Starting this week, people can access the Kitchener Public Library’s resources through a library locker pilot program, with lockers located at Victoria Hills and Chandler Mowat community centres. The lockers function like mini library vending machines, with resources accessible for anyone with a library card number. If you residents don’t have a library card, they can sign up for one online – even through the community centre’s public computers – and instantly start using the library lockers with their new card number. The whole purpose is to bring libraries closer to neighbourhoods that are relatively further away from actual library branch locations, and make accessing library resources easier for everyone.
This episode features an interview with Megan Clare, Division Manager of Resources and Membership Services at Kitchener Public Library.
The City of Waterloo staff published a press release last week announcing the confirmation of the 2025 budget and a 6.34 percent property tax increase. Waterloo staff and council determine the budget in three year increments, so this was a confirmation of a budget and tax increase that had been predetermined last year, says councillor and finance liaison Diane Freeman. Director of financial planning and asset management for the city, Brad Witzel explained how the average annual increase to each household is determined, as well as the city’s infrastructure funding gap of 39 million dollars.
Since the pandemic, recreation managers across Kitchener-Waterloo are noticing a sustained increase in the number of people participating consistently in arts and crafts programming. Radio Waterloo spoke with programming managers for the City of Waterloo, City of Kitchener and the Kitchener market, who all had similar observations: Whether it’s for seniors during the day, the general public in the evenings, or the delivery of solo crafting kits to peoples’ homes, more and more people across both cities seem drawn to taking up a craft in the last two years since programs started opening up after the pandemic. While some thought an interest in crafting might be temporary, the trend seems to be growing, not shrinking.
There are about 25 neighbourhood rinks throughout Kitchener, and they are all run by volunteers who go out in the darkest and coldest time of night to keep the rinks clear and flooded. It’s not a glamorous job, but Chris Letizi, a volunteer rink coordinator for the rink at the Stanley Park Community Centre, says the role a rink plays in fostering community by providing a place for kids and families to get out and skate or for groups to play hockey, is worth it. He says finding volunteers willing to come out and do the work to keep the rinks operating is a problem all across the city and hopes more people will pitch in to share the load. Josh Joseph runs the Love My Hood program with the city and says the outdoor rink program is a decades-old program that could not run without volunteers.
Nutrition for Learning has been serving food to kids in Waterloo Region for about 30 years. This school year was the first they were unable to fill all the food needs of their schools. CEO Erin Moraghan says they need about twice the budget they have to meet the demand.
Vanessa Haffner, an educational assistant and the volunteer coordinator for the program at Centennial Public School in Waterloo, speaks about her first-hand experience trying to stretch the budget to meet the need. She and principal Stephen Sherlock speak about the difference the food makes for the students and the program’s importance.
Haffner says food insecurity in schools is a real issue that can go unseen by the larger community. “If you’re not within the school walls and seeing every day what our students are coming with for lunch, it’s easy to miss. And I think sometimes our community doesn’t realise how many students are coming to school feeling hungry.”
Staff with Blue Triton, a multi-national water bottling company, confirmed earlier this month their Ontario operations will close by the end of January. This includes the controversial plant in Aberfoyle, Puslinch township.
Advocates with the Wellington Water Watchers are calling this a major win for their cause, as they’ve sought the closure of all water bottling activity at this well for about 18 years, beginning when it was owned by Nestle.
Township mayor James Seeley says the sale of the plant is a loss for the township, as it was the third-highest tax payer. He also estimates the loss of about 200 jobs.
Water advocates with the Six Nations of the Grand River also lay claim on the well, saying the water rightfully belongs to their community. They believe the Six Nations community should have the final say on what happens to the water, especially as the community continues to endure a long-term water crisis.
In many communities, the Christmas season is kicked off with a city tree-lighting ceremony, where a large bedecked Christmas tree is lit up for all to see – in fact, Waterloo Region’s three cities are all lighting their Christmas trees this coming Friday. But in today’s environmentally tough times, some may be wondering if cutting down 30-foot giants is the best choice for a city’s Christmas tree. Radio Waterloo takes a look.
It’s been over seven years since the federal government committed over 750 million dollars to Kitchener’s two-way-all-day Go Train service, and ten since the provincial government originally committed to the project – so why the long wait?
Radio Waterloo spoke with conservative member of provincial parliament for Kitchener-Conestoga Mike Harris about what the hold up is, and when riders can expect to see this service, as well as Kitchener-Centre MP Mike Morrice who has been advocating for the project for two years. Radio Waterloo also communicated with Metrolinx to hear about the progress on the Kitchener portion of the line. MPP Harris outlined the challenges faced when implementing the project and says he is optimistic about the progress he expects to see this coming year.
