The Beat - CJRO Radio is a low power bilingual community non-profit FM radio station that promotes local and regional events, provides important information and news to residents and the public in south-east rural Ottawa, Russell Municipality, Casselman Municipality, La Nation Municipality and the Clarence-Rockland area.   CJRO is licensed by the CRTC to play a variety  of music (rock, country, french country, celtic and more).   It’s available on 107.7 FM in Carlsbad Springs and Embrun, in the village of Vars, Casselman and Sarsfield on 107.9 FM.  In Casselman on 96.3 FM (coming in the Spring of 2026).   The station streams online on cjroradio.com.  CJRO Radio is available on IHeart Radio,  Tune In and Radio Player Canada applications via Iphone and Android phones. 

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CJRO has a bilingual license from the CRTC and ensures through its mandate the promotion of linguistic duality within the communities served (Carlsbad Springs, Vars, Sarsfield and Navan in rural eastern Ottawa and in Embrun and Russell in the Municipality of Russell and the Municipality of Casselman) .

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The radio station broadcasts on the frequency of 107.7 and 107.9 on the FM band with 4 small low-power transmitters, allowing it to broadcast over a larger territory.   In order to serve all the people in its community, CJRO FM offers its listeners a diversified programming. One of the main goals of the station is to keep the community well informed with local and regional news that is not necessarily broadcast by other regional and commercial radio stations. The entire radio station team works hard to make its programming one that reflects the cultural, economic, political, educational and social portrait of its region.    As a non-profit organization, CJRO Radio's annual revenue is made up of various grants, revenues from radio advertisements and community partners.

 

CJRO FM is  known as The Beat - CJRO Radio and was registered as a non-profit organization in May 2021. The first airing was in May 2019 in Carlsbad Springs and Vars and 2021 in Embrun and Sarsfield and in Casselman in 2023.

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CJRO Radio is owned and operated by CJRO Radio inc.,  a non profit incorporation manage by a volunteer board members.  CJRO Radio broadcast from a studio inside the Carlsbad Springs Community Centre at 6020 Piperville Road in Carlsbad Springs from an antenna broadcasting on 107.7 FM located at Harkness park, another antenna broadcasting on 107.7 FM located at the Russell Township Municipal building and another antenna in the heart of the village of Vars on 107.9 FM, an antenna on a silo in the village of Sarsfield and an antenna on top of the water tower in the village of Casselman on 96.3 FM.  Our programming is all done by volunteers and we offer volunteer opportunities for those interested in producing their own shows, host a podcast or just to help out manage the station on the executive board.  CJRO Radio's motto is Local First.  

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Why CJRO Radio?

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With the disappearance and absence of local media in our area and with many small newspapers closing their doors in recent years we felt that having a voice for our community and a source of local news was important, the reason we created CJRO Radio.  Large commercial and community radio stations in Ottawa rarely promote local events or talk about rural Ottawa and the communities on the east of Ottawa.   CJRO Radio fills this void and caters to our community.   CJRO started in 2017 as "Carlsbad Info Radio" as a tourist information station and applied to change its mandate to a community radio format in 2018.    

 

Interested in being a volunteer or become a community partner?   Contact us at cjrofm@rogers.com

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You will find photos of our small studio in Carlsbad Springs and our new studio in Embrun below.  A future studio will also be installed in the village of Casselman. 

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CJRO Radio holds a license from the CRTC to undertake a "Community Radio" endeavour. Our license is different than those held by most other radio stations in our broadcast area. It calls for CJRO Radio to play a wider variety of music, including several genres not played on "Commercial Radio". To reflect the interests of our community, we are also required to produce "talk radio", comprising 15 hrs per week of our daily programming mix.   

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One of CJRO Radio’s mandates is to play music the listeners cannot hear on commercial radio stations. We strive to introduce listeners to music with which they may not otherwise be familiar, with an emphasis on new artists and local musicians in both English and French.  We play a mix of Country, Blues, Funk, Classic Rock, Folk, Alternative, Dance,  etc..  Our programming is show/date focused, meaning that at certain times of the day, we play different kinds of music. Please consult our Schedule for more information.

