Category Archives: Newsroom

Posts from the CKMS Newsroom programs, community shows, and associated news sites.

The CKMS Newsroom works to provide a deeper analysis of the issues that impact our communities, than which the mainstream news sources provide.

The CKMS Newsroom is comprised of volunteers and journalists and is organised by the Newsroom Committee:
dan kellar (@dankellar) is the current lieutenant of news with Bob Jonkman as the technical expert and newsie.

From May 2023 the CKMS Newsroom has been receiving 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 frequencynews.ca

The journalists for the LJI project are: Leah Gerber, dan kellar

Past newsroom journalists include: Ivan Angelovski, MP Holmes, Shalaka Jadhav, and Namish Modi.

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

Meet Shefaza Esmail, Green Party of Ontario candidate for Waterloo’s provincial riding

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Host: Leah Gerber

Radio Waterloo spoke with the candidates for the Waterloo riding as the 2025 Ontario provincial election, scheduled for February 27 draws closer. 

We’ll be releasing a series of four pieces, each highlighting our interview with one of the candidates. We’ve included the Ontario Liberal, NDP, Green and New Blue parties. The Ontario Progressive Conservative party did not respond to repeated requests for an interview. 

Today’s piece features the Green Party of Ontario candidate for the Waterloo riding, Shefaza Esmail.

Esmail shared her thoughts on the top issues in Waterloo, how she and her party plan to address them, what the tariff threats coming from the United States could mean for this community and her party’s stance on addressing the tariffs.

Other posts in the series:

Suja Biber, New Blue Party of Ontario candidate for Waterloo Riding says she’s ready to deal with the root causes of Ontario’s problems, rather than scratching the surface

 

A chat with Catherine Fife, NDP candidate and current seat holder for Waterloo’s riding

Clayton Moore, Ontario Liberal Party Candidate for Waterloo Region wants less talk and more results for average Ontarians

CKMS Community News, Newsroom, Shows

CKMS News -2025-02-13- Delegates warn of increased precarity and homelessness due to continued inaction on renoviction bylaw

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CKMS News -2025-02-13- Delegates warn of increased precarity and homelessness due to continued inaction on renoviction bylaw.

dan kellar
Kitchener, ON – With hundreds of tenants in the city of Kitchener currently facing renoviction, local residents and housing advocates were pleading to city council on Monday night to fast-track by-laws to protect renters from “bad actor” landlords who use renovations as an excuse to evict tenants and increase rental prices. 

While Kitchener council has previously asked city staff to report back in June on the feasibility and jurisdictional issues of a renoviction by-law, 11 delegates, all in favour of stronger protections, argued that the city already has enough information to create new rules. Toronto, London, and Hamilton have all approved renoviction by-laws with Hamilton’s being enacted at the start of this year.

Several delegates at the meeting are members of the grassroots advocacy group Waterloo Region ACORN, who has been organizing renters facing renoviction at several buildings including 250 Frederick St and 141 Borden Ave. 

In the end, councillors voted for the status quo, and staff will still have until June to gather more information.

This show features audio from the February 10th council meeting, including delegates, city staff, and councillors.  

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

Cricket is so popular now in Waterloo Region, the cities are making a strategy to accommodate all the new players

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Host: Leah Gerber

Cricket has exploded in popularity in Waterloo Region in the last few years. So much so, staff with the cities of Cambridge, Waterloo and Kitchener are working together to create a regional cricket strategy so they can accommodate the needs of the booming cricket community. 

Cricket community members have responded saying they need more space to play, indoor facilities and lighting so they can get as many players playing as possible in the area. 

Radio Waterloo spoke with Giridhar Bannaravuri, the president of the Southern Ontario Cricket Association, an organization which facilitates cricket in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Stratford and Guelph, as well as Lisa Collins, the manager of sport development and golf for the city of Kitchener to hear more about the upcoming strategy and the needs of the cricket community. 

Excerpt from “SOCA 2024 Season _ KWC Cricket _ SOCA Gala 2024” used with permission from SOCA.

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

A commercial meat cannery is opening in New Hamburg to ship tens of thousands of pounds of meat around the world

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Host: Leah Gerber

Food insecurity is a major issue around the world, and made worse by conflicts and natural disasters. The Mennonite Central Committee is an organization that provides relief for people impacted by these disasters. Part of that work is to send canned meat. To this end, the organization has opted to open a commercial grade meat cannery in New Hamburg with the aim to produce 50,000 cans, or about 90,000 pounds of meat in its first year. 

