Two hours of programmer created content, podcasts, music, interviews, and community announcements. Hour One airs Mondays from 11am to Noon; Hour Two airs Fridays from 3pm to 4pm.
Michael Darcy gives a Live, On-Air, In-Studio performance, and Bob talks with Michael and Sue Nally of the Irish Real Life Festival about the history of the festival, Irish history, how the festival is organized, Irish dancing, Michael’s musical background, and other details of the festival.
Sue Nally introduces us to the Irish Real Life Festival, giving a bit of the festival’s history, and why an Irish festival is needed in Waterloo Region. There’s literature, music, film, and even Irish cuisine. A festival gives people a chance to learn. Sue runs down some of the delicacies in Irish cuisine. Every year there’s a dinner, with a portion of the proceeds going charity. This year the dinner is at the Boathouse with Matt Weidinger. Sue tells us about the venues, including the Registry Theatre, the Conrad Centre, the KW Art Gallery. It’s difficult to capture a country’s culture in a few days. And it’s necessary to leave things out.
8m20s
This year the festival focuses on “Joy”. The world is a challenging place right now; the Irish history has some dark moments. So this year they want to celebrate to show they’ve come through these dark times. They’re trying to build a way for people new to the Region to come out, and for anyone to learn about Irish history. Or just to hang out an have a chat.
10m04s
Talking to Michael Darcy about his background. Michael is a full-time musician, has been playing for about 20 years, and lived in Canada for 15. When Sue brought Darcy to the festival she discovered that a cousin was a good friend of Michael’s — Michael says Ireland is a small country, about five million people, but Ontario is bigger. You can get from one side of Ireland to the other in about three or four hours. When Michael arrived in Canada he wasn’t writing many songs, just playing the standards. People always request the same four or five songs, and Michael is tired of playing them. So Michael is now writing his own songs, including the opening number, Wild West Clare.
Michael tells us about playing The Mickey Dam. Sue tells us how she picks the musical acts. She points out that the original songs written by Michael are Irish music. She balances out the traditional with the co ntemporary, and the fusion of how the music has changed.
20m29s
Giving the date and times of the festival: Saturday, March 8th to Monday March 17th. Bob asks about the “Céilí” (or “Cèilidh” in Scottish); Sue explains it’s an Irish folk dance, the origins of square dancing. There are céilithe for the public on the 8th and 15th of March. Sue talks about the music and the mechanics of dancing. Michael doesn’t play many céilithe, but his bandmates do. Michael grew up playing accordion.
27m37s
Michael plays a short piece that might be used at a céilí, and explains the tuning he uses. A brief discussion on types of banjos. Talking about different styles of Irish music. There is Irish rap! The festival doesn’t prescribe the playlists, but let the performers choose what they want to play. And there will be music lessons on traditional Irish instruments like the tin whistle and the bodhrán.
33m42s
Bob sees the need for an Irish Folk Club. Sue says there’s an Open Mic night at the Registry Theatre on Wednesday 5 March 2025, and it’s hosted by Michael. A great opportunity to play in a listening room rather than a pub. A quick rundown of Michael’s upcoming gigs.
36m46s
Michael introduces the next song. It needs some explanations of “Irish-isms”. A “jumper” is a sweater, “jumper goalposts” are sweaters put down on the ground for playing football. And “Lynn Row” was an Irish soap opera on TV on Sunday nights.
Sue tells us how she got involved with the Irish Real Life Festival — when she and friends were looking for something to do they found there was nothing out there. So she said “Let’s put something on!” And also to counteract the bad reputation that March 17th has around the universities. The 17th is not as important date as people think.
44m43s
Bob and Sue go over the web site and upcoming events, and have a look at the social media sites. Talking admission and tickets: Culture shouldn’t only be for the well-off, so many events are free or Pay-What-You-Can. There are funds and grants, some from Ireland, to help offset the costs. Planning for next year? After a little break! Finding venues and acts for next year. Not even Toronto has a 10 day Irish festival! Bob encourages Sue and Michael to start an Irish show on CKMS-FM.
54m33s
Michael Darcy plays out, while Bob gives the credits.
CKMS Community Connections Hour One airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 on Monday from 11:00am to Noon, and Hour Two airs alternate Fridays from 3:00pm to 4:00pm.
Barbara Schumacher and Kae Elgie come into the studio to talk about Cooperate For Canada, vote splitting, approaching party leaders, riding associations, and candidates to combine their efforts, and making information available to voters to vote strategically.
Barbara Schumacher tells us about Cooperate For Canada, she is a co-founder with Isaiah Ritzmann; the concern was the rising prominence of federal right-wing politics. By March of 2024 there was a rumour of an early provincial election, so the group changed focus to that.
4m35s
Vote splitting is causing the wave of conservative electoral success with only 30% to 45% voter support, so the majority of voters voted against the conservatives, those being the Liberals, NDP, and Greens. But the centre-left parties are all pretty similar, the differences don’t matter all that much. How do we repesent the values of the centre left? We have to bring together the centre-left parties, to stop them splitting the vote. But having a proportional representation voting system is a better solution, overall. Barbara explains that our values aren’t represented, and the First Past The Post voting system only works in a two-party system, so they want to bring the parties together.
9m15s
Kae tells us how they are bringing the votes together. They’re using polling data from Canada 338They’re looking at ridings where the conservative candidate is in the lead, but the second-place party is close, and looking to merge the vote by asking the third and fourth place candidate to drop out. They’ve approached the party leaders, the riding associations, and the candidates.
