CKLN-FM was a community radio station based in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. From 1983 to 2011, CKLN Radio Inc. was licensed by the

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...

as a

campus A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...

-community FM radio station affiliated with

Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...

, and broadcast at 88.1 MHz on the FM dial with the call sign CKLN-FM. It ceased FM broadcasting on April 15, 2011, after its licence was revoked on January 28, 2011 and continued as an internet radio outlet until it ceased operations on December 26, 2011. In its final months, most of the internet broadcaster's programs were produced in the

Regent Park Regent Park is a neighbourhood located in downtown Toronto, Ontario built in the late 1940s as a public housing project managed by Toronto Community Housing. It sits on what used to be a significant part of the Cabbagetown neighbourhood and ...

neighbourhood of Toronto. After CKLN was officially dissolved as an organization, its remaining resources and volunteers were transferred to

Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre The Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre is a non-profit group in Toronto, Ontario's Regent Park neighbourhood.Radio Regent, a new Internet radio operation, in early 2012. After a round of licence hearings on new applications for CKLN's old frequency, the CRTC awarded the licence to Rock 95 Broadcasting, which launched CIND-FM under the name Indie 88 in September 2012, while a new campus radio station for Ryerson University was launched as

CJRU CJRU, branded as ''CJRU.ca'' and originally branded as ''The Scope at Ryerson'', is a low-powered AM campus and community radio station, owned and operated by Radio Ryerson Incorporated at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson Unive ...

in 2016.

History

CKLN began as a closed circuit station set up in 1970 as Ryerson Community Radio, its broadcasts piped to loudspeakers around campus. In 1972, it became independent of Ryerson's Radio and Television Arts department and adopted the call letters CRFM. In 1978, the station adopted the call letters CKLN and was broadcast through campus via

closed circuit Closed circuit can refer to: *Closed-circuit television *Closed-circuit radio *Rebreather – breathing sets * ''Closed Circuit'' (1978 film), a 1978 Italian film * ''Closed Circuit'' (2013 film), a 2013 British thriller film *An electric circuit ...

cable. It was licensed as an over the air FM broadcaster by the CRTC in 1983 as a Ryerson University-based

-community radio station and assigned the frequency of 88.1 MHz on the FM band and allowed to retain the CKLN call letters. Ryerson had announced that it would close its earlier radio station,

CJRT-FM CJRT-FM (91.1 MHz) is a Canadian public radio station and charitable arts organization in Toronto, Ontario, known as JAZZ.FM91. The studios are on Pardee Avenue in the Liberty Village neighbourhood of Toronto. The station describes itself as Ca ...

, in 1973 due to financial constraints; that station was saved in 1974 by the Ontario government headed by

Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the member of provincial Parliament for Peel in the 1959 provincia ...

in 1974 as a government funded

public radio Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

station without formal ties to Ryerson. Among CKLN's early accomplishments was the launch of Ron Nelson's new show ''The Fantastic Voyage'' in 1983, Canada's first radio show devoted to

Rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

. The program was influential in promoting and developing many of Canada's early hip hop stars. According to poet

Clifton Joseph Clifton Joseph is a Canadian dub poet."Scat, rap, soca, soul, a dub poet sings it all". ''Toronto Star'', April 5, 1988. He is most noted for his 1989 album ''Oral/Trans/Missions'', from which the song "Chuckie Prophesy" was a shortlisted Juno Awar ...

, the show was "the single most important agent responsible for the breaking of rap music in Toronto and laying the groundwork for the emergence of Canadian rap artists such as

Michie Mee Michelle McCullock (born November 1, 1970), better known by her stage name Michie Mee, is a Canadian rapper and actress. Canada's first notable female MC, she is considered a national hip-hop pioneer. Early life and career McCullock was born i ...

and

Maestro Fresh Wes Wesley "Wes" Williams (born March 31, 1968) is a Canadians, Canadian rapper, record producer, actor, and author. He is known professionally by his stage names Maestro Fresh Wes (formerly Maestro Fresh-Wes) or Maestro as a musician, and is cred ...