Miriam Stewart-Kroeker, a cellist with the KW Symphony was devastated when she heard the news of the symphony’s bankruptcy last year, wondering if she would have to move her family away from KW so she could continue working. She and her fellow musicians decided to take a stand and fight for the symphony, and last month the debts were annulled. The symphony is back on its feet, but it can never be the same. Stewart-Kroeker and board chair Bill Poole speak about their experiences with the bankruptcy and their thoughts on how they can move forward in a new way that’s more inclusive than ever.
dan kellar Cambridge, ON – Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett has used the “strong mayor” powers granted to her in 2023, to present her own “strong mayor budget” for the first time on October 28th. While Liggett had the power ahead of the 2024 budget, she directed staff to prepare that budget.
Strong Mayor powers were introduced in 2022 by the provincial government for Toronto and Ottawa and expanded in 2023 to include Cambridge, Waterloo and Kitchener. The provincial government argued the new powers would help alleviate the ongoing housing crisis by allowing mayors to gain by-law approvals with only 1/3rd of council support, grant veto powers to mayors in the budget process, and require a 2/3rds majority for councillors to override any vetoes.
The budget presentation in cambrdige initiated a 50 day approval process which includes 30 days for public delegations and amendments, 10 days for the Mayor to veto the amendments, and a further 10 days where city council can override any vetoes with a 2/3rds majority vote.
On November 7th public delegations responded to the budget, and staff is still accepting written comments to present to city council on November 21st.
This show features an interview with Danielle Manton, Cambridge’s city clerk. Manton speaks about the “Strong Mayor”powers, how the process for the budget will proceed, and how residents can still take part. Mayor Liggett was not available to discuss the budget.
dan kellar Cambridge, ON – On November 16th, a “F-35 day-of-action” will be held across the country, to highlight Canadian complicity in the ongoing violence in Palestine and Lebanon by the Israeli military, and to demand a full two-way arms embargo involving Israel.
While federal liberals have put a stop to some weapons exports. CKMS News asked Liberal MPs in Cambridge Valerie Bradford and Brian May for comment but did not receive any response. CKMS News’ requests to PCC Aerostructures’ Centra for comment also went unanswered.
This show features an interview with Aamina Parkar, an organiser with the grassroots group Neighbours for Palestine Waterloo Region. Parkar discusses the day-of-action and other tactics that are being used to pressure the Canadian government.
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Waterloo, ON – Aiming to add housing units while “gently” densifying low-rise residential neighbourhoods, the city of Waterloo is proposing changes to its zoning bylaws and official plan, allowing 4 units and buildings of up to 4 stories on every plot of residential land in the city. Parking minimums will also be reduced under the plan while maximum building height will increase.
This show features interviews with City of Waterloo planner Tristin Deveau, and Meg Walker, an eviction prevention worker at the Social Development Council of Waterloo Region. Deveau speaks on the details and motivations for the changes, and concerns some residents have brought forward. Walker responds to the proposals and discusses other measures the city could take to reduce housing costs.
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Kitchener, ON – As landlords continue to raise rental prices across the country, many are being left behind. According to rentals.ca, average rent in Canada has been increased by 25% since 2021. For some, the result is homelessness, and Waterloo Region is no exception – a recent report shows at least a 129% rise in chronic homelessness here since 2020.
“I knew I was going to be homeless at some point if I did not do something” says Pat Dunn, a widowed retiree now living in Peterborough. Dunn is the founder and the executive director of the non-profit organization Senior Women Living Together. Through subscriber generated profiles on their website, the organization finds matches for senior women, who then meet up to discuss living as housemates.
This show features an interview with Pat Dunn who discusses her own brush with homelessness and rising rent led her to helping others in the same situation. The organization is currently promoting their free service in Waterloo Region.
dan kellar Kitchener, ON – The city of Kitchener’s new integrated sanitary master plan has been officially implemented and with over 800km of sewers, 23 pumping stations, 1300 maintenance holes, and a growing population, the city is reminding residents to watch what they put down the drains.
In a recent press release, Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said “the integrated sanitary master plan ensures that we can reliably meet the needs of Kitchener residents today and in the future. I encourage everyone to help us keep maintenance costs as low as possible and disruptions infrequent by only flushing or pouring suitable material down our pipes.”
This show features an interview with Nick Gollan, the Manager of Planning and Programs for Sanitary and Stormwater Utilities in the city of Kitchener. Gollan discusses the new sanitary master plan, the “3 p’s” for flushing, and the maintenance required to keep the system, which includes some infrastructure nearing 100 years old, flowing.