12m15s
All of the Liberal, NDP, and Greens have electoral reform and proportional representation in their platforms. Even though some of these parties have promised an end to FPTP they’ve rescinded their promise once they’re elected. But if the Conservatives get elected we won’t get proportional representation for sure.
14m12s
Talking about coalition governments. “Coalition” has been a dirty word among Canadian voters, but Barbara and Kae are both hopeful. They see no way to address issues like the climate crisis any other way. These issues have to be addressed now, next election is too late. The current Conservative government is not looking after the people. Kae and Barbara believe there is enough coherence between the parties that they can form an effective coalition or a confidence agreement. They’ve been pleasantly surprised by the support they’ve received so far.
Cooperate For Canada has not been trying to get all the parties to cooperate; they’ve been accused of being a partisan group for being against the Conservatives. But if the Conservatives had progressive policies Cooperate For Canada wouldn’t be against them. It’s not just climate, but also health, education, safe consumption sites, homelessness, and using the Notwithstanding Clause to get their way.
27m57s
They’ve spoken to party leaders, riding associations, and candidates. They’ve not just asked candidates to withdraw, but to cooperate when they’re elected. All candidates they’ve spoken to have agreed. They’ll probably be doing this again in a federal election. But they haven’t targetted all ridings, not doing the “safe seat” ridings for Conservatives. Now their focus has shifted to the voters themselves. Encouraging voters to work with candidates not necessarily in their ridings to get the candidates in precarious ridings elected. They’ve had information tables at all-candidate meetings, they’re active on social media, they’re engaging writers to write Op-Eds in newspapers. Other organizations like Divest Waterloo and the Civic Hub have sent information about Cooperate For Canada. Grand River Watershed is one chapter of Cooperate for Canada.
34m34s
Bob remembers similar strategic voting campaigns, but saw no difference in the results in the voting results. Kae and Barbara agree that it’s a difficult process. Bob suggests infiltrating the Progressive Conservative party with progressive-minded people to influence their policies; Barbara sees that as a long-term strategy and there’s no time for that. Campaigning for proportional representation is happening at the same time, by many of the same people. In places with proportional representation politicians don’t attack each other, something that Canadians are really asking for. Barbara sees a need for a Cooperative Movement, not just to change the voting system but to address all the issues like climate, health, education. Parties tend to ratchet their policies to the right, it takes a new party on the left to make a change. Could the Greens be that party? Barb says people don’t vote Green because they think the Greens can’t win; a self-fulfilling prophesy.
The results of Cooperate For Canada’s efforts in this provincial election will determine how they approach the upcoming federal election. They want to have a strong leader that can lead Canada through difficult times.
48m52s
Reviewing the Cooperate For Canada website, looking at the Ontario page. Reviewing the social media sites. People can join the movement by signing a letter on the website, or make a pledge to vote for the candidate most likely to defeat the Conservatives. Either will get people added to the C4C mailing list. There are no specific meetings or events planned for this election campaign. C4C is partnering with “Not One Seat” in Toronto, some of those volunteers have restarted their campaign in Toronto. “Music Ontario Votes” is having performances in certain ridings; after campaigning for the “unity candidate” they hold a concert.
58m07s
Thank yous, Goodbyes, and End Credits.
CKMS Community Connections Hour One airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 on Monday from 11:00am to Noon, and Hour Two airs alternate Fridays from 3:00pm to 4:00pm.
The history of disability and the Evolution of care – living with a disability – CKMS Community Connections talk about: Human Rights and People with disabilities. Please share for awareness. We do not want to go back to institutional living~ Melissa Jacques #REMOVEBARRIERS
With previous heavy hitter releases, and re-release of Prison Notebooks, WaSun’s latest, is in his words, his best album: EARTH MOTHER. Getting into the tracks, the overall vibe is of a soft beach and warm sand. I am in love with this album. To the soul of the broken-hearted, this album hits home.
WaSun wrote a personal album, about his life. The hardship he describes via this album can only be felt by listening to the songs. Tell me which ones you listen to on repeat. currently mine is Always.
Old School Hip Hop and social justice movement is WaSun’s background and life. He is a modern warrior for us all. Support his album, released by TAOT RECORDINGS – Shout-out Righteous – Shout-out: Street Hop & DJ Carmelo. This is the album we all need to nurture our hurt wounds and find the strength to move on. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Album of a lifetime. Epicness surpass WaSun’s new release EARTH MOTHER-find it on streaming platforms. Support this GREAT, CANADIAN! Torontonian, multi heavy-hitter albums – check out Prison Notebooks, Comrade Music, What Must Be Done –
Today we were supposed to have a web conference with Claes Nördling of Retrograþ, but technical difficulties prevented us from connecting. And those technical difficulties extended to the broadcast and video, so there’s no podcast or video today. Retrograþ is performing at Revive Karaoke on Sunday 17 November at Noon, and Claes will be joining us in the studio on Monday 18 November 2024 for CKMS Community Connections at 11:00am, so join us then!
Today was also the first day of our 2024 Fall Fundraiser! You can support Radio Waterloo (and maybe help us overcome those technical difficulties) by making a donation. Our goal is $1000 over the next two weeks. $5, $10, $100 or more all helps offset our operational costs. A donation of $24 or more will also get you a membership in Radio Waterloo, and a Host Your Own Show certificate, so you can go on the air yourself. You can donate at https://radiowaterloo.ca/give.
