My first guest Amit Mehta is the Founder and City Lead of Good Company Productions @goodcoprod. Together with a team made up of students, young professionals, and industry leaders, Amit works to create and provide unique, curated musical experiences in the Kitchener-Waterloo community. Since 2017, Amit and the team have hosted secret, invite-only popup concerts across the region, featuring unconventional venues — such as museums, living rooms, hair salons, tech offices, and more — and showcasing a mix of local and international musicians to an always attentive audience. Recently, the team has started to grow into the world of community-centric event production, hosting concerts in collaboration with local partners, putting together accessible community events, and finding ways to support more artists and creators in their own endeavors.
My second guest Erica Lauren James @ericalaurenjames is a 51 yr old proud parent of two adult children, advocate for LGBTQ2S+ communities, Pflag chapter leader, public speaker as well as a future politician who also happens to be an amazing transgender woman! Erica, a Sales Manager at Closet Couture Boutique is proud to share her personal stories of resiliency, hope and trust in public spaces in hopes to pave the way for other transgender women and the community around them towards a life of more self love and acceptance. Erica shared her struggles, the journey of acceptance while speaking candidly and openly about what it was like to transition from male to female.
Elizabeth McCallister and Mark Kempf Today we’re joined by four members of The Arlington Six poetry society: Elizabeth McCallister, Mark Kempf, Lin Geary, and Jim Tomkins.
Lin Geary and Jim Tomkins
Show Notes
Here are some of the poems read on the show, along with a few others that we didn’t get to.
“Paintings are like poems, they are thoughts abandoned” Stan J. White
Music Hall
by Stan J. White
Sex is something
God has thrown in to ensure
We do not confuse ourselves
With deities, with angels –
a kind of tether
that never lets us stray too far
from freshly turned earth after rain
and in the pathos of it all
a constant reminder
of vaudeville, of burlesque.
An Ode to Beer
by Jim Tomkins, 7 November 2011
Oh, amber elixir crowned with golden head
whence came your magic mystical mixture
of barley mash, crystalline water and fruity hops?
Brewed hodgepodge in containers from Sumeria to China
through cellared wooden kegs to Pilzen caves
and glistening copper kettles row on row.
Drunk in litres, pints and Aussie schooners,
halves, viertels and even once,
in six ounce ten cent drafts.
Oh, wine where is thy claim?
Full muted by this tasty honest brew
from ancient cloudy ale to new craft sips
past charcoal stout, beach blond lager
hoppy pale, sweet chocolate mild.
All sips tease lips, tempt discerning tongues
foaming moustaches form in the tingling wake
of fermented flavours gliding down.
Quaffed, not guzzled,
savoured, not chugged
each nuanced batch unique.
Taste, robust or delicate,
stirs heightened eloquence,
smooth patter, bravado’s hope.
Enter the intoxicating dreamland
of ambrosial brew
Biere, cervesa, live on!
Oh, amber elixir crowned with gold.
My Wreck Beach Haiku
by Lin Geary
my new raincoat
for Wreck Beach–
clear plastic
Buried Deep
by Becky D. Alexander
details from a memoir by Sergeant Jim Alexander (MM) Lincoln and Welland Regiment, Holland, 1945
In the kitchen, from the doorway to the hearth,
lying on the floor like some colossal cigarette –
a log , one end in the fire, burning slowly
as flames surround a bubbling pot.
It mystified the Canadian soldiers, those kept
after the war – troops retained
to rebuild a battered country, one
that refused to be swallowed back into the sea.
The explanation provided to the curious, Because the Nazis took all of our metal:
axes, pitchforks, scythes and hoes, even kitchen knives –
a last ditch effort to build more weapons.
Allied saviours shared meals of boiled tulip bulbs: ‘the most gawd-awful things you ever ate’
along with Red Cross chocolate and rationed tins
of bully beef: bitter meals of freedom.
Under our barn, wrapped in oiled burlap,
We have our tractor and plow – buried bits cloistered away
following the final swoop of the flag of black on red. They never found them. Soon, we will plant.
—
This poem appeared in the anthology Tamaracks: Canadian Poetry for the 21 st Century, edited by James Deahl, Lummox Press, California. This anthology is available through Amazon.ca.
The Muffin Man
by Elizabeth McCallister
At two and a half,
He’s got it all figured out.
How to find his T.V. shows
and how to reach those muffins.
He takes one glance over his shoulder
as he stretches out his fingers.
He’s a bad boy though.
It’s his third,
but Mommy’s talking on the phone
so she can’t stop him.
He fixes sad brown eyes
on her to say
“I need this chocolate chip muffin.”
To peel back the golden skin of enriched white flour
and get to the centre.
Pick out each chocolate chip.
Set it aside on the coffee table
filled with his sticky fingerprints
and the goo of cooked muffin and chips
mixed with his saliva.
Place them there for later.
Make a happy face with
eight chips curved in a smile,
three for the eyes and nose.
He’s got his time alone with Mommy.
His big brother and Daddy are
off at Scout Camp together.
At night, he sleeps on top of her
so she can’t get away and leave him.
Until he goes off to playschool,
and sees his girlfriend Chelsea.
He’s decided his name is Sean.
It sounds better.
One day, he’ll fix
those big brown eyes on another woman.
She’ll melt like those chocolate chips
in his hot little fingers.
That’s the way it works.
Not the least Oedipal.
Just practising on the first woman
who loves him, picks up after him, feeds him.
Poem for Reading in a Bar
by Dave Margoshes
Hey, you, you in the back,
come a little closer. The poem
is warm, but its voice is soft.
And you, you over there,
don’t be afraid, the poem
bites, but only the ones it loves.
And you, yeah, I mean you,
looking so smug, do you really
think you’re immune to poetry?
This poem will get under
your skin, you’ll find yourself
thinking about it tonight
as you’re trying to fall asleep,
your lips moving in the dark,
alone in your bed with a poem
you hardly know. When you wake
the bed will be empty, the sheets
soiled, only the poem’s scent
on your pillow to let you know
it was there, only its footprints
in the snow outside your heart
—
From his collection Purity of Absence , (2001) Porcepic Books. Still available for purchase.