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Kitchener, ON – A new public health clinic in downtown Kitchener is offering services to regional residents. The new location at 20 Weber St E, is one of several regional services that has moved into the former courthouse building, adding to an emerging regional services hub in a central and accessible location. According to Region of Waterloo Public Health, appointments at the new location have been booking up daily.
The new site offers vaccines and sexual health services and will be adding other services, such as a breastfeeding clinic through November and into the winter. Residents can book an appointment through an online portal or by contacting the site by phone at 519-575-4400.
CKMS News spoke with Amber White, the manager of clinical services with Region of Waterloo Public Health. White discussed the services offered, the impetus for the new location and she mentioned the “grand opening” event for the new location in January.
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Kitchener, ON – The Kitchen KW has been busy since opening their new studio and creators space in downtown Kitchener on October 1st. While the company has been organising hip-hop shows since March 2024, the new space will further integrate the organization with local music scenes through a dedicated studio, low-cost artistic development and production assistance, and monthly workshops.
The new studio is located at 44 Gaukel, a city of Kitchener owned space which is operated by ArtsBuild Ontario. For the Kitchen KW, the new space gives more options for local hip-hop artists to emerge in a city which is often dominated by singer-song-writer and rock acts.
This show features an interview with The Kitchen KW CEO Aiden Rusten, who is known in the locally as AJ. AJ speaks about the company he co-founded, the first month in the new studio, and how The Kitchen KW is working to expand the local hip-hop scene.
Photo: Courtesy of the The Kitchen KWPhoto: Courtesy of the The Kitchen KW
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Waterloo, ON – The rediscovery and presentation of a piece of local theatre history are the latest results of a resiliency grant for the MT Space theater company. The 2022 grant from the Ontario Trillium Fund, added 3 apprenticeship positions to the group. This boost to organizational capacity led to the rediscovery of a documentary which was filmed during the first IMPACT festival that MT Space organized in 2009.
On October 4th, at the First United church in Waterloo, MT Space presented the documentary, which invited viewers to “See the vision that our Founding Artistic Director Majdi Bou-Matar had laid out for MT Space”. Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife spoke at the event which also celebrated the organization’s 20th year of producing theater.
This show features an interview with Yazan Maarouf, MT Space’s Associate Producer. Maarouf speaks about the funding’s effects, the documentary screening, the fundraising events which run until November, and upcoming projects from MT Space.
dan kellar Kitchener, ON – In late August the provincial government announced new rules around Consumption and Treatment Services sites which will force the closure of ten of these health service programs across the province, including the CTS in Kitchener.
Since the announcement, site advocates, service users, community members, health care workers, and politicians have organised support for the CTS. Meanwhile, the provincial government has opened-up applications for funding for Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hubs to replace the affected CTS sites. Harm reduction such as supervised drug consumption will not be permitted at the new hubs.
On September 10th the regional government voted overwhelmingly to request that the province reverse its decision and maintain funding for the CTS while also funding a HART hub for the region. In the meeting, Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, Waterloo Region’s Medical Officer of Health said that the ideal model for treatment is a HART hub that would also allow harm reduction.
In a council meeting on September 30th, city of Kitchener councillors passed a motion to request that the province continue funding and allow operation of the CTS past the March 2025 deadline.
This show features interviews with Julie Kalbfleisch from Sanguen Health Centre, operator of Kitchener’s CTS, and Dr. Geoff Bardwell, an assistant professor in the School of Public Health Sciences at the UW, and member of the grassroots Waterloo Region Drug Action Team.
A slightly shorter version of this piece is available at: https://www.frequencynews.ca/news/resident-and-local-government-pushback-continues-against-cts-closure-in-kitchener/
dan kellar Waterloo – During Monday’s council meeting, Waterloo Mayor Dorothy McCabe said that she is “excited to see that there were a number of applications that came in” to develop city owned land near RIM park in Waterloo. McCabe also called the project at 2025 University Ave E, “a significant opportunity for the city”. In June, CKMS News reported that “the project aims to provide over 700 homes in a sustainable, affordable neighbourhood with commercial opportunities”.
This show features Ron Ormson, the Commissioner of Integrated planning and public works for the city of Waterloo speaking at the October 7th council meeting. After discussing other housing and development plans the city is working on, Ormson outlined the next steps on the 2025 University Ave project.
dan kellar Kitchener – The Community Canopy tree planting program will see over 100 new trees planted in the Chandler-Mowat neighbourhood this year. Some of the trees have been planted already with more going into the ground over the fall. The initiative is a partnership between the City of Kitchener and Reep Green Solutions, and builds on efforts to have 30% of the city covered with tree canopy by 2050
This program targets “deserving neighbourhoods” based on metrics which measure socio-economic factors as well as the current tree canopy cover.