Katherine Loveys is in the studio to talk about Parents for Community Living and the Stand Up for PCL fundraiser to build affordable housing for people with developmental disabilities.
Free tickets are still available! Just go to our Listen Live page and type in the chat box “I’d like to win tickets to Stand Up for PCL” (with your contact info).
Katherine Loveys tells us about Parents for Community Living. It started 1986, now there are 13 locations in Waterloo Region providing accomodation for individuals with intellectual disabilities. There are no longer provincial institutions, these individuals are now living in their own home communities. Katherine tells us about her own journey into PCL, and how it has changed over the years. Katherine talks about the various services provided at the homes, including respite programs .
14m08s
Katherine introduces the Stand Up For PCL fundraiser. The goal is raising funds to build additional affordable housing. Katherine explains some of the previous work done to provide housing at the Bridgeport and Lancaster facility. St. Paul’s church wanted to repurpose their building, which was torn down and replaced with a 48 unit apartment building, of which PCL has ten units. There is also a commercial kitchen for community events. The other 38 units are available to people on the Region of Waterloo affordable housing program, but there are still some 6,000 people on the wait list, not including the 700 people with developmental disabilities on PCL‘s wait list. Katherine supplies more details on the comedy night.
21m29s
Partners for Community Living is offering two free tickets to the comedy fundraiser to the first person to put their name in the Chat Box on our Listen Live page! Be sure to write in that you want the tickets to the Stand Up for PCL comedy show.
Talking about fundraising, and how community living works, giving some more info about the Bridgeport/Lancaster residence. There are cooking classes, and PCL has a partnership with Second Harvest, which provides food for their community kitchen. The community hub is available for use community groups. Contact PCL at info@pclkw.org.
30m22s
Katherine thanks the many sponsors of the Stand Up for PCL comedy night. There are still sponsorships opportunities, and they’re still accepting items for the silent auction. Katherine explains how the silent auction works.
32m48s
Katherine discusses the privatization of health care, and how PCL is regulated in the sector. Private firms offering these services are not regulated as well. Katherine says that Developmental Services Ontario is where people can access care-giving services. But there’s a waiting list, 700 people in Waterloo Region; the waiting list across Ontario is 19,000 people. One of the challenges is finding affordable housing; another is finding employees. The pandemic made it more difficult to find people in health care and education. There are many specialty professions required, but there’s always room for volunteers.
Talking about the different awards that Parents for Community Living has received. And there are health and wellness activities for both staff and the community, such as last year’s “Hot Tub Time Machine.” The employees are very engaged with the people they support, to help them fulfill their dreams and goals. Katherine thanks all the employees for what can be a thankless job. The work can be emotionally taxing, but it is very rewarding work. PCL is a major employer in Waterloo Region, and also a major consumer at grocery stores, and even purchasing real estate. There is some employee turnover, but many people have worked there for years. Katherine lists some of the requirements for employment at PCL.
50m17s
Katherine summarizes the Stand Up for PCL one more time.
Paige Warner, Kylie Fox, and Lori Yates are in a hurry to get to the Midnight Run, so Bob interviews them first.
4m08s
Touring together, but as individuals, not a group. Kylie tells us how the three got together. Paige tells us about the logistics of the tour. Will they ever form a band? Unlikely, but they might play together tonight…
8m03s
Kylie Fox tells us about her new album, Sequoia and the song Alberta.
Bob discovers the name Gold Dust Women on the tour website. Lori Yates explains where the name comes from, and gives some background on her career. Bob and Lori talk about the poor income to musicians from streaming services, and instead buying merch and CDs directly from artists, and going to concerts.
Welcoming Tony Salomone back to CKMS-FM; he was a DJ in the ‘oughts. Talking about the variety of music in Waterloo Region. Tony tells us the history of The Saskatones. The band existed for decades, but came together during the pandemic, wrote new music, and are now performing
34m57s
The Saskatones implies they’re from Saskatoon, but the name is mostly a gag, a fake band with fake personas, they’re actually from Kitchener. Tony has always loved surf music, and tells us how that happened. There’s a wave of surf revival. The album Mercury is about planet Mercury, and they’re working their way through all the planets. Each album will be proportional to the size of the planet; Pluto will be really short. Tony originally wrote the music for Mercury, but the other band members changed their bass and drum parts w
Tony tells us about their upcoming concert. It’s the first time the band has played together! Jane Bond has been around since about 1995, about the same time as Ethel’s Lounge. Tony tells us the history of the iconic sign.
48m47s
More about the concert at Jane Bond — it’s an all-ages, afternoon show. Tony tells us about the other acts. There are only three songs on the album Mercury but they have an hour to fill. That’s OK, The Saskatones also play music about Godzilla movies.
Connecting the country is what CCC is all about. Thank you Lucy at Looters for the contact. Check out KAYAS’ album “By the Moon and the Stars,” and catch them live when you can!
Please forgive my low tech Yenny moment and forgetting to turn off airtime! Luckily I caught it! I hope you all enjoy wonderful Jordan sharing her attitude and music! Find her show Through the Static on Wednesdays at 9:00 PM!!!
Sohayla Smith is in the CKMS-FM studio for a Live, On-Air, In-Studio performance! She talks to Bob Jonkman about her studio work, the instruments she plays, the values she’s teaching her son, cover songs, ideas for an upcoming tour, and the Soup Haus soup kitchen she organizes.
