treatments.
Alder and McClew also reflect on what Terry Fox’s legacy could look like if a cure for cancer is eventually found, and why the Terry Fox Run remains important as both a fundraiser and a community event.
The Terry Fox Run takes place Sunday, September 20 at 9 a.m. For more information, visit run.terryfox.ca.
Susan Aglukark sat down with CKMS to discuss the tour and her musical career, going back to her first song and music video “Searching,” released in 1991, and her upcoming EP, Disco Ball, to be released later this fall.
The Together for Nature Tour is in Kitchener this evening at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church.
A new play titled Mixed(er), about growing up biracial in Waterloo Region is aiming to get you laughing. The story is about a young woman’s fateful homecoming to Waterloo Region after finishing university. She finds out her parents are throwing a surprise birthday party for her and that they’ve invited all her White friends and her only Black friend. Suddenly the worlds she’s worked to keep apart come colliding together in a funny, farcical way. The production is presented by local theatre companies MT Space and Unwrapped Theatre. Radio Waterloo spoke with Pam Patel, artistic director of MT Space and Alten Wilmot, co-writer of the play and founder of Unwrap Theatre to talk about the play and what it aims to do.
Cambridge, ON– The Cambridge Fire Department is preparing to welcome residents to its annual Open House on September 12 at Fire Station 1 on Bishop Street.
The event will give residents a chance to meet firefighters, tour the station, explore emergency equipment and learn about fire and life safety. This year’s event will also feature a live side-by-side burn demonstration showing the impact of residential fire sprinkler systems.
In an interview with CKMS News, Chief Fire Prevention Officer Eric Yates discussed the importance of working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, home escape plans and safe battery charging. He also highlighted lithium-ion batteries as one of the department’s growing fire safety concerns.
The interview also covers recent fire loss trends in Cambridge, wildfire preparedness and what residents can do to reduce fire risks at home and outdoors.
The City of Kitchener began a program two years ago to increase its overall tree canopy and increase the number of trees in the neighbourhoods that need them most. But now in its third year, how is the program doing?
Radio Waterloo spoke with Hajnal Kovacs, the city’s forestry project manager, as well as Ashlynn Fleming, the interim manager of tree programs at REEP Green Solutions and community member David Shaftoe to understand the project’s goals and how well they are meeting these targets.
Waterloo Region staff have been purchasing land in Wilmot Township to put together a very large shovel-ready parcel to attract major industry to the region. So far the Region has acquired 550 acres of its 770 acre goal. The process began with threats of expropriation over two years ago, and because councilors and staff have all signed non-disclosure agreements, the public has not been informed of most of the major plans for this project.
Radio Waterloo reached out to the Region of Waterloo, Wilmot Township, The Grand River Environmental Network and township citizens to provide an update on what is known about the issue so far.
Waterloo, ON – Waterloo Region Council is pushing back against a new provincial governance model that could allow one person to serve as both Mayor and Regional Chair.
Cambridge Regional Councillor Doug Craig introduced the motion, warning that combining the two roles could create conflicts of interest and concentrate too much executive power in one person under Ontario’s Strong Mayor and Strong Chair systems.
Waterloo Mayor Dorothy McCabe backed the motion, calling the combination of Strong Mayor and Strong Chair powers “a recipe for disaster.” She also argued that Strong Mayor powers have not necessarily accelerated housing approvals.
Craig and McCabe also criticized Ontario’s decision to appoint the next Regional Chair rather than have the position filled through an election.
Waterloo Region residents have directly elected their Regional Chair since 1997. Under the province’s new governance rules, Ontario will appoint the next Chair following the 2026 municipal election.
Regional Council passed Craig’s motion unanimously. The resolution will now go to the Premier of Ontario, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, local MPPs, area municipalities and other affected regional municipalities.
Kitchener, ON – On Thursday, August 13, community members with Neighbours for Palestine: Waterloo Region assembled at Pixus Technologies on Gage Avenue in Kitchener, as part of the National Day of Action: Put Elbit On Notice called for by Arms Embargo Now. This day of action targeted Canadian suppliers of Elbit, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer. Organizers called on Kitchener’s Pixus Technologies to cease their practice of supplying semi-rugged enclosures and radio components to Elbit, calling attention to the genocide and other grave human rights harms perpetrated by Israel’s military.
Now in its ninth year running, the need for backpacks continues to grow. This year, the Waterloo Regional Police are calling out for more backpacks as they currently do not have enough to meet the demands of the program. Cherri Greeno is the director of corporate affairs with the WRPS and speaks about how the challenge got its start, and the needs of this year’s challenge. Radio Waterloo also speaks with Yasmin Haloubi, the fundraising manager with Reception House, one of the receiving organizations that distribute the backpacks to the community about the impact and importance of the program.