On Thursday October 10th, from 3-5pm, a community event will take place at Laurentian Park to celebrate the accomplishments of the pilot program, and to announce the transformation of the Community Canopy program into an annual initiative.
This show features interviews with Hajnal Kovacs, the forestry project manager for the city of Kitchener, and Taylor Ross the community engagement coordinator for Reep Green Solutions.
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Kitchener, ON – A recent exposé by The Trillium newsroom has revealed that the practice of hallway medicine in Ontario’s hospitals has on average, doubled from 2018 when Doug Ford’s conservatives were elected to government. Hallway medicine or hallway healthcare, is the practice of patient beds being placed in “unconventional spaces” or areas that are not designed for the purpose, such as hallways, closests, or staff rooms.
The data, which was obtained through the freedom of information process, reveals that Waterloo Region’s two hospitals mirror the provincial data while Guelph’s hospital experienced a 6-fold increase in hallway medicine.
This show features interviews with RN Erin Ariss, the President of the Ontario Nurses Association, and Jim Stewart of the Waterloo Region Health Coalition, a non-partisan advocacy group. Both Erin Ariss and Jim Stewart live in Waterloo Region.
CKMS News received a statement from the office of the minister of Health Sylvia Jones, some of which is included.
dan kellar Kitchener, ON – On September 20th, the 2nd annual #1MiillionMarchForChildren will be at Kitchener city hall for a planned day-long rally. Uniting under the banner Hands Off Our Kids, the rally organizers say they are concerned about parental rights and how sexual orientation and gender identity are being taught in public schools.
Also planning to be at city hall is the group Queer Youth Defense, who have organised a 2nd annual counter demonstration to “drown out hate with a little bit of light”.
This show features an interview with Acer Bonaparte of Queer Youth Defense along with statements CKMS News received from trustee Cindy Watson of the Waterloo Region District School Board, from jeewan chanicka, the Director of Education at the WRDSB, and from Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic. CKMS News tried to contact local organizers from Hands off Our Kids, but did not receive a response, however, material from the group’s website is referenced.
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Kitchener, ON – In the evening on September 19th, the Waterloo Region Friends of Palestine are hosting a screening of the documentary film Where Olive Trees Weep, which is described as offering “a window into the struggles and resilience of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation. It explores themes of loss, trauma, and the quest for justice.” The film’s website continues “We follow, among others, Palestinian journalist and therapist Ashira Darwish, grassroots activist Ahed Tamimi, and Israeli journalist Amira Hass. We also witness Dr. Gabor Maté offer trauma-healing work to a group of women who were tortured in Israeli prisons”.
Before the screening, CKMS News spoke with Robert Massoud of Waterloo Region Friends for Palestine. Massoud spoke about the new documentary, the ongoing Palestinian solidarity actions from several local organizations, how injustice in Palestine is decades old, and how Canada is still “active and complicit in arming Israel” after a year of “genocidal” violence.
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Guelph, ON – While Palestinian solidarity encampments at universities across the country have been dismantled, strategizing to keep up the pressure hasn’t stopped. The grassroots organization Guelph 4 Palestine is hosting the People’s Conference for Palestinian Solidarity at the University of Guelph on September 21st and 22nd. The conference’s website says participants “will engage in meaningful conversations, learn and share lessons and resources, and continue to propel efforts to support a free Palestine”.
Representatives from several Palestinian solidarity student encampments will share their experiences along with health care workers, labour organizers, Independent Jewish Voices, and others. Organizers from the “Gaza House” encampment which was set up at the University of Waterloo will be presenting. The event will feature workshops and speakers, discussion and resource sharing spaces and programming for kids. Registration is available online or in person at the event.
This show features an interview with Shabina Lafleur-Gangji of Guelph 4 Palestine.
dan kellar Kitchener, ON – With students returning to schools across the region, the city of Kitchener is reminding drivers to slow down on the roads and pay special attention in school zones, at pedestrian crossings, and where crossing guards are on duty.
In a press release sent by the city, Kitchener Mayor Berry Vbranovic expressed “I encourage all of us grownups to take a bit of extra care, slow down and exercise some extra caution on area roads.” These efforts are tied into the city’s Vision Zero strategy, which was adopted in 2021.
This show features interviews with Aaron McCrimmon-Jones, the manager of transportation safety and policy at the city of Kitchener and Margaret Johnston, the Ward 8 councilor for Kitchener and the chair of the city’s Community & Infrastructure Services Committee. Visit kitchener.ca/visionzero for more on the City’s plans to eliminate traffic related injuries.