 

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CJRO Radio est une station de radio communautaire billingue licencée par le CRTC qui promouvoit des événements locaux et régionaux, fournit des informations et des nouvelles importantes aux résidents et au public dans le sud-est rural de la région d’Ottawa et la Municipalité de Russell.   CJRO diffuse aussi une variété de musique (country francophone et anglophone, rock, pop, dance et celtic).   CJRO est disponible  au 107.7 FM dans le secteur de Carlsbad Springs et Embrun et diffuse aussi dans les villages de Vars, Casselman (96.3 FM) et Sarsfield au 107.9 FM.    CJRO Radio est accessible via Internet à  cjroradio.com et aussi via les applications web IHeart Radio, Radio Player Canada et Tune In.   

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CJRO possède une licence bilingue du CRTC et assure par son mandat la promotion de la dualité linguistique au sein des communautés desservis (Carlsbad Springs, Vars, Sarsfield et Navan dans l’est rural d’Ottawa et à Embrun et Russell dans la Municipalité de Russell.

La station de radio diffuse sur la fréquence du 107,7 et 107,9 sur la bande FM avec 5 petits émetteurs à faible puissance, lui permettant de diffuser sur un plus grand territoire. Afin de servir tous les gens de sa communauté, CJRO FM offre à ses auditeurs, une programmation diversifiée.  L’un des buts principaux de la station est de bien informer la communauté avec des nouvelles locales et régionales qui ne sont pas nécessairement diffusées par d’autres médias régionaux et commerciaux. L’équipe entière de la station de radio travaille ardemment afin de faire de sa programmation, une qui reflète bien le portrait culturel, économique, politique, éducationnel et social de sa région.
En tant qu’organisme à but non lucratif, les revenus annuels de CJRO Radio sont constitués de divers subventions, la ventre de publicités radio et de partenaires communautaires. CJRO FM aussi connut sous le nom Le Beat - CJRO Radio et a été enregistrée en tant qu’organisme à but non lucratif en mai 2021. La première diffusion en ondes a eu lieu en mai 2019 à Carlsbad Springs et Vars et en 2021 à Embrun et Sarsfield.

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CJRO est la propriété de CJRO Radio Inc. une entreprise à but non lucratif qui est gèré par un comité de bénévoles.

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Notre slogan, Priorité Locale reflète notre mandat d'être une station de radio locale avant tout.  

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Notre programmation est entièrement réalisée par des bénévoles et nous offrons des opportunités de bénévolat à ceux qui souhaitent produire leurs propres émissions, animer leur balado ou simplement pour aider avec la gestion ou l'aspect technique de la station.

 

Pourquoi CJRO Radio? 

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Avec la disparition ou l'absence de médias locaux dans notre secteur et de nombreux petits journaux fermant leurs portes ces dernières années, nous trouvons qu'il était important d'avoir une voix pour la communauté et une source de nouvelles locales,  une raison pour laquelle nous avons créé CJRO Radio, votre radio à vous.

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Le 9 novembre 2020 CJRO a obtenu l'autorisation d'installer un transmetteur à Embrun, Ontario.  CJRO Radio est disponible depuis juin 2021 à la fréquence 107,7 FM dans la Municipalité de Russell à Embrun.   En octobre 2021 le CRTC a approuvé un quatrième transmetteur pour le village de Sarsfield au 107,9 FM.   Casselman en 2026 au 96.3 FM (remplacera notre petit transmetteur de 2 watts) avec une puissance de 50 watts.   

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 Si vous voulez devenir bénévoles ou pour devenir un partenaire envoyer-nous un courriel à cjrofm@rogers.com

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Des photos de nos petits studio sont au bas.

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CJRO Radio détient une licence du CRTC avec un mandat de « radio communautaire ».  Notre licence est différente de celles détenues par la plupart des autres stations de radio de notre zone de diffusion. On demande à CJRO Radio de diffuser une plus grande variété de musique, y compris plusieurs genres non diffusés sur les radios commerciales. Afin de refléter les intérêts de notre communauté, nous sommes également tenus de produire des émissions parlés, comprenant 15 heures par semaine de notre programmation hebdomadaire.  Notre émission Priorité Locale correspond à ce mandat et nous diffusons également plusieurs heures par jour de divers balados.