Sohayla tells us about One Sweet Thing, and Bob welcomes Sohayla to the studio. Sohayla introduces her band members, Tristan Jensen on guitar and Daniel Dumas on cajone and shaker. Missing is Tyler Reed, who plays bass. Sohayla tells us a bit about her studio work at Villa Sound in Singhampton with Adam Fair. Talking about Sohayla’s work during the Covid lockdowns.
11m12s
Talking about the fiddle contests in Shelburne. But the fiddle fest no longer exists, now it’s a music festival. Sohayla plays fiddle on some of her songs, but sometimes hires a fiddle player. Sohayla is a multi-instrumentalist, playing everything except the didgeridoo.
Talking about the purpose of Better Man, why Sohayla chooses those themes. Talking about raising her son to have the values expressed in the song.
21m02s
Sohayla toured out East in 2019 and New York in 2018. Now she’s looking to play the smaller halls in Ontario, performances in house concerts, &c.
22m53s
Talking about playing covers of songs by other musicians. Sohayla tells us about In The Heather by Noah Zacharin (who was Sohayla’s teacher), and Little Things by Colin Cripps.
Adding the first verse at the end. Sohayla’s signature songwriting technique?
32m54s
Sohayla runs a soup kitchen in Shelburne, Ontario called Soup Haus. She did a TED talk on Soup Haus called No Strings Attached – Need, and the Art of Giving. The principle behind the soup kitchen is that when you don’t have enough, it is hard and feels bad to ask for help; Instead the goal is to offer help or food before people need to ask. Sohayla has done this every Sunday for five years. And now there is a songwriter’s round after the supper for musicians who want to learn about songwriting and have a community. Bob mentions that in Kitchener there is Food Not Bombs (with international roots) offering food at Kitchener City Hall every Saturday at 4:30pm; the St. John’s Kitchen, currently in St. John’s church at 23 Water Street North in Kitchener weekdays at Noon, and the Tiny Home Takeout at St. Mary’s Church, 56 Duke Street West, Tuesday to Saturday 5:00pm to 6:30pm. At Soup Haus no-one gets paid. It’s all volunteers — sometimes the dinner guests become volunteers. There may be as many as 12 volunteers, and once up to 80 guests! But 18 to 25 guests is more usual. Talking about people’s needs, and other things Sohayla has done to help her community.
41m24s
Introducing the next song, Bad Boys. It was picked up by Sirius XM. Sohayla wrote this a long time ago, and got it recorded just recently. Bad Boys is the other side to Better Man.
Bad Boys was released at the start of August. Now Sohayla is working on a Blues album. It’s going slow… She’s also working on a Christian song, but that’s not part of the Blues album. The songs have been written for a long time, and played in performance, but never recorded. There may be a Blues tour, maybe combined with the small venues tour. Or maybe not. Kitchener has lots of small (and big) Blues venues, and the big Blues Festival. Sohayla hasn’t played in her home town. Daniel is helping Sohayla book the venues.
52m51s
Sohayla doesn’t remember any upcoming performances, but she’s doing some studio work. She’ll be playing for her students’ recital. But she e-mailed a list of upcoming concerts (under Events).
Alfred Lowrick of Fight For Farmland tells us about the “Land Assembly” proposed by Waterloo Region, the provincial government’s involvement, and what farmers and other citizens are doing about it.
The interview starts at 8m16s.
We also hear some of the speeches given at the Fight For Farmland protest rally held Monday 26 August 2024.
Alfred Lowrick tells us about the issues with the Wilmot land assembly: No consultation with the community; the planning for the environmental impact has not been done; the farmers don’t want to sell their land. Personally, Alfred is concerned that the Regional plan is not being followed, that the Countryside Line is not being observed, that employment lands are supposed to be on the east side of the Region. There was a one page letter that said “We want to buy your land, and we’ll come back and make you an offer.” It was a lowball offer, and if there was no agreement within ten days then expropriation would be an option. Alfred organized meetings between the farmers and the CAO and planning director of Wilmot Township, but they couldn’t talk about it because of a confidentiality agreement with the Region. This was followed by a delegation to Wilmot Township Council, but Alfred was limited to three minutes. Now, six months later they know a bit more, but not much.
16m50s
Alfred has 70 questions for Regional Council, but his Freedom of Information requests have all been denied. There have been numerous town hall meetings organized by Fight For Farmland. And on Wednesday 28 August 2024 there was a protest rally outside the Regional headquarters with 40 tractors. There were numerous speakers, and support from the opposition in the Provincial government. There was a statement from the Provincial government stating they were funding this land assembly, but the “ground game” was at the Region of Waterloo office.
19m13s
The Provincial government has changed the rules around municipal planning: Bill 185 (“Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act”) and Bill 162 (“Get It Done Act”). Both make it easier for expropriation, making it easier for the Province to establish guidelines for planning. Some of this is driven by Federal policy, such as increased immigration which requires more housing, but it leaves the municipalities without much of a say in the planning process. Fight For Farmland has asked Wilmot Township councillors to declare themselves “unwilling hosts”, but Alfred thinks they won’t be able to do much, leaving it to the Regional government to decide who is an unwilling host or not. Fight For Farmland continues to work on it, they have some say at the municipal level, but once they get to the provincial level it’s more difficult.
21m23s
A number of people presented at the Wilmot Township Council meeting on Monday 26 August 2024, but not exactly for what Fight For Farmland is asking Council to do. People from Fight For Farmland haven’t been able to delegate directly to Council, they’re planning on doing that on Monday 9 September 2024. Letters have been sent to Council to ask them to declare Wilmot Township an unwilling host, but there’s more process to go through. At the Regional Council meeting on Wednesday the staff was threatening to disband the meeting because there were too many people standing. But some people from the Fight For Farmland steering team, including Mark Reusser of the Waterloo Federation of Agriculture spoke directly to Regional Council. The rally showed that there is something that Regional Council needs to address. But no motions were brought forward.