Radio Waterloo spoke with Michelle Brenneman, the Executive Director of MCC Ontario as well as volunteer Doug Wagner to hear more about the new cannery and what will be involved with its operation. 

CKMS Community News, Newsroom, Shows

CKMS News -2025-02-05- Waterloo council endorses “sobering” homelessness report

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CKMS News -2025-02-05- Waterloo council endorses “sobering” homelessness report

dan kellar
Waterloo, ON – Waterloo city council voted unanimously to endorse the recent report from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario which found that more than 80,000 people were homes in Ontario in 2024, a rise of more than 25% since 2022.  

The report, titled “Municipalities Under Pressure: The Growing Human and Financial Cost of Ontario’s Homelessness Crisis” was released on January 9th of this year.

Beyond the numbers, the report offers ideas to address homelessness by focusing on long-term housing instead of the go-to actions of creating temporary emergency shelters and promoting police backed enforcement of property laws. 

This show features audio from the January 27th meeting where councillor Vasic and mayor McCabe spoke about the findings in the report, and heard from staff member Sandy Little who created a summary of the report for council.  Little notes that the conclusions and recommendations from the report are being investigated at the city and region.

CKMS Community News, Newsroom, Shows

Airbnbs and Vrbo rentals are now limited in Waterloo

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Host: Leah Gerber

Short term rentals such as Airbnb or Vrbo rentals will now be limited to an owner’s principal residence in Waterloo. Waterloo city council voted unanimously earlier this month to this change as a response to complaints from neighbours about the rental units as well as to the ongoing housing crisis.

Radio Waterloo spoke with Waterloo mayor Dorothy McCabe for the reasoning for this change, as well as City of Kitchener Manager of Licensing Kristin VanDerGeld to ask if Kitchener staff and council are planning a similar move. 

Mayor McCabe said that city staff and council understand that people use short term rentals to supplement their income. She said that she still supports people doing this, but they need to do it in their primary residence, and that this move is an effort to find a balance so that other residents are not negatively impacted by someone’s rental property.

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

Seniors – a lot of them – are meeting up in Waterloo to talk about travel

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Host: Leah Gerber

Every other Friday afternoon anywhere from 120 to 180 people gather together at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex Community Pavilion to listen to a presentation about someone’s travel story.

The program has been meeting for well over ten years, and in the last few years has really begun to pick up steam with 2400 attendees in 2024.

Radio Waterloo spoke with Sarah Kelly, who organizes the program for the City of Waterloo, as well as long-time participant, volunteer host and presenter Rick Chambers to speak about the program and what exactly is drawing all these people together.

CKMS Community News, Newsroom, Shows

CKMS News -2025-01-25- City staff share progression on parking space reductions for developments with designated affordable units

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CKMS News -2025-01-25- City staff share progression on parking space reductions for developments with designated affordable units

dan kellar
Waterloo, ON – During the city council meeting on January 27th, Waterloo policy planner Adam Zufferli presented an update on the city’s plan to reduce the number of parking spaces required for housing developments which include at least 25% affordable housing units.

Fewer parking spaces translates into a smaller footprint of each unit and a lower cost of development.  The parking space reduction initiative fits into the city’s affordable housing strategy and is a part of the city’s Housing Accelerator Fund plan that was approved by the federal government in April 2024. 

Council voted to receive the report and to instruct staff to “finalize the process, legal agreement template, and monitoring framework for reviewing parking reduction requests for affordable housing units”.  Public comments on the plan were due on the day of the presentation and Zufferli mentioned they will be included in the final presentation in a month’s time.

CKMS Community News, Newsroom, Shows

CKMS News 2025-01-24- A deep connection to place brings new classical composer back to Waterloo to launch debut album.

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CKMS News -2025-01-24- A deep connection to place brings new classical composer back to Waterloo to launch debut album.

dan kellar
Waterloo, ON – The Icarus Album, which is the debut work of new classical composer Erik Lankin, is being released today with a listening party and discussion at the Waterloo North Mennonite Church, a place with deep connection to his family. Lankin, who “grew up slowly in Kitchener-Waterloo” and is now based in Montreal, has reinterpreted the myth of Icarus and Daedalus for this album, as a metaphor for losing his father to mental illness.