Six for the Solstice
(haiku from my garden) by Lin Geary
first time for raised beds–
tender lettuce, red chard
chipmunk and sparrow
cirque du soleil–
these endless wire tents
for the seedling peas
brand-new
pistol-grip
econo-watering
thing
I water my shoes
the neighbour’s tom
brings his best invisible act–
doubtful blue jay
what will I serve with
this 64 dollar
vine-ripened tomato?
sister skunks
stroll under my hammock
lesson in prayer
Worship in the Boreal Forest
by Elizabeth McCallister
Our vespers were whispers to the moon,
and our matins sang the sun awake.
We drank in the summer’s long afternoons.
Began knitting blankets with the first snowflake.
We fell in love to the dance of butterflies.
Their white wings wove a spell of enchantment.
Breezes’ touch on our needles were our lullabies
serenading our young to sleep’s contentment.
We were the high priests within our temple
celebrating rites to our gods’ abundance.
Air, earth, water, light – our needs were simple.
The two-footed fiends stole away our innocence.
There are no songs when each breath is an effort.
All the brown-needled branches are our scars.
Dying, we entwine our roots for comfort,
and sighing send our sorrows to the stars.
—
These two poems were in the collection Notes from Suburbia, 2013, published by Craigleigh Press, Cambridge, ON. It isn’t in print but you may be able to obtain some of the last copies at the Green Heron bookstore in Paris, ON.
Santiago
by Jim Tomkins
On his shoulder tilts a rod
pointing the path so often trod.
In this town of Ford and Chevy
he strides determined to the levee.
Dew-dappled Levis, faded cuff
along dusty curbsides scuff.
Runners crunch the pearly gravel
keen to angle migrants’ travel.
Slimy pylons split the stream
hindrance to the caster’s dream.
Breezes push the sightless odor
sulphuric-past the tugboat’s motor.
Through Ambassador’s massive arc
stand unlit towers of the park.
Oriole, Indian, Yankee teams
thwart the Tigers’ pennant schemes.
Today fishing is his only care
minnows splash, striped bodies glare.
The run is over school is out
time to sell the pseudo-trout.
Scale-stained pockets, shiny dimes
magic simple childhood times.
Two-scooper from the inverted cone
Young Santiago trundles home.
Ashes
by Jim Tomkins, May 9th 2012 Mothers’ day
Her grey ashes sit
in a pressed board box
on an attic shelf
next to light lace doilies
with lavender scent.
Below a trunk’s contents:
sepia family photos known to her
stamps from a bygone era
sleeved in cracking plastic,
crocheted samplers, musty address book
her favourite sherry glass.
I’m happy that is the scene.
No need for flashy urn
to adorn the mantel.
She is far from discarded
her memory’s embedded
a bond from womb to life’s end
Mother to son.
The haiku that won the 2012 International Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival: Haiku Invitational, and rode the Vancouver buses for a couple of months:
by Lin Geary
morning tai chi–
all the prams
slowly turning pink
at the cenotaph
by Lin Geary, 2018
on a skinny cold day
bespoke in black
the long lamb coat, the boot-lined comfort…
there, alongside my fellow Canadians
it’s time to jut out my chin
in once-a-year pride
to stand curbside guard
to miscount the endless placing of wreaths
to breathe out the thoughtless mind-frost
into thin, thin air….
and the mic kicks in, then out
as a faultless child sings the Queen’s old anthem
and we all raise out descant and filler voices
not missing a beat…
till Henry calls the Colour Guard to attention…
Present Flags!
it is only then the tears begin
cloud my eyes and bite my cheeks
because Henry has led the parade
because Henry is my long-widowed neighbour
because Henry is 92, bent and strong
and I think Happy Birthday, Canada
because it is the 11th of November…
100 years of armistice after a war
that birthed our nation
and here we stand, still firm, still cold
in perpetual grief
still hoping for peace
Maeve 3
Jim Tomkins, 2017
Rhythmic patter of sidewalk
slowly droops her eyes
gentle bump of each slab
confirms her comfort
a tiny hand protrudes
retreats returns to rest
wee nose below cap’s brim
contains genes of the stroller
as do tiny ears
peeking under pink flap
instinctual feeling confirms
the link
a generation apart
together strolling in the Annex
a primal confluence
pulses in the air.
11 Days
by Jim Tomkins, 2013
ebony locks beside miniscule digits
snorfly flared nose, flint coal eyes
endlessly curious in bright moments
of sight
one tiny nicked ear, peach-tinted cheeks
insatiable mouth, slight doubling chin
eagerly chomping in maternal moments
of milk
fuzzy cute sleeper housing jiggling legs
scrunched like a turtle thrusting out
kicking, declaring the embracing
Of life
The Poet
by Jim Tomkins
He sits
Glasses perched
Contemplative frown
Over hunched shoulders
Ancient desk and messy pen
His hair
Stands alert in silver halo
Around his warty pate
The lidded eyes closed in reverie
His thoughts
Provoke tugs of mustache
On bristled upper lip
Above careless shaving scar
He ponders
Lists of grasped images
Written on scraps
And stuffed in random pockets
He recalls
An endless selection
Of captured memories
That rooted themselves over time like saplings
His scribbling
Whisk him back in time
And force his aging brain
To organize. To prioritize. To choose
His words
Spill forth and write themselves
In haste and fear of loss
Like escaping prisoners
His poems
Speak not to another
Not to his audience
But to him alone
As he sits, glasses perched
At ancient desk and quill.
Death of the voice
by Jim Tomkins
For generations they came
first with mouth pieces
mounted on walls with hand held
receiver cones in touch by party line
then with dials and cradles
for decades used to keep in touch
clunky cordless devolved to flip
to ironic smart
communication ended
dumbed down by texting
muffled by instagram
silenced by Facebook
voices no longer heard
or listened to
the chat castrated
the telephone a eunuch
in the harem of the algorithm
A correction — Mark Kempf writes: “I am so embarrassed to say but happy to report Wendell Berry is not dead as I so confidently mentioned yesterday — I wanted to let you know as soon as I could.
My confusion is completely indefensible, and not sure why I thought it now.”
Jasmine Mangalaseril @cardamomaddict is a promiscuous eater and adept home cook who writes. Described as quick-witted and insightful, she was one of a handful who pioneered food blogging in Canada. Jasmine has spoken at BlogHer and to the Canadian Public Relations Society, and featured by Canadian Press, CanWest News, CBC, @foodnetworkca , and SRC, as well as culture.ca and delish.com.