24m22s
Based on the statement from the Province that it’s a Regional issue, Bob thinks the Region could put a stop to this. But Alfred has heard too many conflicting statements from different levels of government, and doesn’t know who to believe. Alfred and Fight For Farmland wants this land assembly stopped, a proper planning process to take place with consultation from the community.
25m49s
Bob is worried about the lack of transparency coming from all levels of government. Alfred says this is why he doesn’t believe anyone. This is affecting the lives of everyone in Wilmot, everyone in Wateloo Region. We know this is supposed to be an industrial site, but not whether it’s a chemical plant or an electronics plant. Alfred worries about a chemical spill affecting ground water. Bob points out that industrial plants damaged the ground water in Elmira, where he lives. All the wells in Elmira are contaminated, and there are still plumes of chemicals drifting through the aquifers. There are environmentalists on the team that keep raising these issues. Bob and Alfred talk about environmentalism in farming
33m20s
Next steps: The Wilmot Council meeting on 9 September. Any other rallies or protests? Alfred points out that they’re just volunteers, it is unfair that farmers with 24/7 jobs need to take on this extra work. There is some legal work that needs to be done, more Freedom of Information requests to be sent… There are other groups that want to join, communications that need to go out, a website that needs to be maintained… They’re waiting for the Region to come forward with a plan to address some of the concerns they have. Except for one, the farmers have not had further contact about acquiring their land. If it comes to expropriation, that’s the legal aspects they have to address. To keep in touch people can go to https://www.fightforfarmland.com/, join the mailing list, and sign the petition. Make sure to sign the hardcopy petitions at the rallies. And there are other petitions from opposition parties as well. And everyone should write their Regional councillors, and Wilmot Council. All their contact information is on the Fight For Farmland website.
Frank gives info about the Ed Weidinger Memorial Labour Day Picnic, and tells us about Ed Weidinger, the former treasurer of the Labour Council. The picnic has been taking place about forty or fifty years; Frank has been involved since 1994. There used to be a Labour Day Parade that led to the picnic. Talking about the different groups: Not just labour and union groups, but other social justice organizations that have like-minded politics. The picnic is non-partisan, but some political parties represent the Labour Council’s values better than others.
11m06
It’s a fun day, not a sombre event. The band Innuendo is playing. Bob encourages them (and any other bands) to submit their music to play on the radio.
Talking about migrant farm workers, and the lack of unionization for farm workers. The small family farms weren’t the problem, it was large commercial, industrial farm operations that really needed unionization. Some temporary farm workers are not paid a minimum wage, and certainly not a living wage.
19m45s
Talking about minimum wage and a petition by MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam to raise minimum wage to $20/hour. Wages below minimum wage would not be allowed in a union shop. Bob and Frank swap stories about working in union shops.
23m00s
Talking about the Company Store and being paid in company scrip, setting up an intro for 16 Tons.
Frank’s full-time job is with the United Way, he explains how the Canadian Labour Congress and The United Way work together. Not only does Frank help unionized workplaces with their campaigns to raise money for The United Way, he can steer union members to the services of The United Way when they need assistance. The Labour Community Advocate Program trains union activists to be social stewards in the workplace. Since the manufacturing sector has dwindled, there are fewer large campaigns, but many more campaigns with smaller firms. And there is also an increased need for the services that The United Way supports, they can only meet a fraction of the requests they receive.
32m05s
Talking about the changes in the workplace, the replacement of full-time workers with part-time workers. But employers are having trouble filling vacancies, now employers are starting to offer better wages and working conditions. Talking about the skills needed to do all jobs, every job is as important as any other.
35m22s
How unions get good working conditions, benefits, or wages for workers — all done through negotiations, or, at worst, witholding labour, ie. a strike. Contracts are typically negotiated for three years. Most negotiations go smoothly, but we only hear about the labour conflicts. Workers need to eat, and so they want to work. Frank gives his personal opinions on the recent railway labour dispute. Talking about replacement workers, the “dreaded scab”. There was anti-scab legislation from 1990 to 1995, with fewer labour disputes in that time. Recently, the federal government passed Bill C-58, anti-scab legislation (Bob and Frank speculate on the progress of this bill).
Frank’s role with The United Way is “Resource Development Office, Labour”, helping workplaces with their fundraising efforts. Reviewing the events for the Labour Day Picnic. It’s a way for labour organizations to give back to the community, that it’s just all about striking. It’s unions that gave us the weekend! Whereas unions help make the workplace better, The United Way helps make communities better.
49m20s
Frank sees an ongoing need for unions, representing people who don’t have the voices to stand up for themselves. When we put our voices together we’re much stronger. Some workers may not realize the value of the union, but explaining that the wages, the benefits they have aren’t provided benevolently by the employer, it’s the union that negotiated for that.
51m30s
A recap of the the Labour Day Picnic at Waterloo Park: Enter from the Westmount Road entrance. Live music, entertainment for the kids, bouncy castles, amusement rides, and great food: hot dogs, hamburgers, and vegetarian samosas. Full information is online at https://wrlc.ca (also https://waterloolabour.ca/). Frank mentions the upcoming Canadian Labour Independent Film Festival. Bob encourages everyone to send their Public Service Announcements for upcoming events to office@radiowaterloo.ca.
