“You’re my bridge over troubled waters. I’m the troubled waters.”

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In today’s episode we walk with Eric. It’s the night of August 29, 2025 on the shores of Lake Huron. Eric speaks boldly and bravely about his experiences starting a non-profit, working with the federal government, living on the streets, struggling with crystal meth, psychosis, and alcohol. He shares about the joy of community, the need for belonging, the ups and downs of sobriety, the support we give one another and the people who have provided friendship, mentorship, love, and care along the way.

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CONTENT WARNING: Walking Radio explores complex topics in a forthright, strengths-focused, trauma-informed and sometimes unexpectedly lighthearted manner. These topics include but are not limited to: substance use, death, violence, disability, mental health and mental illness, suicide, homelessness, sexual assault, stigma, grief, loss, oppression, discrimination, HIV, trauma, government neglect, institutional failure, incarceration, and political abandonment. Listener discretion is advised.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit walkingradio.substack.com

“There’s a lot of material poverty in this neighbourhood, and also it is a community with tremendous wealth.”

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In this episode we walk with Erin, a registered nurse at the Moss Park Overdose Prevention Site, or Consumption and Treatment Service as it’s now known. We met together on the sweltering afternoon of Saturday July 12 2025 and toured the site and the Moss Park neighbourhood in Toronto’s downtown east-side. We discussed the origins of the OPS, the current realities of supervised consumption, and our shared hopes for a more compassionate future.

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CONTENT WARNING: Walking Radio explores complex topics in a forthright, strengths-focused, trauma-informed and sometimes unexpectedly lighthearted manner. These topics include but are not limited to: substance use, death, violence, disability, mental health and mental illness, suicide, homelessness, sexual assault, stigma, grief, loss, oppression, discrimination, HIV, trauma, government neglect, institutional failure, incarceration, and political abandonment. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit walkingradio.substack.com

Today’s episode begins with a phrase that sounds harmless—even wholesome—until you dig a little deeper.

“Canada First” appears in 1868 as the name and slogan of a movement meant to promote Canadian nationalist sentiment.

Slogans are not static, and they often get repurposed over time.

In the late 20th century, “Canada First” reappears in explicitly far-right organizing under Paul Fromm, who is identified by multiple watchdog and media sources as a Canadian white supremacist and neo-Nazi.

More recently, researchers and anti-hate investigators have documented “Canada First” branding in younger, online white-nationalist ecosystems. One 2021 investigation described Tyler L. Russell as running one of Canada’s biggest, youngest, and newest white-supremacist chatrooms under the “Canada First” banner.

The slogan shows up again when Pierre Poilievre makes the interesting choice to adopt “Canada First” as his campaign slogan during his 2025 election bid.

Which brings us to the current context.

On Sept. 13, 2025, a Canada First rally at Christie Pits in Toronto—organized by Joe Anidjar-—called for “mass deportation” and “remigration”—a term that Canadian Anti-Hate Network executive director Evan Balgord describes as “synonymous with ethnic cleansing.”

The Canada First rally at Christie Pits ended with the group leaving the park, heavily outnumbered by counter-protesters.

In this episode, the Canada First group returns to Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto on Saturday January 10, 2026. One attendee, Ron Bouwmeister, told CBC News that what brought him down to the Square was his fears of an insufficient number of blonde people in Canadian society.

Fear no longer, Ron. This blondie is here to represent. As a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Canadian myself I am more than delighted in any moment to push Nazi-inspired eugenics rhetoric, no matter how poorly disguised, back into the garbage dump of history where it will always belong.

In today’s episode we chat with the counter-protesters and make new lots of new friends along the way. We explore why standing up against racism, xenophobia and hate is important to them as we strive together for a more caring, insightful, inclusive, and compassionate Canada.

We invite you to join us on our walk and to see what new pathways of better understanding we discover together along the way. I’m Patrick Corvyn, and this is Walking Radio.

Links:

https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/paul-fromm/

https://www.antihate.ca/canada_first_exposed_tyler_russell

https://www.antihate.ca/canada_first_campus_friendly_ties_between_conservative_student_group_white_supremacists

https://www.antihate.ca/former_proud_boys_devolved_neo_nazi_accelerationists

https://ricochet.media/politics/how-pierre-poilievres-canada-first-slogan-parallels-white-nationalist-ideology/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/anti-immigration-rally-counter-protest-downtown-toronto-9.7041206

https://web.archive.org/web/20260111012230/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/anti-immigration-rally-counter-protest-downtown-toronto-9.7041206

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit walkingradio.substack.com

In this, the fifth and final episode of our special series, we continue and complete our walk with beautiful Camp Wendake.  For nearly 30 years, Camp Wendake has provided individuals living with HIV and their family members a stigma-free, safe, and welcoming space. It’s a place to unwind, relax, and experience the joy of community.

In this episode we join Norm, an extraordinary nurse who has been with Camp Wendake since the beginning. We listen in on snippets from the Thursday night talent show and we wrap up the final week of August 2025 with excerpts from the camp's closing ceremonies.