Find out more about the WRPS backpack challenge here.
Kitchener, ON — Waterloo Region Council has unanimously passed a motion to study the potential impacts of future data centre development in the Region, following concerns raised by residents about water use, electricity demand and infrastructure.
Regional Councillor Colleen James brought the motion during Tuesday’s Sustainability, Infrastructure and Development Committee meeting. It directs Regional staff to examine the economic, environmental, infrastructure and fiscal implications of data centres, as well as community safeguards and best practices in other jurisdictions.
The council approved the motion with two amendments, including additional consideration of source water protection and impacts on traditional lands. Regional staff will report their findings back to Council by the first quarter of 2027.
The discussion comes as the rapid growth of artificial intelligence drives demand for larger and more energy-intensive data centres across Canada and beyond.
Waterloo Region already hosts data centres, including Ascent’s facility in Cambridge. James says the motion is not intended to approve or reject any specific project, but to help the Region understand how future facilities could affect its infrastructure and environment.
Residents who spoke at the meeting raised particular concerns about water consumption and the Region’s reliance on groundwater.
James says the goal is to gather information now so future councils can make informed decisions about data centre development.
Kitchener, ON — St. John’s Kitchen in Kitchener has permanently expanded its services to operate around the clock, responding to growing demand from people experiencing homelessness in Waterloo Region.
The kitchen, operated by The Working Centre, began its new 24/7 schedule on July 27. It now welcomes drop-ins from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., before providing overnight support from 9 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. The facility closes briefly each morning for cleaning and setup.
The expansion comes as homelessness continues to grow across the region. The Region of Waterloo reported in 2024 that chronic homelessness had increased by an average of 28 per cent each year since 2020. Joe Mancini, director and co-founder of The Working Centre, says the growing number of people experiencing homelessness has put increasing pressure on services.
In this story, we speak with Mancini, St. John’s Kitchen staff and volunteers, and a person experiencing homelessness about the impact of the kitchen The interviews explore what the 24/7 operation means for people using the facility, how staff respond to the growing demand, and the broader housing, employment and drug-related factors contributing to homelessness in Waterloo Region.
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.
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.
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.”
by: Shalaka Jadhav
CAMBRIDGE, ON – The Long Dash Festival is a free, two-day event running between July 25 and 26, exploring the creative intersections between art and science. Hosted at rare Charitable Research Reserve in Cambridge, Ontario, and co-presented by Musagetes, the festival takes its name from the Long Dash Skipper, a brown and orange butterfly found in grassy habitats, including at the site of the festival.
In this segment, I’ll be in conversation with Elwood Jimmy, Indigenous Programs Curator at Musagetes, who highlights how Indigenous knowledge systems and ways of relating to the land inform the approach to programming the festival, and how the festival being sited at rare Charitable Research Reserve has helped shape the experience of the festival over the last three years.
In this conversation, Jimmy mentions Elder Peter Schuler, Elder of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation of the Anishnaabek Peoples. His collection of literary works, “The Sound of the Homeland Drum” was launched at the ArtsEverywhere Festival in Guelph in May 2026 through the Indigenous Otherwise Program, and printed by Publication Studio Guelph, both supported by the Musagetes Foundation. Learn more at publicationstudio.biz/books/the-sound-of-the-homeland-drum/.
The Long Dash Festival is free to attend, and listeners can find the full schedule and learn more about the festival at longdashfestival.ca.
Photo Credit: Illustration by Cai Sepulis courtesy of the Long Dash Festival
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This program is a part of the Local Journalism Initiative and is funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, Heritage Canada, and the CKMS Newsroom.
You can access archived versions of this program at radiowaterloo.ca/news, and listen to all the Local Journalism Initiative content at frequencynews.ca
If you want to get in touch with comments, or ideas about stories to cover, email us at news@radiowaterloo.ca
The theme music on today’s show was “Polyvinyl” by Anemoia, courtesy of the Free Music Archive, under the Creative Commons Attribution License. You can find it at the Free Music Archive—freemusicarchive.org
CKMS News -2026-01-27- Water woes in Waterloo Regiondan kellarKitchener, ON – After several years in a row that the aquifers in Waterloo Region have been drawn down more than they have recharged, the municipal government has announced serious water capacity issues and have put a stop fully approving any new developments which require their approval.
The water issues were first publicly disclosed in December 2025, and on January 13th the regional council held a lengthy discussion with staff, residents, and land developers regarding the immediate actions and effects regarding the water issue, and some short and medium term actions the regions will be taking to address the water woes.
