Station Naming Enquiry Results

Statement from the Board

Station Naming Enquiry Conclusion, April 22, 2009

The CJLY Board of Directors would like to announce the results of the naming enquiry that has been taking place over the last several months. According to the painstaking tabulations of Lise Godin and Alon Gelser, of the members who responded to the enquiry:
24% wanted to change our name
76% wanted to keep our name

Of the total responses which includes members, non-members and the unknowns (meaning they may have been members but there was no way to identify them as such):
36% wanted to change our name
64% wanted to keep our name

The Board of Directors would like to take a moment to congratulate and thank all those who participated in this enquiry - through the forum, handwritten letter or simply through discussion, your gracious and respectful comments were so gratefully received and many solicitous dialogues took place over this issue. It is obvious CJLY is part of a community that we can all be proud of.

Another important contribution arrived on March 5th; a letter addressed to the CJLY Board of Directors was received from Marilyn James, the appointed spokesperson for the Sinixt Nation. It too was a moving and thoughtful communication, the purpose of which was to advise the Board that the Sinixt Nation had withdrawn the request that CJLY change its name.

While James did affirm that, "Reconciliation of colonial injustice is a process in which every Canadian has an interest." She also observed that, "Such a big pill needs to be swallowed first by the Canadian government and then by the Province of British Columbia." And continued by saying that, "[the Sinixt people] relieve CJLY of the pressure of reconciling that for which the entire Canadian society is responsible."

Taking into consideration CJLY's member and listener response as well as the letter from the Sinixt, the board would like to officially announce that CJLY will continue to be known as Kootenay Co-op Radio. In closing, many of us on the board feel we have learned a great deal, through this process an awareness of this important issue has been raised. And so - as Marilyn urges us in her letter - "Let's continue the discussions regarding the historical injustice against the indigenous people of this land. Let's continue to promote an awareness of how those injustices are reflected in contemporary laws, policies, educational curricula and geographical names."

Please see the CJLY forum if you are interested in learning the history of this process, Marilyn James' letter to the board is available in its entirety.

Thank you again for your valuable input.

The CJLY Kootenay Cooperative Radio Board of Directors.