53m50s
Bob gives the credits.
CKMS Community Connections Hour One airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 on Monday from 11:00am to Noon, and Hour Two airs alternate Fridays from 3:00pm to 4:00pm.
Ability came to the CKMS studio and shared his music. We had a great conversation. Ability is a Nigerian artist, who connects with local music promotion group, We Have Music, and performs with them in the Uptown Square. There is a We Have Music performance on Saturday 31st of August, starting at 6 PM.
No guests today, but CKMS-FM is being audited by SOCAN this week. That’s actually a good thing, because that’s how SOCAN determines which musicians get how much royalties. So today we’re pumping up the volume on KWCon (musicians from Waterloo Region) and CanCon (musicians from other parts of Canada). Let us know when the money starts rolling in!
“Hailing from the frozen depths of Canada, MG 08 is a one-man war metal band formed in 2023 by Tom.Kpfw. MG 08 attempts to capture the essence of brutality and horror that is warfare.
The name, MG 08, draws its moniker from the iconic Maschinengewehr 08, a German machine gun used in the First and Second World Wars.
Through blistering guitar riffs, thunderous percussion, and screeching vocals, MG 08 pays homage to military history in every song.”
Laura Boytim, Executive Director of The Ripple Effect Education talks to Bob Jonkman about the origins of TREE, what services it provides and what programs it offers, the Peace Innovator Scholarship & Mentorship Program, the effects of Covid 19, and the staff, volunteers, and its Board of Directors.
The Ripple Effect Education has a wonderful acronym, TREE, which is all about conflict resolution, peace building, and social justice education for all ages: Adults, youth, and children. TREE started in 2016, and sprung out of a Peace Camp organized by Katie Gingerich at Conrad Grebel University College at the University of Waterloo. Laurel explains some of the different aspects of the course, and how it varies with different age groups, and how TREE got into the schools systems to teach there. The adult education component is fairly new, and expanding.
7m38s
Educators at TREE have varied backgrounds in social justice and conflict resolution. Many facilitators are in university or have just graduated; they teach the kindergarten through grade eight classrooms. There are facilitators with backgrounds in psychology, knowledge integration, peace and conflict studies, social justice, gender studies, and more.
8m53s
Corporations that want workplace workshops can e-mail, Laurel will set up a consultation meeting to determine what their needs are, and customize and create a program to suit.
Talking about the origin of the name The Ripple Effect Education. Talking about the “Training for Trainers” program, for people who want to teach the kindergarten to grade eight education in their own students. This is spreading out to Europe and across the world. Is there a danger of putting yourself out of work? Laurel wants to be able to put herself out of a job, but that’s unlikely to happen soon. There is also the Peace Innovator Scholarship & Mentorship Program partnered with the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement and the University of Waterloo, for students going into grade 11 or 12. Application had closed the previous Friday, but was kept open for an extra week for listeners of Radio Waterloo! It starts off with a two-day retreat, goes throughout the school year, and ends with a final showcase in April. This is extra-curricular, totally separate from the regular high school program. Candidates will go through an interview process, then the retreat takes place in July.
Talking about Covid. TREE moved some things online, and now can provide online education as a regular service. But Covid has increased the struggles in schools; students are behind socially. There’s a need for more mental- and self-care; Laurel explains the systemic nature of the things people are dealing with. Talking about the Region of Waterloo Combatting Hate Action Table. Doing this locally and globally. Education is only one of the parts to bringing about social justice and human rights.
33m39s
Setting up the organization, overcoming administrative hurdles. TREE is a charitable organization concentrating on education. There’s not much political activity, it’s providing conflict resolution and peace building to everyone. Talking about sources of grants and funding. Looking to people who share their values. Talking about the fundraising gala held earlier in the year. People can donate through the website using Canada Helps.
More about funding, growing the programs that have been developed. TREE has three staff, and many volunteer facilitators and students. There is a Board of Directors, which has some vacancies. If you’re interested in serving on the Board send an e-mail to hello@therippleeffecteducation.ca, as well as for any other volunteer opportunities.
45m51s
Some former students are still in touch, some have become facilitators, and even some younger siblings have come out. And many of the corporate clients have come back for additional workshops.
48m00s
What happens to people who aren’t selected for the Mentorship program? There aren’t many people who aren’t accepted, perhaps they’re encouraged to come back later. Is there overlap with other Waterloo Region organizations? Not really, TREE is in a niche, but willing to collaborate with other organizations. The TREE office is located in the Centre for Peace Advancement, and there’s a lot of collaboration with other organizations there.
50m55s
Bob thanks Laurel, and gives the end credits.
CKMS Community Connections Hour One airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 on Monday from 11:00am to Noon, and Hour Two airs alternate Fridays from 3:00pm to 4:00pm.
Bob makes pitches for the Spring 2024 Fundraiser throughout the show. We’re raising funds to keep Radio Waterloo on the air — money raised will go towards maintenance of our equipment, offsetting increases in rent both for the studio and our transmitter, and generally dealing with inflation. There are prizes of T-shirts from Radio Waterloo, Street Hop, and All Weather Haulage, and CD compilations of music from local musicians.
Jax Rula
Bob speaks with Jax Rula of WEFT Fest, the Woolwich Expressions in Fibre Traditions about the name “WEFT Fest”, events taking place, the Vendors’ Market, and some of the other events.