As a food writer, she covers a range of topics from profiles to food history to food ways, with her words having appeared in canadianliving.com, foodnetwork.ca, and pbs.com. She’s a restaurant reviewer for the Waterloo Region Record. Her World of Food column for Grand Magazine tells the stories of people who’ve come to Waterloo Region and the foods that remind them of home. She is a member of the Association of Food Journalists.
Amanda Case a graduate from Laurier with an Honours in Kinesiology and Physical Education, studied Holistic Nutrition and Active Aging, became a personal trainer and fitness instructor. She then went on to manage corporate wellness programs for Ford, Toyota, Home Hardware, Christie Digital, Dofasco. Amanda Case teamed up with her very talented friend Nicky who had a background in cooking and a dream of owning a food business. Together they created MVP Meals @mvpmeals 3.5 years ago. It started with a one day a week meal delivery and expanded to two days per week, with pick up options. Eight months ago they opened a retail location becoming the only meal prep company in Canada that offers a dine in experience combined with the option to stock your fridge with meal prep! Proud to be located in the heart of downtown Kitchener inside the food hall at the Kitchener Market 5 days a week.
The #Lights4LibertyKW vigil was held on Friday, 12 July 2019 in Waterloo Town Square to call for an end to both the migrant detention camps in the United States and those in Canada.
Christine Mayor a PhD student at Laurier University and a trauma therapist, spoke on the vigil organization and Canada’s own problems with refugee detention.
Kira Williams, a post-doctoral student from the International Migration Research Centre at the University of Waterloo spoke about international migrant detention issues.
“Lights for Liberty is not about one lone day of action. It’s a chance to elevate orgs that’ve been doing this work for years, to get involved, to demand change AND to fight for it. Join us.”
—Lights for Liberty international organizers/hosts
Write to and call your MP calling on them to end migrant detention in Canada and to end the Safe Third Party Agreement with the United States.
Write to and call the Minister and Deputy Minister of Immigration Refugees and Citizenships and of Public Safety Canada calling on them to end migrant detention in Canada and to end the Safe Third Party Agreement with the United States.
Donate to an organization in the United States that is working to support migrants and refugees. There are a lot of options including RAICES, Immigrant Families Together, and ACLU.
Share articles on social media about the migrant detention camps in the U.S. and about migrant detention in Canada. Encourage others to take action and help them figure out how.
Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper about some aspect of this work that’s important to you – ending migrant detention; being a welcome community for refugees and immigrants; the racist past and present of immigration policy in the U.S. and Canada, or closing the camps in the United States.
Donate to an organization in Canada that supports immigrants and refugees. There are lots of options including Canadian Council for Refugees, Migrante, No One Is Illegal Toronto, and Sanctuary Refugee Health Centre.
Write to and call your MPP about reversing the Ford government’s cuts to legal aid for refugees and immigrants.
Advocate for a professional association or community organization that you’re a part of to formally call for an end to migrant detention and join relevant coalitions or working groups.
Connect with other participants from the Lights for Liberty event to organize another event – panel discussion on migrant discussion, fundraiser, film festival, demonstration, etc.
Get involved in Provincial and Federal politics – ensuring that migrant detention and services for immigrants and refugees are key election issues.
Join the mailing list for and follow immigrants’ rights groups on social media so that you can continue to learn and take action
The Lights For Liberty vigil was announced on CKMS Community Connections on 8 July 2019.
Music List
The playlist today is entirely from Nation of Iron by J.P. Mortier, a singer, song writer and artist from Montreal. It’s a double album consisting of 24 songs clocking in at 2 hours and 19 minutes. On this album, he targets the totalitarian powers that be: governments, corporate power, religion, ideology, technology and other tools of destruction that want to rule our society. It seemed appropriate, given the topic for today’s show.
We dip into the album selections throughout the show, interspersed with talking to our in-studio guests.
I sat down with the Founder, Tamara Menon of YUVA Arts Project, a singer herself who after being selected into a reality TV show in India called Sa Re Ga Ma Pa from Dubai, brought her to the beautiful city of Mumbai, after which she made a few more TV appearances and sang professionally for various producers. Tamara shared her journey and what inspired her to start YUVA Arts Project. Joining Tamara was Dr. Gerard Yun, music professor, mentor, researcher and one of the many collaborators who played an integral part in this project. YUVA Arts Project is a cross-cultural collaborative initiative addressing issues related to displacement and disintegration faced by marginalized youth groups across the world. Using arts as a medium, Yuva Arts team aims to provide a space for youth to explore solutions, so that they may overcome social challenges that they experience.
A group of 6-8 Indian youth from Kamathipura, who are children of commercially sexually exploited women, from Mumbai, India travelled to Kitchener-Waterloo, Canada, where they had the music professor, mentor, pportunity to collaborate in various arts-based projects with Indigenous and refugee youth. Yuva Arts aim is to build leaders so that, not only will they strive for an enriching future for themselves, but also for their communities
Suzanne Dietrich, Registered Dietitian and the owner of Gut Instincts Nutrition Counselling, specializes in helping people make peace with food. She works with all humans, specifically those who are sick of dieting and confused about what to eat, those in recovery from eating disorders and those with gut health concerns.
Suzanne believes that all foods fit and the best way of eating for everyone is one that takes into nutrition but just as importantly access, time, life situation/trauma, health conditions, financial ability, food skills, sustainability, preference and pleasure. Have you been on numerous diets, felt shame about your body and were in a love-hate relationship with food? Are you dealing with eating disorder, be it anorexia, bulimia, binge or something in between, listen to Suzanne Dietrich In Conversation with Rashmi
Rebecca Van Kan , is a simple girl from a small town in Niagara in Ontario, Canada, who survived some soul wrenching times as early as age eight. Her courage, strength and bravery in deciding to share with the world what she went thru from being molested by family at an early age to being in a physically and sexually abusive relationship for years. Writing became Rebecca’s most valued escape from the demons of her world. She started writing her first book a year later, and the year after she started her blog ‘The Written Compass’. On her blog she shared short pieces of writing to bring important issues faced by survivors to light that are often overlooked, like the individuality of pain, and to share the bits of strength Rebecca found along her journey of healing.
