Regent Park Focus

In this episode of Radio Regent News and Views, we hear two reports by student groups currently working at Focus Media. Each summer, youth community members are welcomed into the Centre, given access to multi-media technology and encouraged to create content with a local community news emphasis. on today’s show, one group interviews Liberal Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre, Marci Ien, about homelessness in the community; and another group presents a report on the state of maintenance and general safety in St. Jamestown residential buildings. In addition, we’ll hear a migrant worker tell his story of being wrongfully repatriated to his country of origin, unfortunately an all-too common occurrence in Canada.

In this episode of Radio Regent News and Views, we present excerpts from two community current events radio shows created by summer student staff at the Focus Media Arts Centre in Regent Park, including excellent interviews with a person with disabilities and a community youth worker; we’ll hear the question/answer segment form a recent online forum in which local community members engaged with representatives from organizations collaborating on phases four and five of the Regent Park revitalization; and David Wall speaks to Lori, a Windsor - based nurse who volunteers supporting migrant workers in Leemington, Ontario. 

In this episode of Radio Regent News and Views, journalist Nea Maaty discusses the efficacy of online learning during Covid with educator Thorn Rox Hayward and students of St Jamestown’s Rose Avenue School; Professor Ian Williams continues his interview with award-winning poet, academic and memoirist Jordan Abel about his latest hybrid memoir, Nishga; and David Wall speaks to York University Psychology Professor Michaela Hynie about the social determinants of mental health in refugee and migrant populations.    

In this episode of Radio Regent News and Views, David Wall speaks to Nadjla Banaei, a Client Care Coordinator at the South Riverdale Comunity Health Centre about her ongoing advocacy for Ontario’s uninsured; we’ll hear an interview with project leads Denise Soueidan O’Leary and Thomas Linder about the Community Wealth Feasability Project, a research initiative exploring the potential for the development of a new sustainable economic model for Regent Park; and the people at Focus Media in Regent Park answer important questions on the minds of many about the Covid vaccine.

 In theis episode of Radio regent News and Views, Journalist Georgie Alford talks to Rowena Pinto, Chief Program Officer of Unicef Canada about a number of issues, including systematic racism, gender inequity and Child Marriages; and David Wall welcomes activist Gabriel Allahdua back to the show to continue their discussion about the struggles of migrant workers in Canada, this time focussing on the specific effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this episode of Radio Regent News and Views, we present a report on the COVID testing going on in St. Jamestown, Toronto, at the The Corner, a community hub in the area. In the report, we’ll hear interviews with Doctor Warda Iqbal, a family physician at the Sherbourne Health Centre and Shova Adhikari, a St. Jamestown area Community Engagement Facilitator; We’ll also hear an excerpt from a webinar, first presented by The Leap, a Canada based, internationally recognized organization dedicated to examining and acting in light of the climate crisis and its intersectionality with multiple issues. The webinar, hosted by Leap founder Avi Lewis, is entitled From Scarcity to Sovereignty: Food in a Time of Pandemic and features Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved, film-maker, academic; Dawn Morrison, Secwepemc Nation, Founder/Curator of Research and Relationships of the Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty; Evelyn Encalada Grez, Co-Founder of Justicia/Justice for Mi...

In this episode of Radio Regent News and Views, journalist Dimitrije Martinovic interviews David Reycraft, Director of Housing at Dixon Hall in Regent Park, regarding the housing crisis in Toronto and how it’s being shaped by the Covid-19 pandemic; and David Wall has a discussion with journalist, activist, professor and music aficionado Avi Lewis about the events unfolding in the U.S. in the wake of last week’s unprecedented attack on the Capital, among other topics.

In this episode of Radio Regent News and Views, we focus on volunteer activism in increasingly challenging times. We’ll hear two interviews conducted by Justice for Migrant Workers volunteer Fabio Heredia Casalins with people working with Food Share to bring highly needed resources to migrant workers and other marginalized communities; and we’ll hear a conversation between journalist Minerva Navasca and youth activist Dominique about the continuing importance of the Black Lives Matter movement and how young people are a vital part of the struggle.

 In this episode of Radio Regent News and Views, journalist and Justice for Migrant Workers volunteer Fabio Heredia Casalins interviews food justice advocate Leslie Campbell about Foodshare, an organization dedicated to supporting populations facing food insecurity, including Canada’s migrant workers; journalist Dimitrije Martinovic speaks to Murshida Mueen and Ines Garcia, two Regent Park residents currently involved in the ongoing Evaluation Bench Mark process for the City of Toronto’s Regent Park Social Development Plan; and we’ll hear remarks made by Regent Park Neighborhood Association representatives Marlene DeGenova and Gail Lynch, City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, as well as Mitchell Cohen of the Daniels Corporation during a town hall held on November 24th, 2020, co-hosted by the RPNA and the Daniels Corporation. The town hall was arranged in the wake of a horrific anti-black racist incident that occured in June of 2020 on a Daniels construction site in Regent...

 In this episode of Radio Regent News and Views , journalist Ayesha Khan interviews Ayesha Amin, a community researcher with the SDP Employment and Economic Development Working Group, about the state of employment in Regent Park; we present a second excerpt from a recent online discussion featuring academic/writer/activists Naomi Klein, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor and Astra Taylor, regarding paths forward for America’s left in a post-Trump world; and journalist Minerva Nevasca asks the question “To Work or Not to Work; Youth Employment in a Pandemic.”