." Other artists such as

Blue Rodeo Blue Rodeo is a Canadian country rock band formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have released 16 full-length studio albums, four live recordings, one greatest hits album, and two video/DVDs, along with multiple solo albums, side projects, a ...

and

k.d. lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical performances. Hits include the s ...

received airplay on CKLN prior to being picked up by mainstream radio. The ''Globe and Mail'' says of the station that "it sat at the forefront of independent music and radical politics in the city for more than three decades, working with a shoe-string budget, and yet it somehow always managed to survive." In the 1980s, the station helped create a news service to share content among left-wing stations worldwide including those run by the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

and the FMLN in

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

. The station aired live coverage of the release of

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

from prison."CKLN: From revolution to radio silence; Ryerson's campus station may have lost its broadcast licence, but volunteers hope its 30-year history can put 88.1 back on the dial" by Adrian Morrow, ''Globe and Mail'', May 21, 2011 CKLN was the first broadcast outlet to air Toronto's Gay Pride Day Parade. In its coverage of the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...

, CKLN aired an investigation of the colonial history behind the events. In 1985, the station was estimated to have 50,000 weekly listeners. By 1991, its audience had grown to an estimated 140,000 listeners a week. In 1989, The Toronto Star voted CKLN as "best radio station" in its annual Sammy awards. In April 1992, one student successfully petitioned for a referendum to decide if the station should continue to receive student funding; CKLN won the referendum. Former station manager

Adam Vaughan Adam G. Vaughan (born July 3, 1961) is a Canadian politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 2014 until 2021. Vaughan represented the Toronto area riding of Spadina—Fort York as a member of the Liberal Party. He previously sat ...

, later a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

, said in a 2015 interview that "What was great about CKLN is that it combined the strength of Ryerson with the diversity of Toronto... The diversity of the city and the diversity of the voices and the culture on air came to define CKLN and it was a huge part of our success." He added, however, that "The station, after I left, got very heavily invested in identity politics. And instead of bringing diversity together, groups kind of started to fight with each other and it was hugely problematic in terms of trying to unify an audience... You could see the station drifting further and further away from a position of strength and experimentation into bitterness and at times, straight up incompetency." By September 2003, following the departure of station manager Conrad Collaco,"CKLN finally hires Station Manager"
. ''

The Eyeopener ''The Eyeopener'' is one of two weekly student newspapers at Toronto Metropolitan University. It has a circulation of 10,000 copies per week during the school year. ''The Eyeopener'' is published by Rye Eye Publishing Inc., owned by the studen ...

'', 2007-11-06. CKLN was teetering on the brink of insolvency. As a result, the Ryerson Students' Union bailed out CKLN of $110,000 in debts. An earlier proposal by Collaco to deal with the station's financial problems with a $6 increase to the student levy was not approved by the student government which cited various issues such as the lack of audited statements, the lack of airtime for Ryerson students or acknowledgment of Ryerson on the air. In August 2005, CKLN shifted its broadcast studios from the basement of Jorgenson Hall at Ryerson University to the second floor of the newly constructed Ryerson Student Campus Centre.

Internal conflict and loss of licence

In November 2007, CKLN's board appointed board member Mike Phillips as interim station manager. It had been over four years since the position had been filled. On December 21, 2007, CKLN program director Tim May resigned "suddenly and questionably""CKLN Hire in Hot Water
", ''eyeopener'', January 29, 2008 and within days CKLN's board appointed board member Tony Barnes as interim program director without first advertising the post. The new hires, and the manner in which the hirings were carried out, proved unpopular with some and resulted in a special general meeting being called, which was attended by over 150 members,"Fightin’ words"
, ''eye magazine'', February 27, 2008 more than 90% of whom voted to impeach the board of directors."CKLN tunes out volunteers"
, ''The Varsity'', September 28, 2008 The management and board of CKLN viewed the Special General Meeting as illegitimate along with the impeachment vote and subsequently dismissed several dozen volunteer programmers as well as two paid staff, including the station's news director,"Out of tune at CKLN"
''Now Magazine'', August 26-September 2, 2008 who was allegedly told she was being fired for not seeing "eye to eye" with the board. Station manager Mike Phillips claimed that members of the

Canadian Union of Public Employees The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE; french: Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique, links=no; french: SCFP, link=, label=none) is a Canadian trade union serving the public sector – although it has in recent years organized workpl ...

and

Ontario Coalition Against Poverty The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) is an anti-poverty group in Ontario, Canada, which promotes the interests of the poor and homeless. The group uses publicity-generating direct action techniques such as squatting and demonstrations whic ...