Currently, she is also focusing intently on her second book while she continues to develop her writing ability. Rebecca shared her darkest times so others are not be faced with fear or silenced.
Krista Hovsepian is creator, writer, executive producer and actor for Wholesome Foods, I Love You… Is That OK? (WFILY). WFILY is a comedy about a neurotic yoga teacher in search of love at her favourite organic supermarket. Catch the website at https://www.wfily.com/
8 Aug 2019 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm (Register) A Night To Inspire with Brian Bourke, Ella and Eva Hanson, Jeff Heer, MP Pam Damoff, “Fashion Santa” Paul Mason, and Tim Louis will be performing
Sun, 11 Aug 2019 from 4:00pm to 6:00pm (Register) Dan Walsh and Laura Mae Lindo
Tue, 13 Aug 2019 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm (Register)
Concert with Tim Louis and Allister Bradley
Tue, 20 Aug 2019 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm (Register)
Concert with Jesse Parent and Laura Mae Lindo
Thanks to Jeff Stager for inviting me on to his @RadioWaterloo show to chat about the Wilmot Terry Fox Run's coming events. Not only did Jeff let me play four tracks from our On the Road CD, he even bought the copy we played! #TerryFoxLivesHerepic.twitter.com/2hUdHnP3P9
— Wilmot Terry Fox Run (@WilmotTerryFox) July 22, 2019
Sandra Dynka was crowned Miss Oktoberfest 2018, making her the 50th Miss Oktoberfest. Sandra describes her journey nothing less than magical. She is so grateful to be in this role and feels so honoured to be part of not only the Oktoberfest community but Kitchener Waterloo. A Kinesiology Graduate from Texas Tech University with a minor in nutrition, Sandra’s passion for nutrition was not just limited to educating people on the importance of it, but making it accessible to every single person in the region. In addition to her passion for nutrition, she is an advocate for encouraging women and young girls in this community who feel unworthy of their dreams and write them off before they even attempt to chase them, to follow their dreams, believe in themselves, no matter their age. We are all worthy.
Aileen Agada, this young entrepreneur is currently an environmental engineering student from the University of Waterloo is born and raised in Canada. Aileen is a Nigerian-Canadian who has experienced life through the lens of being a first generation Canadian. Her passion is not just for engineering, solving systemic problems but to serve black women and make them feel included and inspire them to be their best selves. Aileen is also the founder of BeBlended Inc., which she started from her own experiences after struggling to find a salon for her haircare needs. Beblended Inc. is an online platform that connects black women with hair stylists that meet their hair care needs.
Aileen will share her struggle and experiences as a black woman and her journey as a young entrepreneur since starting Beblended and what that means to herself and the black women of all ages for whom this has been a huge challenge.
Every year WR Nonviolence invites all community groups, social justice agencies, peace organizations, and everyone else to enjoy a quiet, peaceful, nonviolent Day In The Park. There are kids’ games, music, and information booths along the walkway to enjoy as you learn about a nonviolent way of living.
For Peggy Dietrich, the idea for “The Women in the Moon” came suddenly. What she quickly scribbled has now turned into a children’s book that explores and celebrates the ties that bind women
While the book is the brainchild of Dietrich, it was a family affair. Her granddaughter, Ali, did the illustration for the book. The idea of the moon connecting people is inspired by her relationship with her grandchildren. While it is a children’s book, Dietrich said it speaks to women of all ages as well. We, as women, can join together to form a healing community throughout the globe. We just have to look up at the moon and believe in ourselves, says Peggy Dietrich who wrote The Women in the Moon
Kira Burt, has worked at the library for 3 years as a Children’s Programmer. She has worked with kids of all ages from preschool to teens for many years and continues to enjoy it. An outdoor person, she has always enjoyed cycling and being outside and was one of the first to volunteer to be a rider for the Book Pedaler. The Book Pedaler is all about getting out into the community and meeting people where they are. We also want to be an active and engaged part of the community, says Kira Burt
Sam Nabi wasn’t available today, so we pre-recorded his interview on 3 July 2019. But through the miracle of recorded sound, it’s as though he was right in the studio!
Show Notes
Gaukel Greenway
Where is the Gaukel Greenway?
Gaukel Greenway
The Tweet that rocked the community:
Closing Gaukel St. hasn’t really affected downtown traffic as far as I can see. How great would it be to turn the entire street into a pedestrian promenade? It would link the park, the Victoria Park ION station, and City Hall. pic.twitter.com/L2DnbjvUU9
Thanks to the staff that helped us draft this vision, and to @debbiechapman1 and @berryonline for attending our meetings and getting this motion to a vote.
It’s thrilling to see a grassroots proposal like this supported UNANIMOUSLY as the city affirms its strategic priorities.
— Sam Nabi – @samnabi@spore.social (@samnabi) June 17, 2019
On Canada Day we talk about colonialism and settlement in Turtle Island, the students’ School Strike for Climate, and Kitchener-Waterloo VegFest. Our guests are Sophia Kudriavtsev, who’s been leading the School Strikes, Kaiha, an 11-year-old student who’s been speaking at the School Strike rallies in Toronto and the Nation Rising rally in Ottawa, and Mo Markham, organizer of KW Vegfest.
Maria Almhana, arrived in Canada in November 2017 from Syria. She was confused, depressed, was not sure what to do. In January 2018 she applied to get “the 100 Syrian Women, 10,000 Syrian Lives Scholarship” from Jusoor organisation which had partnership with student-funded humanitarian initiative, International Student Overcoming War(ISOW), at Wilfrid Laurier University.
As the Syrian conflict escalated, she maintained hope and began to apply her education and skills toward those who were increasingly vulnerable. Currently, she is among 13 students coming from conflict zones at WLU who get the support from ISO. She is currently pursuing her Master’s in International Public Policy at Balsillie School of International Affairs.
She shared her story is of losses and some wins as a young Syrian in a time of war. Her experiences before arriving in Canada from Syria is something that her new friends in Canada may never understand. Even as she settles in this place of peace, with its quiet nights, its houses and streets intact, in her mind, she is building a bridge back to her home.