Bob speaks with Jax Rula of WEFT Fest. Jax explains that on a loom the “warp” are the strings that go on the loom, and the “weft” are the strings that make the pattern. But WEFT is also the Woolwich Expressions in Fibre Traditions. Jax created a venue, the TriSisters Art House and wanted to be part of the Quilt and Fibre Arts Festival. But the ladies that ran it were retired, and to continue the festival Jax had to change the name. Jax tells us about the TriSisters Art House. It’s busy at the Vendors’ Market; Jax talks with some customers. Talking about some of the other events taking place during the ten days of the festival. Jax tells us about the items in the auction. Jax’s fibre art is dollmaking, and she tells us of alternate fibres, for example, paper. And Jax tells us about the Vendors’ Market in the Timber Barn, and some of the other events.
Megan Brady, Communications Lead for CMHAWW, the Canadian Mental Health Association of Waterloo Wellington talks to Bob Jonkman about the work of CMHAWW, the Run For Women fundraiser on Saturday 11 May 2024, effects of the pandemic on people’s mental health, and the operations of CMHAWW.
The interview starts at 5m21s.
Here 24/7 mental health crisis or immediate assistance:
Megan Brady explains what the CMHA is and does. She explains the 24/7 crisis line, and what it’s used for. Not all services are available in all areas of the region, it depends on what’s needed. CMHAWW has merged with sever al other organizations.
9m21s
Talking about the fundraiser, Run For Women, which took place on Saturday 11 May 2024 at Conestoga College Doon Campus. It’s the biggest CMHAWW fundraiser of the year. The runs are organized by Shoppers Drug Mart and take place across Canada, some for CHMA, some for other organizations. CHMAWW has participated for the past seven years.
13m38s
Over the pandemic, Megan thought that people might have gained a different perspective on mental health, but things are still going on below the surface. There has been a 40% upswing in calls for support. People call in for crisis counselling, or to find the next steps in getting help, or even to get assistance for other people. Talking about sources of funding, both provincial and federal, and how it’s allocated.
Talking about the locations, and the programs available at the different locations. Also talking about training progras for corporate or community organizations. CHMAWW is the partner agency in 9‑8‑8, the Suicide Crisis Helpline. Talking about the structure of CMHAWW. And the new building! Discussing corporate donors, and political support.
40m02s
Talking about future fundraisers. CMHA is a registered charity, donations are tax-receiptable. The Run For Women is specifically to raise money for women’s mental health. Other activities are online, several every month.
44m30s
Repeating the details for Saturday’s Run For Women, and some details of other events.
Megan Brady is the Communications Lead for CMHAWW. Reviewing the upcoming Run For Women. The past week has been Mental Health Week. Talking about issues specific to women’s mental health. CMHAWW has been the lead agency for mental health support for ten years.
55m56s
Bob gives the end credits.
CKMS Community Connections Hour One airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 on Monday from 11:00am to Noon, and Hour Two airs alternate Fridays from 3:00pm to 4:00pm.
Guest hosts Asuga Ikemoto and André Leoncito from St. Mary’s High School play music, some of their own productions, and provide interpretation and explanations.
Special thanks to David Lacalamita, teacher at St. Mary’s High School!
Scott McGovern introduces himself: For the last two years he’s the Festival and Events Specialist at the City of Waterloo. Scott is a 30-year alumnus of CKMS! He remembers the walls of vinyl records, letting DJs play whatever they wanted, music you would never hear on mainstream radio. A portal into alternative music! Talking about the purpose of community radio. Coming up to the busy season for Scott; lots of interesting programs and events, sometimes two a week! Scott organizes the “Campfire Series” on Waterloo Public Square, eight throughout the summer, 6pm to 8pm. Hyness plays on 10 July 2024. The first event will be a Campfire session on Wednesday 8 May 2024, with Sammy Duke and Gerima Harvey.
Other events are one-off (annual) events, like Winterloo, where Scott met Bob Jonkman this past January. Open Streets on 15 June 2024 is another annual event, and Radio Waterloo will be there too! And DJ Denim will be playing Live-To-Air at the Art Market, 5:00pm to 9:00pm on Friday 31 May 2024.
Clarissa Diokno is playing at the second Campfire event from 6:00pm to 8:00pm on 22 May 2024.
Clarissa’s music is perfect for the vibe Scott is trying for at these events. Scott and his team have some set annual events, like this year’s Community Picnic on 1 July 2024 in Waterloo Park West, another Radio Waterloo Live-To-Air event. Yet another annual event is Day of Play on 10 August 2024. Lumen is the biggest event each year, a one-night celebration of light-based installations. And there are the “affiliate groups”, like Busker Fest, the Uptown Jazz Festival, Royal Medieval Faire. Some started as City events and became so big that they formed their own organizations. The City of Waterloo still helps with logistics such as using City facilities and road closures, making sure that they provide what Waterluvians have come to love and expect.
25m18s
What can we expect on July 1st? The student-run Canada Day celebrations came to an end in 2018, and the City of Waterloo saw that would leave a huge vacuum, so they decided to take it on. It now take place in Waterloo Park by the bandshell. The highlight of the night is the choreographed drone show, with a live soundtrack.
The event on 1 July is branded as a Community Picnic, it isn’t a super traditional Canada Day celebration. Last year the audience was estimated at 15- to 20 thousand people.
32m26s
There are eight campfires in the square. Scott can’t reveal names yet, but it will be great. There will also be three Art Markets, very popular with audiences as well as local artists and craftspeople. And Scott announces that on 31 May there will be an Art Market and a Celebration In The Square to show off the new improvements such as the water feature and the shade structures. And the new artwork on the Events trailer will be unveiled. There will be remarks from the Mayor and others, followed by music from Anet Hector.