This show features an interview with Kevin Thomason, Vice-Chair of the Grand River Environmental Network. Kevin has been following water related issues in Waterloo Region for years and has reviewed the staff report which describes in detail what the problems are.
Additionally, this show features a clip of Sam Nabi of Hold The Line WR delegating at regional council on January 13th.
dan kellar
Kitchener, ON – A new tool for assessing how levels of various services differ between neighbourhoods across Waterloo Region has launched by the One Million Neighbours WR coalition. The first version of its Neighbourhood Services Map ranks each neighbourhood for access levels based on availability of transit, amount of green space, number of schools, libraries, and healthcare infrastructure, and how many community spaces exist.
A key feature of the map is that the calculations account for population, and as the number of residents that call Waterloo Region home grows to over 1,000,000 in the coming decades, keeping track of the equity of resource distribution across communities as they grow will be key to understanding a neighbourhood’s needs.
This show features an interview with KW local Sam Nabi, the project coordinator of One Million Neighbours W, and a board member of Hold the Line WR. The map was created with open source data by Civic Tech WR volunteers who will update the data on the map “at least annually”. You can access the map from Connected KW‘s webpage.
dan kellar Kitchener, ON – As the Waterloo regional police ask for another $20,000,000 dollars to be added to their yearly budget, in addition to $173,000,000 for a new “communications centre”, residents and even some regional councillors are questioning the ballooning expenditures. A primary concern is that yearly multi-million dollar increases to the police budgets are starving other services of funding since council is pressured to keep tax increases low.
The Waterloo Region police budget, which was over $230,00,000 in 2025, has increased by more than $100,000,000 since 2014, and has more than doubled since 2013. This year’s request of over $250,000,000 will represent over 30% of the regional budget. In comparison, housing and homelessness services are budgeted at $165,200,000 for 2026.
The police presented their budget to the Regional Council at the end of November and in a council meeting on December 3rd council heard from the police association and residents. While the police say more money to the force and more cops “will help save residents” delegates noted that funding upstream services, such as housing options and mental health supports, have more impact on reducing crime than more armed cops with “boots on the ground”.
In a surprise move ahead of the budget vote on December 16th, Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic put forth a motion to block the police’s capital budget saying the new communications centre is “beyond their mandate” and it “is highly unlikely that all three emergency services would engage in this partnership in any foreseeable future”. However the same motion calls for the approval of the $20,000,000 yearly increase to the police budget.
This show features audio from both the December 3rd and November 26th council meetings.
dan kellar
Kitchener, ON – A new space for folks to escape from the cold and receive food and social supports has opened in Kitchener as cold winter weather has set early in Waterloo Region. Thresholds Homes and Supports opened the doors to the new 30 bed overnight warming centre at 298 Lawrence Avenue in November. The new centre will serve any who is 18+ and is inclusive of all gender identities.
In a press release ahead of the opening Jessica Hill, the new warming centre’s team lead is quoted “We are working hard to go beyond giving people a place to warm up, and will have staff on site, including a peer support worker, to connect folks with other supports, and provide a hot meal and snacks to take with them when they leave.”.
The new warming centre comes at a critical time as homelessness continues to plague an increasing number of local residents. The provincial 2024 “Point-in-time” count found that nearly 2,400 people were experiencing homelessness in Waterloo Region, with about 78% of those folks experiencing “chronic homelessness. At the time only 301 shelter beds were available regionally, and with the new overnight 30 bed warming centre, the number is still well below the required capacity.
This show features an interview with Jessica Hill, the team lead of Thresholds Homes and Supports’ new overnight warming centre in Kitchener.
dan kellar Kitchener, ON – Adding to the tool box to build housing in Kitchener faster, the city has fully endorsed the federal government’s new Housing Design Catalogue, which makes full “off the shelf” building design plans available free of charge. Further the city has fast tracked parts of the application process to make sure that zoning compliance approval is done within 15 days of application, and building permit review is completed within 10 days.
In a recent press release from the city, Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said “Together, with Kitchener’s flexible planning frameworks and resources and Canada’s new guide, we’re making it easier to build more housing across our city.”
The press release also claims that the housing design catalogue “aims to make housing more affordable and accessible, providing pre-designed, adaptable housing plans for homeowners and builders, including backyard homes, fourplexes, stacked townhouses and sixplexes.
You can check out the approved designs on the City of Kitchener’s and the CHMC’s websites.
This show features an interview with Katie Anderl from Kitchener’s housing and policy division and Tim Benedict, the manager of building in the city’s building division.