Mac-Anne loves her country and is so proud of her culture and the religious freedom, my next guest comes all the way from Ghana. Mac-Anne , her friends call her Mac, is an International student from Ghana, who completed her undergraduate studies in Civil Engineering at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. Mac is in her final semester of her Masters Program in Civil Engineering at University of Waterloo, she is focused on structures and construction and is also a climate change activist. I sit down with Mac-Anne as we talked about her experiences here in Canada. What it is like as an International student to adjust to life here. What life is like back in Ghana, food, culture and so much more.
“Why Should we have to purchase back our stolen land with compensation that is our money anyways?” – John Hawke
In this episode we speak with John Hawke, and Indigenous man from the Beausoleil First Nation and long time activist, who on June 21st, 2019 – a day the Canadian state has proclaimed to be National Indigenous Peoples day – set up a blockade outside the entrance to Awenda provincial park as part of campaign to raise awareness for Indigenous rights and particularly land claims, treaty responsibilities, and the federal policies of extinguishing Indigenous title.
John invites people to visit the blockade and the Oshkimaadziig camp and organize resistance to colonial policies.
You can support the camp by donating donate for camp maintenance and supplies (ex. chainsaw needs repair, camp cabin needs maintenance) – Send e-transfer to:ojibwayrebel@gmail.com
Robyn Hobbs has a passion for sustainability, fashion, woman empowerment, self-love and community. This inspired her to create Le Prix Fashion and Consulting, a women’s fashion social enterprise that sources second-hand and new sustainable and ethical fashions from all over the world. But this didn’t come easy for Robyn, she has had her fair share of struggles and after being discouraged several times, she continued to peruse her passion. Robyn spoke all about creating Le Prix Fashion, this year’s summer trends and so much more. Robyn has a home shop in Waterloo and online store, where she creates a fun shopping experience, by free appointment, for women to discover their style while buying environmentally-friendly and socially just products.
A strong advocate for diversity and inclusion, Stephanie Rozek is the award-winning co-founder of Marit Collective organization that promotes thoughtfulness and change at the personal level through constantly evolving, honest human dialogue. An established coach, writer, and speaker, she has over 20 years experience working with clients and companies locally in Waterloo Region and across North America, in industries including software development, healthcare, industrial automation, and academia. At present she is the KW Ambassador for TechGirls Canada, and a board member with the inter-arts collective Pins and Needles Fabric Company. Stephanie has worked at a leadership level with National Engineering Month Ontario, the Waterloo Region chapter of Canadian Women in Technology, TEDxWaterloo, and Engineers Without Borders Canada, and sat on the Women in Engineering committee at the University of Waterloo as an alumni member for four years. She has received both the KW Oktoberfest Women of the Year Entrepreneur award (2014), and a Waterloo Region 40 under 40 award (2013). Stephanie shared her amazing work in our community and her work with Marit Collective
Tanya Otterstein-Liehs is a Health, Wellness & Fitness Coach & Self-Care expert who coaches women on the “how to’s” of unlocking and unleashing the crucial tools that are already inside of you to become EMPOWERED and make vital me time every day without letting guilt, fears, or excuses to stop you. Tanya will always inspire, support, & motivate you to finally give yourself permission to love who you are, go after & achieve your own personal goals without feeling you need to make sacrifices, & without letting your fears or excuses stop you. She has an Online Body & Mindset Makeover Program, runs Lunch & Learn Workshops, & is host of two Podcast
Kirstie Smallman calls what she does “movement medicine” – She uses combinations of guided movement and free form movement to assist people in finding their way into sensation, and therefore back home to their body. The focus is on following pleasure, comfort, and ease (at first). And once a level of self-trust is reached within the self, she invites people to dance on their edge, to challenge, condition, strengthen, release & heal. Embodying the mental work we do is the key to transformation, because it brings the awareness, the affirmations, the forgotten/buried memories into feelings which we can finally let go of – like literally shaking them out on the dance floor, says Kirstie
Kirstie is a certified in Nia White Belt – somatic awareness training, Nia Blue Belt – the art of communication, Nia, Move to Heal – adapted and simplified Nia for the purpose of deep healing (surgeries, limited mobility, elder-accessible), Nia, MoveIT – the 52 moves of Nia energized with Interval Training with a focus on physical conditioning along with a spontaneous element of improvised choreography in each class, she is also a Chakradance Guide, Ageless Grace Facilitator, GuiDANCE creator, Montessori Educator and Communications Ninja
CKMS Community Connections has another two hours of new Canadian music, community events, and an interview on “Women In Politics” withe Surekha Shenoy of the Waterloo Region Women’s Provincial Liberal Association.
Waterloo Region Women's PLA Breakfast (Free)
Sat, 15 June 2019, 8:30 AM – 11:00 AM
Grand Valley Golf & Country Club, 1910 Roseville Road, Cambridge, Ontario
The Ford Government's Sale of Universal Health Care in Ontario (Bill 74) (free) with John Fraser (interim leader of the Liberal Party of Ontario) and Natalie Mehra (Executive Director, Ontario Health Coalition)
Wednesday, 19 June 2019, 6:30pm to 8:30pm
First United Church, 16 William Street West, Waterloo, Ontario
5km Walk for Charity – East Indian Community of Waterloo Region
Sunday, 15 September 2019
Race Director, Lloyd Schmidt from Run Waterloo is an avid runner for over 40 years, began directing races in 1987 and has a reputation for organizing quality events, a long history of race innovation, and a dedication to the community. A family effort since conception, the organization is dedicated to building a strong, healthy, and connected community in Waterloo Region through the sport of running and the attitude of giving back. The Waterloo Classic is Waterloo Region’s oldest and largest 10k Race. The Father’s Day tradition that began in 1978 is still going strong, bringing families and the running community in general together for a fun summer morning
My second guest, Carolina Miranda is an Educator and one of the main organizers of the first Waterloo Region Women’s March in 2018. She is the creator and co-founder of Feminine Harbor and a social profit that promotes education, storytelling and the arts by women in order to foster female leadership and created the LIGHT Stories.
She immigrated to Canada from Brazil in 2003 and has since grown new roots in the Waterloo Region, one of the most dynamic ecosystems in Canada for culture, and technology. In 2004 she was one of the very first ensemble actors for the internationally acclaimed theatre company, The Multicultural Theatre Space.
