Revolving Door

David Gray, the host of Calgary Eyeopener on CBC Radio One, is stepping away from the program he’s hosted since 2010. Gray’s 33-year career started with The National in Toronto, before he moved on to become Legislative Bureau Chief in Edmonton. He eventually returned to Toronto to take a national reporting gig with CBC business show Venture, and later CBC Newsworld. 

Adrian Harewood delivers his final newscast on CBC Ottawa on Thursday, June 30. As previously reported, Harewood is leaving to focus on his work with Carleton School of Journalism where he’s been a full-time faculty member since last July. He’s been with CBC Ottawa since 2006, 13 of those years as co-anchor of the supper hour newscast. Before coming to television, he was the host of All In A Day on CBC Radio One.

Ian Black, on-air climatologist for CBC News Ottawa for more than three decades, has retired. Black is the only weather forecaster in Ottawa endorsed by the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society. Prior to joining CBC in 1989, he was a substitute teacher.

Lyne Fortin has retired after a 41-year career in broadcasting. Fortin started her career as a reporter at CHSJ Saint John, NB in 1981, moving on to CKWS-TV Kingston, before spending close to 20 years at CBC Ottawa as a producer, reporter and morning newscaster. For the last two decades, she’d been a senior producer at CPAC. 

Kevin Lim and Sonia Sidhu have parted ways with KiSS Radio (CKKS-FM) Vancouver as the station moves to rebrand to SONiC RADiO. With KiSS for the last five and a half years, Lim and Sidhu had also been heard Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings on KiSS 92.5 (CKIS-FM) Toronto, since this past February, in addition to other KiSS markets. The on-air duo have been together since 2011 through stints on Kelowna’s 99.9 Sun FM (CHSU-FM); Vancouver’s 102.7 The Peak (CJPK-FM) and Q103.1 (CKQQ-FM) Kelowna. They joined KiSS in January 2017. Producer Jordan Daniels and Tara Jean Stevens, who had most recently been heard in afternoon drive on KiSS, have also parted ways with Rogers Sports & Media. Read more here.

Scooter (Scott) Shantz is joining the Virgin Radio (CFBT-FM) Vancouver morning show, alongside Holly Conway and Nira Arora. Shantz departed Pulse FM (CISF-FM) Surrey earlier this year where he’d been co-hosting mornings since 2020. Shantz fills the vacancy left by Jonny Staub, who departed the station in February and had been co-hosting the morning show since 2012.

Dean “Boomer” Molberg has announced his departure from Sportsnet 960 The Fan (CFAC-AM) Calgary. The host of Boomer in the Morning, alongside Ryan Pinder, Molberg is stepping away for what Rogers Sports & Media cites as “personal reasons” and will host his last show on Thursday. Third co-host and former NHL’er Rhett Warrener left the show in March.

The Dave & Rachel Show has come to an end on Pure Country 93 (CJBX-FM) London. Dave Collins and Rachel Gilbert have been hosting the morning show for the last 11 years and made the decision to leave the show together. Collins, who has been with CJBX-FM for the last 27 years, plans to take a break, while Gilbert has a growing voiceover business. Mary Anne Ivison will be filling in on mornings over the summer. Ivison previously did afternoons on Pure Country (CKKL-FM) Ottawa for six years.

Chris Reiser has been appointed Program Director of Kahnawake’s K103.7 (CKRK-FM). Reiser has worked with K103.7 in the past, in addition to stints with 92.5 The Q and 89.9 CKKI Montreal, Krater 95 Honolulu, and 89.5 WNCK, Nantucket’s NPR Station, where he served as Operations Manager.

Jonathan Montpetit has taken on a new role with CBC News as a Senior Investigative Journalist covering social movements and democracy in Canada. Montpetit has been with the public broadcaster since 2016, working as a web journalist for CBC Montreal.

Abby Kuhathasan is joining CBC News’ London, UK bureau. The former CTV correspondent has most recently been working for Deutsche Welle in Berlin as a correspondent, anchor and producer.

Norma Reid has anchored her last late night newscast for CTV Vancouver as she relocates her family to Calgary. Reid joined CTV Vancouver in 2010, having previously worked for the network in Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert.

Mark Sutcliffe has registered to be a candidate for Mayor of Ottawa. Sutcliffe retired from daily radio last year after taking a step back from his four-hour mid-morning talk show, Ottawa Today on CityNews Ottawa (CIWW-AM), to host a one-hour noon version in late 2019. Sutcliffe had been on-air for two decades in the market with previous stops at 580 CFRA and Rogers TV, in addition to 15 years as a columnist for the Ottawa Citizen.

Kariane Bourassa is running in Quebec’s next provincial election under the banner of the CAQ (Coalition Avenir Québec), as she attempts to retain the riding of Charlevoix–Côte-de-Beaupré. Bourassa has been a journalist with TVA since 2014, first in Sherbrooke and more recently Montreal. 

Simple Marie Gomez is joining CityNews 680 (CFTR-AM) Toronto. Gomez previously worked for CityNews Winnipeg as a video journalist in 2020-21. She’s most recently been in a communications role with Crossroads International.

Nikitha Martins is leaving CityNews 1130 (CKWX-AM) Vancouver. Martins, a 2020 Langara Journalism grad, has been a web editor and reporter with the station since 2019.

Reaon Ford is joining Vancouver branded content agency, JAR Audio, full-time as a Senior Producer. Ford has been working as freelance voiceover talent and audio editor since his departure from News 1130 (CKWX-AM) Vancouver in May 2018. Ford was with the station for 16 years, ending his tenure as morning co-anchor.

Tony Leadman has been named Executive Director of International Distribution for The Weather Channel. Leadman will be responsible for developing and leading a business unit that will distribute The Weather Channel’s original programming, including shows like Frozen Gold, Uncharted Adventure and The Earth Unlocked to broadcasters and content platforms globally. Leadman was formerly the architect of CTV and Bell Media’s international program distribution business and responsible for numerous international co-productions, commissions and licensing deals. Prior to that, he was the Canadian Executive Manager of MGM Studios television division, where he managed the distribution business and secured the Canadian financing of the Stargate SG-1 series as well as Poltergeist.

Liz Levine has been named Senior Producer and Vice President, Television, at Shaftesbury. Levine has over two decades of experience in film and television, starting in the business at Citytv Toronto. She’s since worked as a writer, journalist, and development executive and producer, developing and producing films like Kyra Sedgwick’s directorial debut Story of a Girl and Across My Land, in addition to projects for CBS, CW, Disney Channel, Sony Pictures Entertainment and TBS. 

Rita Middleton, CEO and interim CFO of International Solar Solutions, has been appointed as an independent director of WildBrain. Middleton will fill a seat on the board of directors vacated by Alan Hibben, who will be stepping down Sept. 1 for personal reasons. Middleton has over 25 years of strategic senior management experience and from 1990 to 2008 was in the broadcast and entertainment industry. Initially she was with CUC Broadcasting and then worked in increasingly senior finance, corporate development and technology roles at Alliance Atlantis Communications. She was Senior Vice President, Finance & Information Technology Services, with Alliance Atlantis at the time the company was sold in 2007.

Erica Meus-Saunders has joined the Atlantic Filmmakers Cooperative (AFCOOP) as its new Executive Director, following the departure of longtime ED Martha Cooley, who is now helming the FIN Atlantic International Film Festival. Meus-Saunders has been working as a Membership Coordinator for Screen Nova Scotia for the past four years, in addition to other contract coordinator and production roles.