Lankin says the musicians involved in the project are some of canada’s top classical soloists and neoclassical producers.

In an early review of The Icarus Album, Robin B. James of Igloo Magazine wrote “This amazing work of Erik Lankin creates a new triumph, which I would place high in the pantheon of significant human musical expressions.”

This show features an interview with The Icarus Album composer Erik Lankin. The listening party is a free event which starts at 7pm.

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

Gutsy farmers are taking on the challenge of re-invigorating the Canadian wool market

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Host: Leah Gerber

These days, most Canadians source their sweaters, socks, hats, mitts, blankets, and all the other things we use yarn and cloth for, from abroad. The textile industry was once a major part of Waterloo Region and across Canada, but it’s been globalized away. For many farmers, selling their fleece isn’t worth the cost of transporting it, so much of Canada’s fleece is thrown away or burned. 

But, there is a small contingent of people in Ontario joining in a movement to make their living in a local textile industry. This includes raising sheep or other fibre-bearing animals, processing their fleece, and selling new products.

Radio Waterloo spoke with Romy Schill, Lindsay Webber and Donna Hancock, all women who keep fibre animals and have blazed new trails to make products from Canadian wool.

CKMS Community News, Newsroom, Shows

CKMS News -2025-01-22- Extreme cold threatens lives while regional government initiates action.

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CKMS News -2025-01-22- Extreme cold elicits advocate pressure and forces regional government action

dan kellar
Kitchener, ON – As daytime temperatures dipped below -20 degrees this week in Waterloo Region, anti-poverty advocates in Waterloo Region demanded action from municipal governments to open more indoor space for homeless community members. In response, the region teamed with local service providers to open a new 20 person emergency overnight warming space in Kitchener. A second emergency overnight warming space will open early next week in Cambridge.

This show features interviews with anti-poverty and housing advocate Regan Sunshine Brussé and councillor Jim Erb of the regional government. 

Brussé discusses the human rights approach to housing which the regional government adopted in the 2024 Plan to End Chronic Homelessness and offers her thoughts on how to address the extreme cold this winter.  Councillor Erb says the regional government and staff are working diligently to address the extreme cold, and he responds to ideas advocates have brought forward such as using Grand River Transit’s bus fleet or regional properties for emergency warming sites.

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

What Waterloo Region’s home buyers, sellers and renters need to know going in to 2025

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Host: Leah Gerber

Heading into 2025, the Region’s potential home buyers, sellers and renters are anxious to know what the outlook is for this year’s real estate market. Experts including Christal Moura of Cornerstone Association of Realtors and Anthony Passarelli of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation say the Bank of Canada’s recent decrease in interest rates means more buyers will be entering the market – hopefully helping the backlog of potential buyers who have been sharing homes or staying at home longer than intended finally buy a home. For renters, the recent federal cap on the number of international student permits will mean a decrease in demand for rental units. This, coupled with the increase of for-purpose rental units completed this year in the region will mean more choice, though not necessarily lower prices, for the region’s renters.

CKMS Community News, Newsroom, Shows

CKMS News -2025-01-17- MT Space hosting “Works-in-Progress” mini festival this weekend

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CKMS News – 2025-01-17- MT Space hosting “Works-in-Progress” Mini Festival this weekend.

dan kellar
Kitchener, ON – Theatre lovers in Waterloo Region will have a chance this week to peek behind the curtain and experience some of the creative process involved in creating a play, as MT Space hosts their first ever “Works-in-Progress” mini-festival, part of their 20th year celebrations.

Patrons are invited to the Registry theatre for presentations of plays which are still being worked on by their creators.  Putting the “process over the product” each play will give audiences a glimpse into the creative process, and provide them the opportunity to give feedback to the playwrights.

This show features an interview with MT Space artistic director Pam Patel. Patel discusses the themes of the plays being presented and speaks about the value of developing a piece of theatre with audience feedback. Visit MTSpace.ca for more information about the festival.  Tickets for shows on January 17th and 18th are still available and are pay-what-you-can. 