She is a writer, and some of her most recent essays and poetry can be found in the “Anthology of Social Justice and Intersectional Feminisms”, organized by Dr. Katrina Sark, and which officially launched on International Women’s Day 2018 in Victoria, BC. A single mother of two incredible girls who inspire her daily to become not only a better person but to leave behind a better world. Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are not just aspects of her job, but how she authentically lives her relationships with direct family ties to four different countries: Canada, Brazil, The Basque Countries (Spain) and The Dominican Republic
Carolina will sit down with me as we chat about her work, her role as a mom and her dedication to do more for women not just in our community but for women across.
On Monday, 3 June 2019 Yenny Stronge and Bob Jonkman interviewed Kate Crozier from Community Justice Initiatives, Charlene Le Duc of the Summer Lights Festival, and Aleksandra Petrovic Graonic, Executive Director of the Social Development Centre Waterloo Region. In between we managed to play some brand new Canadian Content music!
In Conversation with Rashmi, brings you early Father’s Day special with stories of two proud and strong dad’s who will share the paths that transformed them into who they are today. Tune in Saturday, June 1st, 9AM (EST) on @ckms102.7fm
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With a wife who was 5 months pregnant and an almost two-year-old, life was incredibly busy in the Tidd household, they didn’t have time for a brain tumour, however it quickly consumed their lives. From having told he could be home within 3 days and back to work in a few weeks, to spending 6 weeks in hospital before he was able to go home. Followed by months of rehab and radiation therapy to treat the remainder of the tumour and then heading back to work after 7 months, Dave Tidd will share his toughest journey, the challenges and the warning signs that he didn’t really pay attention.
Today almost 5 years later, he still faces challenges with day to day activities that we all take for granted
Imagine having the freedom to move without restriction
Imagine having the confidence to move without hesitation or injury
Imagine having a strong and mobile body with ‘bulletproof’ joints
Imagine being able to MOVE STRONG
A single and proud dad to a 14 year old daughter who he says is an absolutely incredible human being to begin committed to helping build better humans through nutrition, strength and movement. Davor Cvijic believes we have created environments for ourselves that while comfortable, have in many ways cost us our mobility. One of the main areas of focus in the Move Strong method is to create mobile bodies that allow you the freedom to move in the way humans were designed to move
On the way into the Radio Waterloo studio I dropped into the Spectrum Community Space to see if someone would like to talk about the tri-Pride festival. Cait Glasson was there, and KW jazz musician Tim Louis was too! They both joined us in the first hour, and in the second hour we spoke with Riani de Wet and Jim Stewart from the Waterloo Region Health Coalition.
Terry Fox: On The Road is a CD released by the Wilmot Terry Fox Run (WTFR) to raise funds for the Terry Fox Foundation for cancer research. Information about the CD is available from http://wilmotterryfox.ca/ontheroad. Please contact the Wilmot Terry Fox Run for details or to order a CD. Mail order is not available, but the WTFR will deliver orders in person within Wilmot. Nigel Gordijk (Wilmot Terry Fox Run Co-organizer) can be reached at wilmotterryfoxrun@gmail.com and +1‑519‑569‑9551.
Proud to debut a new tune on CKMS 102.7FM and speak about upcoming shows and projects, including the Terry Fox On the Road CD raising funds for cancer research! Thanks Bob Jonkman for the opportunity! @RadioWaterloo@WilmotTerryFoxpic.twitter.com/4Jg6YnPh29
Many thanks to Riani and Jim for the extensive interview. They have provided their briefing notes:
Briefing Note
May 23, 2019
List of Cuts, Closures, Restructuring
& Major Health Policy Changes to Date
Cut OHIP+ so families with sick children will have to seek private coverage first and pay deductibles and co-payments. (June 2018)
Cut planned mental health funding by more than $330 million. (July 2018)
Canceled all new planned overdose prevention sites. (autumn 2018)
Cut funding to the College of Midwives of Ontario. (December 2018)
Cut funding for the dementia strategy.
Let surge funding run out for hospital overcrowding. Surge beds are now closed without replacement, despite overcrowding crisis. (Fall/Winter 2018/19)
Cut and restructured autism funding. (Winter 2018/19)
Set overall health funding at less than the rate of inflation and population growth, let alone aging. This means service levels cannot keep up with population need. (2019 Budget)
Set public hospital funding at less than the rate of inflation. This means real dollar (inflation adjusted dollar) funding cuts and serious service cuts. (2019 Budget)
Introduced Bill 74, which gives sweeping new powers to the minster and Super Agency to force restructuring of virtually the entire health system. (February/March 2019)
Municipalities revealed Ford government plan to cut and restructure ambulance services, down from 59 to 10. (April 2019)
Leaked document reveals plans to cut half a billion dollars in OHIP services. On the chopping block are sedation for colonoscopies, chronic pain management services and others. Plans will be made this spring/summer. (April 2019)
Cut OHIP funding for residents travelling out of Canada. (May 2019)
Cut 44 positions at the Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN) –provider of video medical services — which previously employed 265 people. In other words, 1 in every 6 telemedicine staff positions are being cut. The official dollar figure has not yet been released, but, OTN received $42 million in provincial funding 2017-18, nearly all came from the Ministry of Health. (May 2019)
Set 2019 land ambulance grant funding at less than the rate of inflation. This means real dollar cuts to ambulance services. The City of Toronto has calculated the value of these cuts to amount to $4 million for Toronto alone. (April 2019)
Plans to reduce the number of Public Health Units from 35 to 10. Cut 27%, or $200 million, of provincial funding for public health. Toronto Public Health has been particularly hard-hit. The city of Toronto has calculated the cuts to amount will amount to $1 billion over a 5-year period. Ford government disputes these figures. (April 2019)
Cut more than $70 million from eHealth’s budget. (May 2019)
Cut almost $53 million from the Health System Research Fund, a fund dedicated to research relevant to provincial policy and health-care system restructuring. (May 2019)
Cut $5 million in annual funding for stem-cell research at the Ontario Institute for Regenerative Medicine. (May 2019)
Cut $24 million in funding for artificial intelligence research from the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence as well as the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. (May 2019)
Serious Threat of Health Privatization
In Bill 74 the Minister of Health has given herself and the Super Agency vast new powers to order and otherwise force the privatization of most of our health care services. Opposition parties have asked direct questions about private surgery clinics bidding to close down and take over our local hospital services and neither the Premier nor Health Minister will say that they will not privatize. In documents being circulated from municipalities, Ford’s plans may include privatization of parts of ambulance services. In the leaked documents from the Ontario civil service in February, plans were revealed to privatize eHealth, laboratories, air ambulance, long-term care inspections and other services. At no time, under questioning by media and opposition parties, will this government clearly promise not to hand over ownership of our public health care services to private for-profit corporations. The signs of impending privatization are serious.