In this episode of Radio Regent News and Views, we hear remarks from author, activist and academic Naomi Klein from a recent online discussion, entitled "Where Do We Go From Here?" exploring paths forward for the American left after the US election; journalist Dmitrije Martinovic interviews Andrew Lochhead, founder of a petition to rename Toronto’s Dundas Street; and migrant worker Paul tells a harrowing story of struggles he has faced over the last year in Leemington, Ontario.

In this episode of Radio Regent News and Views, journalist Minerva Navasca talks to University of Toronto History Professor Max Mishler about the exclusion of curriculum reflecting the lives and histories of Black people, Indigenous people and People of Colour from Canadian classrooms; Journalist Fabio Herediac discusses police defunding and other issues with City Councillor Kristyn Wong Tam; and David Wall interviews Gillian, a nanny from the Philippines who has had a particularly harrowing time in Canada.

 In this episode of Radio Regent News and Views, David Wall speaks to Joan, an activist and volunteer with Justice for Migrant workers about her important work delivering clothing and food to migrant workers in Leemington, Ontario; Ibby Albazz brings us a report about how environmentalism and activism around Climate Change have taken a bit of a back seat to COVID 19 concerns; Talha Hashmani and Masih K bring us part two of their report on the impact that COVID 19 has had on the world of human trafficking; and we hear a second excerpt from a recent conversation between author Johann Hari and writer/activist Naomi Klein about Donald Trump’s shock election politics.

 In this episode of Radio Regent News and Views, David Wall interviews academic and activist Salmaan Khan about the roots of racism in capitalist society and its connection to the legacy of migrant worker exploitation in Canada; Focus Media Arts Centre Video Journalist Dimitrije Martinovic visits an event at Moss Park in Toronto marking International Overdose Awareness Day; and we hear part of a recent online conversation between British author Johann Hari and writer/activist Naomi Klein about Donald Trump’s shock election politics.

In this episode of News and Views, journalist Minerva Navasca interviews historian Max Mishler about the origins of policing in Canada and their direct ties to systematic racism; David Wall interviews Meshell Theresa, a volunteer with Justice for Migrant Workers about the ongoing challenges faced by migrant workers in the country and how they relate to Canada’s overall failure to uphold basic human rights; and Talha Hashmani and Masik K report on the impact that COVID19 has had on the world of human trafficking. Listen to Podcast: https://www.regentparkfocus.com/radio/media/newsviews/2020-10-02.mp3

In this episode, journalist Ella Coccimiglio discusses the Regent Park Community Pods Initiative, a network of local safe-socializing hubs, with two participants; Nate Gurarie interviews Maya Bryon of The Neighborhood Information Post about the Toronto Rent Bank Program; and David Wall talks to Toronto Central School Board Trustee Chris Moise about a number of topics, including the reopening of schools across the city and his plans for redistributing resources in different communities in the name of equity. Listen to Podcast: https://www.regentparkfocus.com/radio/media/newsviews/2020-09-25.mp3

In this episode, David Wall speaks with Taneeta Doma and Sarah Khan, both law students at the University of Windsor as well as volunteers with Justice for Migrant Workers; Talha Hashmani and Masih K discuss policing and race in Toronto with Freda Adam, a staff lawyer at the Black Legal Action Centre; and Ibby Albazz presents his editorial on how Covid 19 has affected the livelihoods of Canadian musicians.  Listen to podcast: https://www.regentparkfocus.com/radio/media/newsviews/2020-09-18.mp3  

In this episode, journalist Minerva Navasca explores the many ways people can get involved with activism around ongoing struggles for racial justice; Talha Hashmani and Masih K discuss how frontline healthcare workers are facing down the Covid-19 pandemic across the GTA; David Wall interviews lawyer and activist Maleek Mohamed about a recent legal victory for migrant workers in Ontario; and journalist Ella Coccimiglio talks to Regent Park area business owner Chris Klugman about the reopening of Paintbox Bistro.  Listen to Podcast: https://www.regentparkfocus.com/radio/media/newsviews/2020-09-04.mp3

 In today’s episode of News and Views, journalist Jamelia Parnell reports on a recent, disturbing incident involving a construction crane in Regent Park; David Wall interviews Justice for Migrant Workers activist David Fox about his experiences with migrant workers while volunteering in Asia and some of the commonalities he has found with similar workers in Canada; journalist Chloe Nguyen-Drury chats with Toronto Centre MPP Suze Morrison about the recently passed bill 184 and what it means for tenants’ rights in Ontario;   journalist Gaelle Kosi discusses the challenges of owning a business in Regent Park during the Covid-19 pandemic with a local hair salon owner; and News and Views staff presenter Ibby Albazz explores the current health of real estate markets in the Greater Toronto Area.

 In this episode, journalist Chloe Nguyen-Drury interviews Toronto Community Housing Senior Construction Manager Robert Boyd about the new development at 150 River Street in Regent Park; Talha Hashmani and Masih K continue their report on the upcoming reopening of schools in Ontario; and lawyer Kikeola Roach discusses various cases she has worked on involving migrant workers in Canada and connections to the legacies of Canadian slavery and colonialism. As always, our headlines are compiled and read by Cassandra Earl.