GroundWire is a twice-monthly dose of grassroots, independent journalism from the campus-community radio sector of Canada. It is a project of the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA). This edition of GroundWire was supported by a grant from the Community Radio Fund of Canada and produced by volunteers in the studios of CJLY in Nelson, BC. Visit the GroundWire website or download it through the NCRA’s Program Exchange.

The HEADLINES:

• Omme Salma Rahemtullah (CHRY Toronto) speaks with Stephen Moses, a striking employee and the Bargaining Unit Chairperson of Canadian Auto Workers 1000, about the Zellers/HBC strike in Scarborough, Ontario
• Catherine Fisher (CJLY Nelson) talks with Alexis Allen, President of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union about the September 22 strike vote by Nova Scotia Community College employees.

This edition includes two STATION REPORTS:

• Vivian Park (CJSF Burnaby) asks NCRA Vice President External Stephanie Kepman a few questions about the CRTC’s upcoming Campus and Community Radio Policy Review.
• The 2010 National Campus and Community Radio Conference will be held on Gabriola Island, BC. Kelly Price (CKGI Gabriola) chats with Gabriola Radio Society Board Member Kathy Ramsay about how the conference is shaping up. She also speaks with GRS Board President Ken Zakreski about Rogers Media’s application to the CRTC for the last available frequency in the region.

The FEATURES:

• The Vanrad Collective talk with Paulina Walton, who, along with other residents of the Golden Crown Hotel, has recently been served an eviction notice. Kim Kerr, executive director of the  Downtown Eastside Residents Association suggests this eviction has much to do with the upcoming 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.
• Amber Hieb (CHLY Nanaimo) speaks with Paul Manly, a Nanaimo-based independent filmmaker about the SPP, and North American integration. Manly’s new film is ‘You, Me and The Spp: Trading Democracy for Corporate Rule’.

The MUSIC:

• The September 25th Edition of GroundWire features music by Kathleen Yearwood, The Sinuses, Rabnett 5, and Tamara.

GroundWire is a twice-monthly dose of grassroots independent journalism from the campus community radio sector of Canada and is a project of the National Campus and Community Radio Association. This is the second bi-weekly edition of GroundWire, thanks to a grant from the Community Radio Fund of Canada (on a personal note, woohoo!).

The June 27, 2009 edition of GroundWire was produced by CHRY 105.5 FM in Toronto. Listen online

Presenting the June 27, 2009 Headlines: With Narration from the Women’s News Collective at CHRY 105.5 FM

• Abousfian Abdelrazik Returns to Canada | David Koch (CKUT)
• Adil Charkaoui’s Cross Canada Tour | David Parker (CKDU)
• CSIS Security Certificate Update and the Case of Mohamed Harkat | Tariq Jeeroburkhan (CKUT)
• Toronto City Workers’ Strike | Candace Mooers (CHRY)
• Ontario Labour Actions Increase | Omme Rahemtullah (CHRY)
• Canadian Companies Sued by Palestinian Community of Bil’in | Libby Drew (CHSR) and Chris Albinati (CKUT)

Presenting the June 27, 2009 Features:

• The National Community Radio Conference in Montreal: A Year in Community Radio. CHRY’s Jacky Tuinstra Harrison talks with volunteers, speakers and organizers about the future of community radio in Canada and the spirit of volunteerism at this year’s annual conference.
• On Friday, June 19th, the National Association of Friendship Centres hosted a forum on Urban First Nations issues in Ottawa, with three candidates for the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations: Shawn Atleo, John Beaucage and Perry Bellegarde. Lisa Abel CHUO
• With threats to form a Caledonia militia aimed against Aboriginal activists, Jesse Zimmerman of CHRY brings us voices from a counter-protest, re-asserting territorial rights for six nations indigenous peoples.

Here we are April already, and I am just getting around to posting this up. Oh well, it is still available, though! And the edition was produced by a station near and dear to my heart, in my old stomping grounds, CHSR in Fredericton.

The March 2009 Edition of GroundWire is available for listening online! Here is the MP3.

GroundWire is a monthly dose of grassroots independent journalism from the campus community radio sector of Canada and a project of the National Campus and Community Radio Association.

Features:

• Three Mohawk women assaulted by Canadian Border Services Agency near Cornwall attempt to press charges. Tariq Jeeroburkhan, CKUT, Montreal.
• The Mohawk traditional council demonstrates in Ottawa, declaring First Nations rights for protecting Mother Earth are not being respected. Britt Wray, CKUT, Montreal.
• Justice Served Cold: four defendants declare police and prison mistreatment, demanding dropped charges. David Parker, CKDU, Halifax.
• Israeli Apartheid Week visits the Queen’s University campus in Kingston. Christopher Currie, CFRC, Kingston.

Station Report:

• A special International Women’s Day program aired March 11th, organized by former CKLN volunteers, locked out last year. Carmelle Wilson, Toronto.

Headlines:

• A former KGB officer has lost a major battle to stay in Canada. Jennifer Moreau, CJSF, Burnaby.
• A Federal Court judge removed most of Adil Charkaoui’s current security certificate conditions. Tariq Jeeroburkhan, CKUT, Montreal.
• Pro-choice advocates in New Brunswick are waiting on a decision for a lawsuit challenging the province’s illegal restrictions on publicly funded abortions. Carolyn Shapiro, CHSR, Fredericton.
• In Toronto on March 7th, over one thousand women rallied and marched for good jobs for women and to speak out against the federal government’s response to the recession. Kristin Schwartz, Toronto.

The March edition of GroundWire was produced by CHSR in Fredericton. CHSR took part in a GroundWire production training at CKDU in Halifax. GroundWire will also be doing multiple trainings at the NCRC conference in Montreal, June 7 to 12, 2009. Interested in participating? email news [@] ckdu [.] ca to find out how.