Ambulance Cuts/Restructuring
Ford’s plans, revealed by municipalities, include cutting the number of local ambulance services from 59 to 10 as well as the number of local dispatch services. These cuts will be particularly devastating to rural and smaller communities which are already suffering from a shortage of services. The Ford government’s restructuring plan does not address any of the causes of too-long EMS response times; it does not ameliorate services even where there is evidence of significant need. The current EMS system in Ontario was created by Mike Harris’ restructuring in the 1990s. The evidence from that round of restructuring is that costs grew dramatically post-restructuring. Ford’s plans for further centralization of ambulance services and cuts also threaten to deepen inequalities between rural and urban communities: “Cutting and centralizing the ambulance services down to ten giant regions means that smaller rural and northern communities will be lesser priorities and risks their service levels,” warned OHC executive director Natalie Mehra.
An EMS vision-Ontario 2050 Report came out after the 2018 provincial election, penned by owners of a private, for-profit, ambulance company. The report set out a map towards privatization of land ambulance services. It suggested Ontario could “save” $200 million by consolidating over 50 provincial paramedic services into only 10, run by a single Commission. The fact that the government announced that 59 provincial paramedic services will indeed be consolidated into 10 as the report suggested has led to concerns that the privatization of EMS services is part of Ford’s agenda. The report has also mentioned a plan to reduce the number of Public Health Units from 35 to 10 – a plan that is being implemented by the Ford government.
Public Health Cuts/Restructuring
Severe cuts amounting to almost one-third of provincial funding for public health threaten vital local services including food and water safety, infectious disease tracking and prevention, immunizations, prenatal training and safety, overdose prevention, safe needle and biohazard programs and many others.
In the 2019 Provincial Budget it was revealed that the Ford government plans to cut provincial funding for Public Health by 27 per cent and cut the number of local Public Health Units from 35 to 10. In early May, the government made public their plans for the closures/takeovers/mergers of local public health units. There has been no public consultation on this major change even though municipalities match provincial funding for public health, thereby providing half of public health funding. Municipalities were not consulted, public health experts including nurses and doctors who specialize in public health were not consulted, nor were affected communities or Ontarians who fund and rely on Public Health services. The plans that have been revealed to date follow here. In response to pressure, the Ford government is now saying that these are not finalized. However, there is no public process, no written plan that measures or mitigates the impact on the people of Ontario, no plan for consultation, no clear timeline. In fact, no normal processes for public health care planning are being followed whatsoever.
The following will be the results of the planned takeover/mergers/closures of Public Health Units if they are forced through by the Ford government:
Middlesex London Health Unit, Southwestern Public Health Unit, Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit and Lambton Public Health Unit will be forced into a single regional Public Health Unit covering 1.3 million people.
Bruce Grey Health Unit, Huron County Health Unit and Perth District Health Unit will be forced into a single regional Public Health Unit covering 300,000 people.
Public Health Sudbury and Districts, Algoma Public Health, North Bay-Parry Sound District Health Unit, Timiskaming Health Unit, Porcupine Health Unit, and Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit will be forced into a single regional Public Health Unit covering 625,000 people.
Thunder Bay District Health Unit and Northwestern Health Unit will will be forced into a single regional Public Health Unit covering 228,000 people.
Waterloo Public Health Unit, Halton Public Heath Unit, Peel Public Health Unit, and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health Units will be forced into a single regional Public Health Unit covering 2.94 million people.
Hamilton Public Health Services, Niagara Region Public Health Unit, Brant County Health Unit, and Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit will be forced into a single regional Public Health Unit covering1.4 million people.
Ottawa Public Health Unit, Eastern Ontario Health Unit (Prescott-Russel, Cornwall), Smith Falls Health Unit, and Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington (KFL&A) Public Health will be forced into a single regional Public Health Unit covering 1.6 million people.
Peterborough Public Health, Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (HKPR) District Health Unit, Hastings Prince Edward Health Unit, and Durham Region Health Unit will be forced into a single regional Public Health Unit covering 1.2 million people.
York Region Public Health and Simcoe County District Health Unit will be forced into a single regional Public Health Unit covering 1.7 million people.
Toronto Public Health will serve 2.9 million people.
Overall Cuts/Restructuring
The Ford government is now clearly embarking on the most aggressive and radical health care restructuring that Ontario has ever seen. Previous large-scale restructuring in Ontario undertaken by the Mike Harris government involved province-wide hospital restructuring, including hospital mergers and closures of dozens of local hospitals. It ultimately did not reduce administrative costs as was promised. In fact, it cost $3.9 billion. That is $3.9 billion, according to the Provincial Auditor General, to cut $800 million from public hospitals. The restructuring costs were made up of laying off staff, moving buildings, renovating and rebuilding, re-hiring staff, renaming services, re-doing letterheads and communications systems and so on. The evidence is indisputable that those cost were lost to health care and were never recouped. Moreover, restructuring led to for-profit privatization and new user fees for an array of services. The costs were never recovered and many of the current problems that we face in health care can be traced back to the last two rounds of restructuring.
Bill 74 – Most Radical Restructuring in our Province’s History
In the last few months plans have been revealed that expose the Ford government’s intent to undertake the most radical health care restructuring in our history. Bill 74, the so-called “People’s Health Care Act” has been passed through the Legislature by the majority Ford MPPs against strong opposition. It does not improve a single health care service. What it does is create one mega-merger of 20 agencies into a Super Agency and give extraordinary restructuring powers to the government. This new law launches restructuring for hospitals, long-term care, home care, community mental health and addictions, community care, cancer care, palliative care, labs, eHealth, air ambulance, community health centres, home care, non-profit primary care and more. The Health Minister has revealed her plan is to restructure 1,800 health service providers down to 30 – 50 conglomerates. That’s not all though. In the Provincial Budget, plans to cut Public Health by almost 1/3 of provincial funding (27%) and reduce Health Units from 35 to 10 were revealed. Then, municipalities revealed the Ford government’s plans to restructure ambulance services from 59 down to 10.
