June 11th Day of Solidarity with Marius Mason and Long-Term Anarchist Prisoners

Aired June 14, 2017
Posted to the Internet Archive

June 11th has been observed since 2004 by anarchists and environmentalists as a day of action to mobilize around imprisoned comrades. Tonight we bring you an interview conducted by June 11 organizers with Ann Hansen, a freelance writer living on a farm near Kingston and former member of Direct Action, an underground anarchist guerilla group active in the 1980s.

News: Incident at Henry Trail halfway house – Solitary Is Torture demonstration in Michigan – Solidarity rally with Folsom hunger strikers – Beatrice Hunter released

Music:

Sing Me Home – Sing Me Back Home
DECIDE TODAY – Strong Hearts Cannot Be Caged

Calls From Home (May 2017)

Aired May 31, 2017
Posted to the Internet Archive

Calls From Home is a monthly CFRC Prison Radio segment that connects friends and family with their loved ones behind Kingston’s prison walls through the power of community radio.

News: Fire at Quebec City jail – Fentanyl overdoses at Quinte Detention Centre – First death at Southwest Detention Centre – Feds admit most immigrant detainees aren’t “dangerous” – Indefinite migrant detention court challenge – CSC strikes prison farms advisory – Hunger strike at Folsom Prison

Music:

Sampa – Reverse Faults
Imany – Slow Down
The Tidal Sleep – Words
Tristan Welsh – Locked Up

 

Simple Health Remedies in Prison

Aired May 10, 2017
Posted to the Internet Archive

Tonight we bring you an interview with M, a holistic health counsellor based in Vancouver about simple health remedies using ingredients widely available through prison kitchens, canteens and gardens. Responses to our call for information formed the basis of our program today, so thank you! Special shout-out goes to Chester Abbotsbury for this very thoughtful response to our call-out.

News: Correctional Investigator releases scathing report on Matthew Hines death – Evolve Our Prison Farms group enters the debate – David Gagnier death at Bath Institution – Altercation at Collins Bay Max results in several injuries

Music:

Ziggy Marley – Herbs and Spices
Simon and Garfunkel – Scarborough Fair/Canticle

May Day 2017 Special Broadcast

Aired May 1, 2017
Posted to the Internet Archive

This year, CFRC 101.9FM held a special broadcast live from May Day celebrations in Kingston, on May 1st from 4-6pm (despite terrible weather!). As the whole CPR crew was involved in producing this broadcast, we have uploaded the broadcast here for your listening pleasure.

1:10 Speech from 2016 May Day event in Kingston
9:25 Interview with Doug Nesbitt, editor of Rank and File
48:00 May Day at Kingston Penitentiary, 1933
59:23 Interview with participant at anti-racist rally (March 4, 2017)
1:05:55 Reports from May Day around the world
1:21:54 The Incomplete, True, Authentic and Wonderful History of May Day
1:40:40 Live broadcast from Skeleton Park

 

Calls From Home (April 2017)

Aired April 27, 2017
Posted to the Internet Archive

Calls From Home is a monthly CFRC Prison Radio segment that connects friends and family with their loved ones behind Kingston’s prison walls through the power of community radio.

Announcements: May Day to be marked in Kingston

News: Transgender prisoners may be transferred soon under new policy – Kinew James inquest set to begin – Hunger strikes in immigrant detention centre in Tacoma

Music:

Propagandhi – Dear Coach’s Corner
Gonjasufi – Afrikan Spaceship
Johnny Cash – Starkville City Jail
Run The Jewels feat Zach de la Rocha – Close Your Eyes
King Pong Dub System – The New Racism
Loretta Lynn – Women’s Prison

Calls From Home (March 2017)

Aired March 29, 2017
Posted to the Internet Archive

Calls From Home is a monthly CFRC Prison Radio segment that connects friends and family with their loved ones behind Kingston’s prison walls through the power of community radio.

This month we were pleased to share a Call For Information as well as correspondence from Stony Mountain Institution in Winnipeg regarding the aftermath of the Saskatchewan Pen riot in December 2016.