had stacked the February meeting and defended the dismissal of volunteer programmers by arguing, "If you have people decrying the station that is allowing them to go on the air, and breaking CRTC rules in the process, that can't be allowed to go on for very long." For a time, the station had two rival boards of directors, both claiming to be the legitimate management. The first board, which hired Barnes and Phillips, was chaired by Josie Miner while a second board led by Arnold Minors was elected by opponents of the first board."Deadlock and dead air on Ryerson's radio"
, ''eyeopener'', September 9, 2008 The Ryerson Students' Union, which administered a student fee that, at the time, provided the station with 60 per cent of its budget, withheld funds until the conflict between the two rival boards was resolved."Live Ryerson radio to hit the airwaves again"
. ''The Ryersonian'', September 16, 2009. Responding to this action, the first board initiated a statement of claim in the

Ontario Superior Court of Justice The Superior Court of Justice (French: ''Cour supérieure de justice'') is a superior court in Ontario. The Court sits in 52 locations across the province, including 17 Family Court locations, and consists of over 300 federally appointed judges. ...

naming the RSU and Ryerson University as defendants. With CKLN's financial situation deteriorating due to the RSU's withholding of funds, and with members of the first board fighting among themselves, on February 28, 2009, CKLN's studios were made inaccessible except to a faction on the first CKLN board and those they chose to admit. Live programming was suspended and previously aired material was repeated in its place. On March 1, 2009, two individuals, Paulette Hamilton, one of the members of the first board who had been locked out the previous day, and Daibhid James, a programmer, were arrested after they "barricaded themselves into the radio station's studios.""Levy: 'They've overstayed their welcome'"
, ''eyeopener'', March 3, 2009 Ryerson University president

Sheldon Levy Sheldon Levy (born 1949) is a veteran Canadian business leader in higher education who is currently President and Vice-Chancellor of University Canada West (UCW) in Vancouver and a special advisor on the development of the forthcoming University o ...

reacted to the incident by stating that "I think they've overstayed their welcome if that's the welcome that we have on our property. I don't like it, I don't want it, and we don't need it here." Later that month, the Ryerson Student Centre board voted unanimously to close the station until both sides of the dispute could negotiate CKLN's future. The Palin Foundation, which governs the student centre, consists of representatives of Ryerson University, the Ryerson Students' Union and the Continuing Education Students' Association of Ryerson (CESAR). During the period of the lockout, which lasted until mid-September 2009, CKLN broadcast unattended loops of previously aired programs, jazz and pre-recorded speeches. Dead air was heard for sometimes weeks at a time. In June 2009, CKLN's broadcast antenna was damaged resulting in the signal strength being drastically reduced. CKLN's online stream was still operational through this period. On July 9, 2009, in a statement by Chris McNeil, president of CESAR and chair of the Palin Foundation, CKLN was provided a deadline of July 24, 2009 for the station to elect a new board of directors or risk eviction."CRTC yanks licence of Ryerson's CKLN radio"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', January 28, 2011. The July 24, 2009 meeting and elections were held, but became the subject of a legal action filed in the

Commercial Court by former CKLN board member Mary Young claiming it was "improper and illegal". On December 14, 2011, the legal action against CKLN was permanently stayed and a motion by Young to launch a derivative action was dismissed with Young ordered to pay CKLN $10,000 in costs.

Licence revocation

Even before CKLN resumed scheduled programming in late September 2009, the CRTC expressed concerns over the station's inability to comply with licence requirements during the dispute, such as playing the aforementioned loop for several months in 2009, its failure to properly submit on-air logger tapes, program logs and complete annual financial returns since 2007, and that the CRTC licence for CKLN had been transferred to a third party without authorization. In March 2010, the CRTC called CKLN to a hearing for May 12, 2010 in which the licensee was to "...show cause why the Commission should not take steps to suspend or revoke the broadcasting licence in question or why the Commission should not issue mandatory orders requiring the licensee to comply with the Regulations and its conditions of licence..." The hearing was postponed in part due to ongoing mediation efforts in the aforementioned Mary Young case. The CRTC made it clear soon after the postponement that CKLN would be called to a hearing by no later than the end of 2010. During this period, the CRTC required the station to file monthly progress reports on its efforts to improve its licensing compliance. The CRTC called CKLN to a hearing that took place in Toronto over a two-day period beginning December 8, 2010. On January 28, 2011, the CRTC revoked the licence of CKLN-FM due to continual breaches of the Broadcast Act and violations to their conditions of licence, ordering them to cease broadcasting by February 12, 2011. Calling the decision "premature, disproportionate and inequitable", CRTC Commissioner Louise Poirier issued a dissenting opinion stating that she was "firmly opposed" to the decision and that licence revocation "should not have been used as a first step for this station"; according to Poirier, "the Commission has never revoked a licence without first issuing a mandatory order or reducing the licence term.""National Campus And Community Radio Association Unhappy With CRTC Pulling CKLN's Licence"
.