Jenniefer thanks Scott for the city creating a nice atmosphere and caring about the quality of life for city dwellers. Scott says he appreciates that, Waterloo is a special community to get behind the arts and culture that exists here. Not all cities do it to this extent. Scott sees is as supporting the mental health of the community.
Scott is looking forward to the point where everyone has done their work, and the events come alive.
50m30s
Artists come to the Scott’s attention through calls for submissions that are open to anyone — there’s a lot of interest, so not everyone is accepted. Other artists are selected for specific things. It’s a huge range of new people, and people the city has worked with in the past.
51m53s
Jenniefer gives the end credits.
CKMS Community Connections Hour One airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 on Monday from 11:00am to Noon, and Hour Two airs alternate Fridays from 3:00pm to 4:00pm.
Bob Jonkman talks to script developer Sepehr Reybod and actor June Sung about the upcoming performance of Immolation, how the play was developed, the theme of the play, how it relates to current events, and how the play is structured to achieve the message it is trying to convey.
Bob introduces Sepehr Reybod and June Sung. June explains what the Department of Theatre and Performance is, and how students are involved. Sepehr describes what he does as “text developer” — Immolation is a devised piece, there was no script, only a spark of an idea. The actors wanted to look at resistance, revolution, and rebellion. The text was created by the actors, and Sepehr fleshed it out, created a narrative structure, and assembled it into the script. He’s also the assistant director, working with director Pam Patel of MT Space. Similar to a piece of music, the play follows four movements and interludes. The story emerged in rehearsal and improvs. Even the title took time to come out. Script writing isn’t generally part of the course, but it’s the nature of a divised piece. There is lots of dependence on the other actors and supporting staff, and even the audience is invited to fill in for themselves. Sepehr describes the stage setup.
June tells us of the background and research on freedom fighters that went into Immolation. June researched the South Korean trans-gender activist Jungle.
24m04s
Talking about immolation in the news, and Aaron Bushnell. Sepehr thinks it’s important to differentiate immolation itself from self-immolation: Immolation is the act to destroy by fire, whereas self-immolation is a performative act of protest. But Immolation was created before the self-immolation of Aaron Bushnell. The act is done with the hope of a response to bring something new. This is a big part of the show, taking a look at the different ways we can spark this hope, burn something down, create something new by the act of metaphorically burning down the system. Sepehr repeats the message of hope in Immolation. But mainstream media doesn’t often show the hope and restoration, only the protest and destruction. The language of protest is violence, because that is how these protests can be heard. June thinks that Immolation does end with the hope that something better will come along; each movement shows the destruction and regrowth in different ways. Telling a story that shows regrowth and joy is one of the best forms of protest.
31m02s
June recites an excerpt from Immolation.
32m29s
June provides some analysis of the meaning behind those words. Sepehr gives different examples of what resistance looks like; sometimes it is 100,000 people marching in the street, but also someone walking into a space where they don’t belong and changing it from within. Sepehr goes over the structure of the play. Each movement is a standalone piece, that together tells the whole story.
37m23s
What happens next? After a well-deserved rest, June might like to see one movement or the whole play fleshed out into a larger piece; revolution doesn’t stop when the lights go down. While Waterloo Region has seen its share of protest, reception for Immolation will depend a lot on the venue. At UofW a wide variety of perspectives is appreciated, but that’s not true everywhere; all the more reason to continue to present it. But Sepehr says people are hungry for change, they can use Immolation as the spark to make that change. Theatre is ephemeral, but June says the experience she’s had will stay with her forever. Working on Immolation has got her more energized to work for freedom for all people.
June reminds us of the dates and time for performances of Immolation, as well as the web site and ticket prices. Sepehr tells us about the theatre and the arrangement of the thrust stage. June tells us there will be a new production in the fall, but she is graduating so she won’t be a part of it. Students don’t have to be a theatre major to register for course “Theatre Performance 417”. June tells us about the audition process, slightly different because of the improv.
53m27s
Bob gives the end credits.
CKMS Community Connections Hour One airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 on Monday from 11:00am to Noon, and Hour Two airs alternate Fridays from 3:00pm to 4:00pm.
Subscribe to the CKMS Community Connections podcast!
See all CKMS Community Connections shows!
Creative Commons Attribution Only license. Copy, re-use, and derivative works are allowed with attribution to Radio Waterloo and a link to this page. Music selections are copyright by the respective rights holders. The theme music is written and performed by Steven Todd.
https://cooperateforcanada.ca/
https://pclkw.org/
SOCAN this week. That’s actually a good thing, because that’s how SOCAN determines which musicians get how much royalties. So today we’re pumping up the volume on KWCon (musicians from Waterloo Region) and CanCon (musicians from other parts of Canada). Let us know when the money starts rolling in!
Songs From the Big Chore
2
Single
Single
Computer
Single
Bitter / Sweet
Don’t Be a Sucker – Swallow This
Chaos Alchemy
Subscribe to the CKMS Community Connections podcast!
See all CKMS Community Connections shows!
Creative Commons Attribution Only license. Copy, re-use, and derivative works are allowed with attribution to Radio Waterloo and a link to this page. Music selections are copyright by the respective rights holders. The theme music is written and performed by Steven Todd.
https://therippleeffecteducation.ca/
https://cmhaww.ca/