CKMS Community News, Newsroom, Shows

CKMS News -2025-01-17- Art exhibition brings Palestinian culture and heritage to Kitchener’s city hall

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CKMS News -2025-01-17- Art exhibition brings Palestinian culture and heritage to Kitchener’s city hall

dan kellar
Kitchener, ON – The second annual Palestinian Art Exhibition will take place at Kitchener’s city hall this weekend and will feature poetry, music, dancing, visual artworks, and several interactive workshops.  Organised by grassroots groups Sporas Scattered, the exhibition is “celebrating Palestinian culture, heritage, and resistance”.

This year, organisers have added an art camp to the exhibition geared for youth and have included workshops on Tatreez embroidery and Dabka dancing.

Organisers are also hoping folks will come out and celebrate the tentative ceasefire that has been announced in Palestine after 15 months of devastating violence.

This show features an interview with Malak Sameh an organiser with Sporas Scattered. The exhibition runs from 9am to 9pm on Friday January 17th through the 19th and is free to attend. For a full schedule of events, check out the Sporas Scattered instagram page and look for the pinned post.

CKMS Community News, Newsroom, Shows

CKMS News -2025-01-15- Exploring Indigenous futurisms at WPL’s Indigenous reading circle

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CKMS News -2025-01-15- Exploring Indigenous futurisms at WPL’s first Indigenous reading circle.

dan kellar
Waterloo – A new Indigenous reading circle at the Waterloo public library will explore a variety of short stories, essays, and poetry by Indigenous writers.  Amy Smoke, a co-facilitator of the reading circle, told CKMS News “people think we are stuck in the past and only write about ceremony or history”, however, she noted “we write sci-fi, we write all kinds of things”.  Smoke added “we are so much more than our trauma”.

The first book to be discussed is Love After the End, an  anthology of queer Indigenous speculative fiction edited by Joshua Whitehead.

The casual reading circle at the WPL’s main branch is a collaboration with the Willow River Centre.

This show features an interview with self-described “book fanatic” Amy Smoke, an IndigiQueer, two-spirit parent, teacher, and community organizer, and a co-director of the Willow River centre. 

Two dates are booked, January 16th and February 13th from 7-8pm, register at wpl.ca.

CKMS Community News, Newsroom, Shows

CKMS News -2025-01-09- New mental health tool accessible for youth in Ontario

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CKMS News -2025-01-09- New accessible mental health tool for youth in Ontario

dan kellar
Ontario – A recent report highlights that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated a decline in mental health in Canada. The Canadian Mental Health Association’s State of Mental Health in Canada 2024 report shows 26% of people reported “poor” or “fair” mental health in 2021, up from 8.9% in 2019. 

The report, which was released in November 2024 revealed that “2.5 million people with mental health needs in Canada reported that they weren’t getting adequate care”.

One initiative to help address mental health care is “One Stop Talk”, which “provides immediate access to mental health services, when they’re needed, wherever they’re needed.” The service, which launched in the fall of 2024, and is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health, is free to access and is available for youth up to 18 years of age. 

In Waterloo Region, Camino Wellbeing and Mental-health are One Stop Talk partners, but were unavailable for an interview. 

This show features an interview with Robert Royer, the Vice President of strategy for Strides Toronto, a mental health and development support organization and a leading partner of the One Stop Talk initiative.

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

No library? No problem. Kitchener Public Library and city staff co-launch a new library locker pilot

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Host: Leah Gerber

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.

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

City of Waterloo staff and council release the 2025 budget, announce 6.34 percent tax increase

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Host: Leah Gerber

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.

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

Compelled to craft: more people turning to arts programming after the pandemic

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Host: Leah Gerber

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. 

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

Rink volunteers are needed at the City of Kitchener. If you can brave the cold, it might be for you.

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Host: Leah Gerber

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.

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

Local student meal program and school sound alarm on inadequate budget for feeding hungry kids

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Host: Leah Gerber

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.”

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

Aberfoyle water bottling plant set to sell. Water advocates call it a win, mayor says its not

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Host: Leah Gerber

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. 

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

Pining for clarity: Gauging the environmental impact of the Region’s large Christmas trees

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Host: Leah Gerber

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.

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

Local politicians say they’re working to keep All Day Kitchener Go train service on track

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Host: Leah Gerber

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.

CKMS Community News, Newsroom

CKMS News – 2024-12-02 – KW Symphony members speak about their experiences with the symphony’s tumultuous year

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Leah Gerber

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.