chartattack.com ''Chart Attack'' was a Canadian online music publication. Formerly a monthly print magazine called ''Chart'', it was published from 1991 to 2009. While the web version appears to be available online, the domain is now used as a popular media outle ...

, January 31, 2011. The decision was also opposed by the

National Campus and Community Radio Association The National Campus and Community Radio Association/L'Association nationale des radios étudiantes et communautaires (NCRA/ANREC) is a non-profit organization of campus radio and community radio stations in Canada. It represents the interests of t ...

, which stated in a press release that the commission "could have taken other reasonable steps to ensure regulatory compliance while allowing CKLN to continue serving the community". CKLN has stated that most of its regulatory failures were committed by former staff who were no longer with the station."CKLN Will Remain on the Air, For Now"
''torontoist'', February 11, 2011 CKLN appealed the decision to the

Federal Court of Canada The Federal Court of Canada, which succeeded the Exchequer Court of Canada in 1971, was a national court of Canada that had limited jurisdiction to hear certain types of disputes arising under the federal government's legislative jurisdiction. ...

. On February 11, the station was granted a temporary

stay Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tri ...

, allowing it to remain on the air pending the Federal Court's decision on whether or not to grant the station

leave to appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

the CRTC's order. On April 15, 2011, the Federal Court of Appeal announced that it would not be hearing the appeal and said the station must cease broadcasting on 88.1 FM immediately. CKLN continued broadcasting and podcasting via the internet as its exclusive outlet from that point.

Reaction to loss of licence

CKLN station manager Jacky Tuinstra-Harrison said that the CRTC failed to follow its own policy of graduated discipline: "The CRTC could have followed their own policy, but did not; they did not pursue avenues such as warnings, fines, mandatory orders or other options against CKLN, but moved directly to the most serious of measures- revocation. We were not at any point offered alternatives" and that the claim that "CKLN's 'demise' could have been avoided is an admonishment, which could have been made to any of the last six CKLN boards". On April 18, 2011, in his inaugural television broadcast on Canada's

Sun News Network Sun News Network (commonly shortened to Sun News) was a Canadian English language Category C news channel owned by Québecor Média through a partnership between two of its subsidiaries, TVA Group (which maintained 51% majority ownership of the ...

, as well as his column in the

Sun Media Sun Media Corporation was the owner of several tabloid and broadsheet newspapers in Canada and the 49 percent owner of the now defunct Sun News Network. It was a subsidiary of Quebecor Media. On October 6, 2014, Quebecor Media announced the sal ...

newspaper chain, conservative commentator

Ezra Levant Ezra Isaac Levant (born February 20, 1972) is a Canadian conservative media personality, political activist, writer, broadcaster, and former lawyer. Levant is the founder and former publisher of the conservative magazine, The'' Western Standard''. ...

claimed that the CRTC's decision on CKLN was just another oppressive example of arbitrary government bureaucracy and interference into the lives and businesses of ordinary Canadians. Toronto city councillor

said: "It's just astonishing that the CRTC can do this to a station that's been true to its mandate, that's sustained its commitment to community-based programming, the damage it does to communities served by this station, you couldn't even begin to quantify." Vaughan told the ''Toronto Star'' that "It's very sad that the CRTC couldn't sit down and work with this clearly volunteer organization and give them the benefit of the doubt and help them solve the problem rather than simply render a very tough decision against them.""Troubled campus station off the air; CKLN was early voice of Canadian hip hop" by Cynthia Vukets and Ashante Infantry, ''Toronto Star'', April 17, 2011 Referring to previous boards of directors, outgoing Ryerson Students Union president and CKLN director Toby Whitfield observed: "There's been so much infighting for so many years, people lost sight of the purpose of the station. The privilege of having a licence is amazing, and I think that's what was missing," adding that the current board had gotten more students involved.