News: Youth uprising in Quebec detention centre – SCAR protest in Regina – Prison strike organizer Siddique Abdullah Hasan in infirmary after hunger strike – Arrests at jail solidarity demo in Pittsburgh – Documents reveal Ontario gets kickbacks for jail phone calls

Music:

Test Their Logik – Kiss Me Through The Phone (Remix)
Nas feat Damien Marley – Tribal War
Bambu feat Killer Mike – Prey-er
In A Grave – Show Me The Body
Lee Reed – Bad Gas
Sang Mele – Le Bal Des Insurgee
Old Haunt – Lord, I

Request for Information: Simple Jail Remedies

CPR is currently working with a Holistic Health Counsellor to produce a radio show specifically geared towards educating prisoners about simple remedies for common health ailments. We are looking for feedback from folks inside to have a better understanding of what to cover in this show. We are collecting responses until the end of March, and we are hoping to air a radio show on this topic sometime in April. Please share this with anyone else inside you think might be interested.

1. What are the most common health issues of the prisoners you know? (ex: diabetes, chronic pain, digestive upset, high blood pressure, cancer, cold/flu, first aid, etc)

2. What remedies do you know of people using for health complaints in prison?

3. Is it possible to access any culinary herbs and spices for medicinal uses? Which ones? (ex: fennel, lemon, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, thyme, rosemary, etc).

4. What kinds of natural foods and teas can be purchased from the canteen? (ex: green tea, chamomile tea, black tea, honey, nuts, yoghurt, etc).

5. Do you have access to any garden space to grow medicinal plants such as culinary herbs and spices?

CFRC Funding Drive Episode

Aired March 8, 2017
Posted to the Internet Archive

Hello listeners, CFRC is currently having its annual funding drive, which helps keep our beloved station – including this show – going! Please give generously here.

For this year’s funding drive episode, we played some classic segments from CPR over the years, including a message from the late Peter Collins about radio issues in prison, an interview with Sabine Heinlein from 2013 about her book Among Murderers: Life After Prison, and a segment about the experience of indigenous women in prison. We also had long-time CPR contributor Chester Abbotsbury call in live to chat about the importance of the show to him when he was in prison in Kingston and share a few laughs.

 

Youth Detention in Kingston and Beyond

Aired February 8, 2017
Posted to the Internet Archive

 

Youth detention is an often-overlooked component of the Canadian prison-industrial complex. Unless you work in the system or personally know a young person who has become “in conflict with the law,” the public generally has no idea how the system works or what goes on inside these facilities. To find out more, we spoke with Diane Irwin, Executive Director of the St. Lawrence Youth Association. The SLYA operates two juvenile detention facilities in the Kingston area, as well as managing programs in the community. We reached out to our contacts to speak with someone who has been incarcerated in one of these facilities, but so far have been unsuccessful. If you know someone who would like to share their story with us, we encourage you to get in touch with us.

As we were researching this issue to prepare for our interview, we came across a class action lawsuit that has been launched against the Province of Ontario and all third-party operators of youth detention facilities, including the St. Lawrence Youth Association. The lawsuit alleges that holding youth in solitary confinement is negligent, and breaches the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I spoke with Scott Robinson, an Associate Lawyer with Koskie Minsky in Toronto, about the case.

For the second half of our show, we shared an old but relevant interview from Stark Raven Radio in Vancouver with Annabel Webb of Justice For Girls, an organization that advocates for teenage girls who live in poverty. Annabel, speaking in December 2007, speaks about being barred from a youth detention facility in Burnaby after raising allegations of sexual abuse by medical doctors at the facility, and her critical reflections on the youth detention system in Vancouver.

Music: Spend Some Time (Remix) by Immortal Technique – Daddy by Hail Seizures

Calls From Home (January 2017)

Aired January 25, 2017
Posted to the Internet Archive

Calls From Home is a monthly CFRC Prison Radio segment that connects friends and family with their loved ones behind Kingston’s prison walls through the power of community radio.

This month we were pleased to share several stories, song dedications and an open letter to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.

News: Death of Michael Coelho at Bath Institution – “Escape” from Henry Trail