GroundWire Stie: groundwire.ncra.ca

GroundWire is a monthly news program of Canada’s National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA).

This month’s GroundWire — February 7, 2009 (available at the NCRA’s Program Exchange):

Headlines

• Disaster Relief Committee and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives on the new federal budget (Caitlyn Chappell)
• Montreal seeks to ban masks at demonstrations (Tim Mcsorley)
• Renters At Risk vs Elections B.C. (Jennifer Moreau)

Features

• CUPE 3903 strike at York University and the back-to-work legislation (Courtney Kirkby)
• Lockheed Martin recruitment shutdown (Zachary Crow, CHSR)
• Beds in Montreal Shelters (David G. Koch / Haley Lapalme, McGill Daily)
• Canadian Jewish opposition to the Israeli occupation and the attack on Gaza (Mark Brooks and Gretchen King)
• Report back on Gaza mobilizations that occurred across Canada (Chris Albinati)

Events

• Israeli Apartheid Week – 5 year anniversary (Aaron Lakoff)

Station Reports

• CHON (Whitehorse)
• CKDU (Halifax)
• Coop Radio (Vancouver) and the 7th annual National Homelessness Marathon

Recording Location: CKUT Radio 90.3fm, Montreal

GroundWire is a monthly news program of Canada’s National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA).

This month’s GroundWire — January 4, 2009 (available at the NCRA’s Program Exchange):

• York U. T.A. Strike (Omme Rahemtullah, CHRY, Toronto)
• Vancouver Homeless Death (Bea Bernhausen, CJSF, Burnaby BC)
• World’s Largest Video Game Developer Downsizes (Adam Dewji, CJSF)
• Airline Debuts Biofuel, Starbucks vs. Unions (Irma Arkus, CJSF)
• Station Report: CJSF and COOP Join W2 (Gavin Schaefer, Bea Bernhausen, and the Fearless Collective)
• Features:
  • Shoeing Bush (Aaron Lakoff, Montreal)
  • Conservative Plan Guts CBC (Alisha Edgelow, CJSF, producer; interview by David Peterson, CIUT, Toronto)
  • Tanzania Goldmine Revolt (David Koch)
  • Free Software vs. Cisco (John Zhang and Charlotte Bourne, CJSF)
  • High School Gays’ Rally in the Valley (Kate Lerman, CJSF).

*GroundWire* is a project by the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA), providing grassroots coverage of local issues with progressive perspectives on national and international news.

Click here to download (mp3)
Or from the NCRA exchange website

*On this month’s groundwire:*

FEATURES:
-The shooting and killing of 18 year old Fredy Villanueva by a Montreal police officer
-The disruption of the Spirit Train cross country tour by native and anti-Olympics organizers
-Rising poverty and grassroots anti-poverty organizing in Peterborough, Ontario

STATION REPORT:
- CFBX 92.5 FM campus community radio in Kamloops B.C. recently went from low to high power

HEADLINES:
-The Algonquins of Barriere Lake blockade highway 117 in Northern Quebec demanding a leadership reselection in their community, met with tear gas and riot cops
-After 16 months in detention in Canada, Basque political prisoner Ivan Sancho was deported from Canada to Spain on October 18th
-Protests in opposition to Nova Scotia Power’s removal of overburden from a coal mine in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
-Media Democracy day celebrated by CFRC community radio in Kingston, Ontario

Thanks to Aaron Lakoff, Amy Miller, Leah Girardo, Courtney Kirkby, Christopher Currie, Nick Macleod, Adam Bemma, Asaf Rashid, Leanne Arnison, Candice Cascanette and Neskie Manuel.

Featuring submissions from:
CKDU, Halifax, NS * CFBX, Kamloops, BC * CFRC, Kingston, ON * CKUT, Montreal, QC

This month’s edition of Groundwire was produced by CKDU 88.1 fm campus community radio in Halifax. For more information visit us at groundwire.ncra.ca. To reach us by email, send your feedback to <groundwire [at] ncra.ca>

Groundwire is aired on the following stations:
CFRO, Vancouver, BC * CJSR, Edmonton, AB * CKUT, Montreal, QC * CFRC, Kingston, ON * CJSF, Burnaby, BC * CKLN, Toronto, ON * CKDU, Halifax, NS * CKXU, Lethbridge, AB * CHMA, Sackville, NB * CHRY, Toronto, ON * CFMU, Hamilton, ON * CFUR, Prince George, BC * CJLY, Nelson, BC * CORT, Cortes Island, BC * CFRU, Guelph, ON * CHUO, Ottawa, ON * CHMR, St. John`s NL * CHSR, Fredericton, NB * CFMH, St. John, NB * C99, Membertou, NS * GABR, Gabriola, BC * CFBX, Kamloops, BC * CJAM, Windsor, ON

GroundWire is a 29-minute news radio program featuring headlines, reports and features from the community radio sector in Canada. The program aims to be a strong, reliable, high-quality newscast, engaging the audience with geographically and culturally diverse features that address issues of interest to specific communities as well as to a national audience.

On this month’s GroundWire, the August Six Nations Gathering, over a hundred people meet in Tatamagouche Nova Scotia for FreeSchool, and an in-depth look into the Tar Sands in Alberta. Plus headlines on a strike at Montreal’s largest hostel, Bill C484 replaced by Bill C543, and a union drive at Queen’s University.

Credits: Tim Crabtree, David Parker, Noel Thomas, Aaron Lakoff, David Koch, Gretchen King, Kate Lerman, and Courtney Kirkby.
Recording Location: CKUT 90.3fm (Montreal, Qc)
RUNS: 28m04s
Program Details on the NCRA Program Exchange
Download the MP3