Move to Regent Park

On August 2, 2011, in a statement posted on CKLN's website, it was announced that the Palin Foundation would evict CKLN on August 27, 2011.COMMUNITY ALERT: CKLN Facing Eviction and Urgently Needs New Space
by CKLN Station Manager ''CKLN''. August 2, 2011 It was confirmed officially by CKLN on August 4, 2011, that, after the eviction, CKLN internet streaming would emanate almost exclusively from the

Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre The Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre is a non-profit group in Toronto, Ontario's Regent Park neighbourhood.

Dissolution

At a CKLN membership meeting held on October 11, 2011, a motion was passed to seek court approval for the dissolution of CKLN Radio Incorporated. Court approval for dissolution was granted on December 14, 2011. CKLN.fm ceased operations on December 26, 2011, with most of its programs and volunteers moving to Radio Regent, a new internet radio service owned and operated by

Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre The Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre is a non-profit group in Toronto, Ontario's Regent Park neighbourhood.CKLN Radio Inc is dissolving but your favourite shows and hosts are moving to Radio Regent"
, ckln.fm website, December 20, 2011

Fate of 88.1 and new Ryerson application

On September 28, 2011,

Evanov Radio Group Evanov Communications is a Canadian radio broadcasting company. It is also the sole owner of Dufferin Communications Inc., 80% owner of Halifax Broadcasting Ltd. and Ottawa Media Inc. The group of Evanov companies owns and operates a number of ra ...

(via licensee Dufferin Communications) submitted an application to move

CIRR-FM CIRR-FM (103.9 MHz, ''103.9 Proud FM'') is a radio station in Toronto, Ontario. Owned by Evanov Communications, it broadcasts a Hot AC/ CHR/EDM format with a focus on the area's LGBT community. Launching on April 16, 2007, it was the first radi ...

(which carried a

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

format targeting the

LGBT community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay men, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a comm ...

) from 103.9 to CKLN's former frequency on 88.1. Per its competitive licensing process, the CRTC issued a call for competing applicants, and received 27 submissions in total. The applications included submissions by

MZ Media ZoomerMedia Limited is a Canadian media company controlled by Moses Znaimer, the founder of the Citytv network. Originally focusing on properties targeting what the company calls "zoomers", or the 45+ demographic, in 2022, the company began expan ...

Astral Media Astral Media Inc. was a Canadian media conglomerate. It was Canada's largest radio broadcaster, with 84 radio stations in eight provinces. Astral was also a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, with 23 specialty channels ...

Newcap Radio Stingray Radio (formerly Newcap Radio) is a Canadian radio broadcasting conglomerate owned by Stingray Group. It owns and operates 101 radio stations in Canada—making it the second-largest radio conglomerate in Canada behind Bell Media. It also ...

Larche Communications Larche Communications was a Canadian media company, which operated four radio stations in the province of Ontario. The company was named for its president, Paul Larche. Based in Midland, Ontario, Midland, the company began in 1997 when it acquired ...

, the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

, Trust Communications, Intercity Broadcasting, CHIN Radio/TV International, La Coopérative Radiophonique de Toronto and numerous ethnic broadcasters, as well as a new student group from Ryerson University that planned to relaunch the station with a new governance model. On September 11, 2012, the license was awarded to Rock 95 Broadcasting Ltd., which launched its new station CIND-FM on the frequency in 2013. In 2013, Radio Ryerson Inc. launched The Scope, an

internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...

station whose application for an AM radio licence was heard by the CRTC on September 25, 2014 and was granted by the CRTC on December 11. The new station began broadcasting on 1280 AM, with the call sign

, on March 31, 2016. In 2016, the CKLN-FM call sign was taken by

for a transmitter in

Clarenville Clarenville is a town on the east coast of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Clarenville was incorporated in 1951. It is located in the Shoal Harbour valley, fronting an arm of the Atlantic Ocean called Random ...

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, which operates as a rebroadcaster of

CHVO-FM CHVO-FM is a Canadian radio station in Carbonear, Newfoundland and Labrador, broadcasting at 103.9 FM. Owned by Stingray Group, the station currently broadcasts a country format branded as ''New Country 103.9''. History CHVO first went on the ...