By way of epilogue and special bonus, we will complete this episode and our series with a leap forward in time to A Cabaret for Wendake … a campy affair: a fundraiser which was held at Aeolian Hall in London, Ontario on the evening of Friday, November 14, 2025.  

We invite you to join us on this walk and to see what new pathways of better understanding we discover together along the way. I’m Patrick Corvyn, and this is Walking Radio.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit walkingradio.substack.com

In this, the fourth episode of our special series, we continue our walk inside beautiful Camp Wendake.  For nearly 30 years, Camp Wendake has provided individuals living with HIV and their family members a stigma-free, safe, and welcoming space. It’s a place to unwind, relax, and experience the joy of community.

In this episode we walk alongside even more of the campers and volunteers as they reflect on what Camp Wendake means to them and we look ahead to the Thursday night talent show. We listen in on the kaleidoscopic array of activities the camp offers and bump into some familiar faces along the way.

 We invite you to join us on our walk together and see what new pathways of understanding we discover along the way. I’m Patrick Corvyn, and this is Walking Radio.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit walkingradio.substack.com

“Kindness comes down from the sky without force.”

In this, the third episode of our special series, we continue our walk within beautiful Camp Wendake. For nearly 30 years, Camp Wendake has provided individuals living with HIV and their family members a stigma-free, safe, and welcoming space. It’s a place to unwind, relax, and experience the joy of community.

In this episode we get a chance to chat with the campers themselves to hear their stories and about what Camp Wendake means to them. We’ll also walk with even more of the volunteers who keep this magical camp running year after year.

Let’s walk together and find pathways to better understanding. I’m Patrick Corvyn, and this is Walking Radio.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit walkingradio.substack.com

“We are horrified.” Welcome to Walking Radio — a podcast dedicated to amplifying the voices of people on the margins and the frontlines.

This is a space where lived experience takes center stage, where stories are shared on their own terms, and where conversation happens in motion.

In this, episode we join Sandra: the co-executive director of the HIV Legal Network on a walk through Dufferin Grove Park in Toronto. It’s Wednesday, November 12, 2025.

Along with over 30 years of fearless advocacy work across a broad range of issues, the HIV Legal Network has been instrumental in providing support for the charter challenges to the recent closures of the supervised consumption sites in Ontario.

We invite you to join us on our walk and to see what new pathways of better understanding we discover together along the way. I’m Patrick Corvyn, and this is Walking Radio.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit walkingradio.substack.com

“We are one.” Welcome to Walking Radio — a podcast dedicated to amplifying the voices of people on the margins and the frontlines.

This is a space where lived experience takes center stage, where stories are shared on their own terms, and where conversation happens in motion.

In this special series, Walking Radio takes you to summer camp! In the final days of August 2025, I spent the week volunteering at Camp Wendake, nestled along the stunning shoreline of Lake Huron. For nearly 30 years, Camp Wendake has provided individuals living with HIV and their family members a stigma-free, safe, and welcoming space. It’s a place to unwind, relax, and experience the joy of community.

Camp Wendake is entirely volunteer-run. In this second episode of this special series, I spoke with more of the volunteers who make this camp possible, as we welcomed the campers and joined together in our opening ceremonies.

Let’s walk together and see what pathways to better understanding we find along the way. I’m Patrick Corvyn, and this is Walking Radio.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit walkingradio.substack.com

“We have the opportunity to give good medicine.”

Welcome to Walking Radio — a podcast dedicated to amplifying the voices of people on the margins and the frontlines.

This is a space where lived experience takes center stage, where stories are shared on their own terms, and where conversation happens in motion.

For the next few episodes, Walking Radio takes you to summer camp! In the final days of August 2025, I spent the week volunteering at Camp Wendake, nestled along the stunning shoreline of Lake Huron. For nearly 30 years, Camp Wendake has provided individuals living with HIV and their family members a stigma-free, safe, and welcoming space. It’s a place to unwind, relax, and experience the joy of community.

Camp Wendake is entirely volunteer-run. In the first episode of this special series, I spoke with the volunteers who make this camp possible, as we worked together to prepare the camp for the arrival of campers, all while getting to know one another

Let’s walk together and see what pathways to better understanding we find along the way.

I’m Patrick Corvyn, and this is Walking Radio.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit walkingradio.substack.com

“Everyone has value.”

Welcome to Walking Radio — a podcast dedicated to amplifying the voices of people on the margins and the frontlines.

This is a space where lived experience takes center stage, where stories are shared on their own terms, and where conversation happens in motion.

Today we explore a new part of our shared trail. It's Sunday June 1st, 2025 in Guelph, Ontario. The local Avalokiteshvara Kadampa Buddhist Centre is holding a Walk for World Peace. I joined in and chatted with Gen Kelsang Kunden, along with friends and members of the centre as we walked along the beautiful Speed River. We explored a variety of topics including compassion, anger, loss, and our shared connections to one another.

Let’s walk together and see what pathways to better understanding we find along the way.

I’m Patrick Corvyn, and this is Walking Radio.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit walkingradio.substack.com