Sweeping new powers to force mega-mergers, transfer services from one community to another, close services, privatize services
The new law gives sweeping powers to the Minister and the government appointees in their new Super Agency to force through mergers, mega-mergers, amalgamations, transfers of services, closures of local services, and entire closures of service providers. In five separate areas in the legislation these restructuring powers enable the government, its appointees, and health service providers to transfer our public and non-profit health care services to for-profit companies. Already for-profit hospital companies are making bids to take over surgeries in London Ontario.
Unfettered powers to force health care providers to restructure, close, privatize
The legislation allows the Minister and the government appointees that run their new Super Agency the power to order, direct and coerce (using their funding power) local providers of service to comply with these restructuring edicts and pressures. It does this in multiple sections of the legislation. In most of these sections there is no fetter on these extraordinary powers and no public process. It takes away any last
vestiges of local control over health care. They can close a hospital with the stroke of a pen, move a service to another town or close it entirely, order the privatization of all labs or all surgeries, for example. It is truly shocking.
No public interest protections, no appeals, no access to information, no clear rulings: worst ever
There are no public interest protections in the legislation. There is no public notice at all for most of the sections that give new restructuring powers. There is minimal public notice in one section. There is no right to appeal anywhere in the legislation. There is no public access to documents anywhere in the legislation. The new Super Agency is not subject even to the conflict of interest rules of the Ontario Public Service. There are no principles to guide restructuring. There is no requirement that any one, not the Minister, not the Super Agency, no one, actually measure and plan to meet population need for health care, protect any local health services at all, ensure that patients have access to care, worry about the workforce that will be subject to massive upheaval. There are no procedural protections whatsoever.
Who’s Who:
A primer on Doug Ford’s insiders and the pro-privatization forces
in government
Charles Lammam, formerly of the extreme right wing Fraser Institute, is now the Director of Policy (2nd highest staff position) in the Health Minister’s office. The Fraser Institute has spent years trying to dismantle Canada’s social programs and one of their prime targets is health care. The Fraser Institute has been funded by the American Koch brothers (funders of the Tea Party) among others.
Shelly Jamieson, one of Ford’s appointed board members of the new Super Agency, is the former president of Extendicare, a for-profit long-term care home giant. She was on the Mike Harris government’s Restructuring Commission that ordered the closure of >40 hospitals and thousands of hospital beds. After this she moved to Extendicare which gained from the subsequent expansion of long-term care. Now she is on the new Super Agency, this government’s health restructuring board.
Elyse Allan is on the board of Brookfield Assets Management and the right-wing pro-privatization C.D. Howe institute and was recently on the pro-corporate Board of the Conference Board of Canada, the Chamber of Commerce and more.
Other board members include people from banks and private corporations including Real Estate Investment Trusts and others with direct interest in health care privatization.
In July, Doug Ford appointed Rueben Devlin, former president of the Ontario Conservative Party to be the Chair of a new Premier’s Council on Improving Health Care & Ending Hallway Medicine and Special Advisor on Ending Hallway Medicine. The positions come with a $348,000 per year salary for the Conservative stalwart who was president of the party during the Mike Harris era during which the government spent $3.9 billion closing and merging hospitals in an attempt to cut $800 million from their budgets. That was the most radical restructuring of public hospitals in the country’s history at time. Rueben Devlin is also the former CEO of Humber River Hospital where he presided over the closure of three hospitals. The three were replaced with one privatized P3 hospital at an eye-popping $1.76 billion due to the exorbitantly expensive P3 financing and privatization model. In so doing, Devlin closed down a hospital in one of the poorest neighbourhoods of the city. The new P3 hospital did not have enough capacity to serve its population and last fall the former Liberal government reopened one of the closed-down sites in order to deal with patients waiting on stretchers in hallways for care.
Gordon Campbell: Not only does he have an abysmal record on financial matters, but the former B.C. Premier, whom Doug Ford appointed to lead Ford’s fiscal inquiry in Ontario, is perhaps the biggest enemy of public health care in Canada. It is now apparent that Campbell’s model of health cuts and privatization may be the model that Ford is copying here. Campbell set the stage for the biggest growth in for-profit privatization of hospital care in Canada, private clinics in BC openly charge patients thousands of dollars in violation of the Canada Health Act as a direct result of his policies, he cut and closed local hospitals, systematically appointed pro-privatization health board people, fired thousands of hospital support staff and privatized their services. He routinely supported private for-profit interests in pharmaceutical policy and health care against the public interest. The extreme right-wing Fraser Institute loves him, but his record on finances is terrible. Not only did he do all these terrible things in health care, he wiped out a $1.5 billion surplus he inherited when he took government, then went on to post the largest deficits in the B.C.’s history up to that time, and added $20 billion to the province’s debt.
Dana Marie from Dana Marie Music believes that music is another language that we can not only express ourselves, but also learn about ourselves. It can energize & calm at the same time, build confidence, creativity, social skills, memory, emotional & physical development, and language. She has released two full length independent albums as a Christian Pop Artist & has travelled across Canada performing & leading worship at many churches. Currently, she is involved at her home church & teaches from her home studio in Kitchener, Ontario
After 12 years in a toxic workplace Andrea Taplin reached a whole new level of unhealthy. She struggled with weight, depression & anxiety all her life. She changed her focus & life style completely to transform herself physically & mentally. In 11 months she lost 100 pounds 90% through nutrition & was able to reduce her medications from 10 pills to 4 pills. Today she feels empowered, stronger, more fit & healthy both physically & mentally. She has learnt to push past her comfort zone & started her own business called The Health Equation as well as joining an amazing wellness clinic called Encompass Health & Wellness. She also experienced the loss of a dear friend to suicide & regrets if only she had shared her story. Today she shares her experience so she could reach out to others just like her that need a little help
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Lights for Liberty: A Vigil to End Human Detention