Carbonear Carbonear is a town on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It overlooks the west side of Conception Bay and had a history long tied to fishing and shipbuilding. Since the late 20th century, its economy has changed to emphasi ...

CKLN alumni

Ralph Benmergui Raphael "Ralph" Benmergui (born 1955) is a Canadian television and radio personality, a writer, an ordained spiritual director, and a strategic advisor in political, environmental, and academic realms. Early life and education Born to a Sephar ...

- former CKLN news director and producer (1980s), later a host on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

, and Jazz FM 91 *Kolter Bouchard - former CKLN host and board member, as of November 2018 afternoon drive co-host on

CFNY-FM CFNY-FM (''102.1 the Edge'') is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 102.1 MHz in the Greater Toronto Area, licensed to the suburb of Brampton. CFNY plays an alternative rock format. Owned by Corus Entertainment, its studios are in Downtown ...

. *

Tanya Kim Tanya Kim is a Canadian television personality, best known as the co-host of '' etalk'' from 2003 to 2014. Early life Kim was born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario to Korean immigrant parents. Her grandmother moved from Seoul to Canada ...

- Ryerson graduate and former voice-over artist for CKLN promos and announcements circa 1998, current co-host of CTV's '' etalk'' *

Kirk LaPointe Kirk LaPointe (born December 12, 1957) is a Canadian journalist. Early life LaPointe was born in Toronto, where he was raised by a single mother in what he describes as poverty conditions. He was educated at New Toronto Secondary School and Ryer ...

- CKLN station manager (late 1970s), later managing editor at the Vancouver Sun, CTV, The Canadian Press and the National Post. From 2010 to 2012 he was ombudsman for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Vancouver mayoral candidate in 2014. *Eun Sook Lee - CKLN News Director (1990-1991), and Station Manager (1992-1993). Currently the Executive Director of the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund. *

Min Sook Lee Min Sook Lee ( ko, 이민숙; born 1969) is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, screenwriter, academic, and political activist. She was the New Democratic Party candidate for Toronto—Danforth during the 2019 federal election. She ran primarily on ...

- CKLN news director (1996-1998), later a documentary filmmaker and political candidate * Jeffrey Morgan - Authorized biographer of

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

and

The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave ...

*Dames Nellas - hosted ''Off Da Tracks'' on CKLN, currently afternoon drive-time/evening DJ on 99.9 Virgin Radio in Toronto. * Ron Nelson - host of ''The Fantastic Voyage'' and ''Reggaemania'', CKLN Board chair from 2009 to 2011. Currently a concert promoter, producer, and lecturer at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

. *Richard Paul - host of ''Latin Party'', later a host of ''Two New Hours'' on

*Norman "Otis" Richmond - host from 1983 until 2011 of various programs including ''Diasporic Music'' and the flagship news magazine ''Saturday Morning Live'', longtime news director *Kobena Aquaa-Harrison - hosted ''Sounds of Africa'' (1989 - 2010) replacing founders Sam Mensah and Thaddy Ulzen. Later president/ artistic director Music Africa/ AfroFest, Michèzo! founder, writer WORD Magazine. Composer/ performer for film, theatre, dance, television, stage *

Paul Romanuk Paul Romanuk (born October 31, 1961) is a Toronto sportscaster and writer. He was born in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Romanuk did television play-by-play for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the ''NHL on Sportsnet''. Early life Raised in Oshawa, Roman ...

- DJ and hockey play-by-play announcer (Toronto Marlies) from 1981 to 1985, later a sports broadcaster with TSN and Hockey Night In Canada. *

"Dialing up CKLN"
'' Now Magazine'', December 2, 2010. - CKLN station manager (1985-1987), later a municipal affairs reporter for

CBLT CBLT-DT (channel 5) is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the English-language service of CBC Television. It is part of a twinstick with Ici Radio-Canada Télé outlet CBLFT-DT (channel 25). B ...

and

CITY-TV CITY-DT (channel 57) is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the Citytv network. It is owned and operated by network parent Rogers Sports & Media alongside Omni Television outlets CFMT-DT (chan ...

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

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Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

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Trinity—Spadina Trinity—Spadina was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2015. It generally encompassed the western portion of Downtown Toronto. Its federal Member of Parliam ...

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