L'un des mandats de CJRO Radio est de diffuser de la musique que les auditeurs ne peuvent pas entendre sur les stations de radio commerciales. Nous nous efforçons d'initier les auditeurs à la musique avec laquelle ils ne seraient peut-être pas familiers autrement, en mettant l'accent sur les nouveaux artistes et musiciens locaux en anglais et en français. Nous jouons un mélange de Country, Blues, Funk, Soul, Rock Classique, Folk, Alternatif, etc. 

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Notre programmation est composée d’émissions thématiques, ce qui signifie qu'à divers moments de la journée, nous diffusons différents types de musique.   Veuillez consulter notre horaire pour plus d'informations.

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The federal government’s Rural Development Action Plan consultation.  This is a significant opportunity for community radio stations to directly influence federal rural policy — including emergency communications, journalism funding, and federal advertising reach.

The submission below was submitted for CJRO Radio.

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CJRO-FM

CJRO Radio Online / “The Beat – CJRO Radio”
East Ottawa: Embrun / Russell, Carlsbad Springs, Sarsfield, Vars, Casselman, and surrounding area

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1. How can existing federal initiatives be improved?

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CJRO serves the rural and village communities east and southeast of Ottawa—places like Embrun and Russell, Carlsbad Springs, Sarsfield, Vars, and Casselman. The region sits close to a capital city, but it does not operate like an urban centre. It is a mix of farmland, expanding bedroom communities, and small service hubs where residents commute long distances, rely on rural roads, and often experience “in-between” infrastructure: not remote enough to qualify easily for certain supports, but rural enough to feel service gaps sharply.

CJRO’s mandate is rooted in local information “by the people and for the people of that community,” and it shows up in practical ways: regular local news bulletins, local interview programming, and bilingual access that reflects the region’s linguistic reality.

Federal rural initiatives can be improved by recognizing that peri-urban rural regions like East Ottawa still depend on trusted local channels, especially when daily life is shaped by road conditions, winter storms, localized flooding, and rapid municipal change. In these communities, people want information that is locally specific—what is happening at the township level, what is happening with nearby roads, what is changing in services, and what public safety updates actually mean in their immediate area.

Emergency preparedness programming, in particular, should treat community radio as enabling infrastructure. When storms knock out power or create hazardous road conditions, residents need a dependable, local voice that can keep broadcasting even if internet connectivity is disrupted or mobile networks are strained. Stations like CJRO should have clearer access to resilience funding for backup power and continuity planning, and just as importantly, they should be routinely included in emergency planning exercises with local and regional authorities so that roles are defined before a crisis, not during one.

Federal public communications and advertising can also be improved by making “rural reach” real, not aspirational. When federal campaigns are launched—whether related to benefits, safety programs, emergency preparedness, or economic supports—people in the East Ottawa villages often won’t encounter those messages through large centralized media buys. They will hear them when a local broadcaster places them into the rhythm of daily listening. CJRO already functions as that kind of bridge, and federal initiatives should account for that reality in procurement, targeting, and evaluation.

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2. What federal, provincial, territorial or regional programs have been notably successful?

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From CJRO’s perspective, the Local Journalism Initiative is a strong example of a program that works in a community like this because it supports a form of journalism that has largely disappeared from many rural and village contexts: consistent, routine coverage that keeps pace with local decision-making.

East Ottawa communities are changing. Housing growth and new development pressures are reshaping service needs. Municipal decisions about infrastructure, waste, policing, recreation facilities, and environmental planning land differently here than they do in an urban core, because rural residents often have fewer alternatives and longer travel times. Without local reporting, important developments are easily missed until they become problems—until a new proposal is already advanced, until a service change is already in effect, until residents feel they are reacting instead of participating.

CJRO’s local news approach is explicitly designed to strengthen community awareness and social responsibility, and it’s built around regular local news and local interviews. That model aligns closely with what LJI is intended to accomplish: journalism embedded in the community, delivered by trusted voices, and focused on the issues that shape everyday life.

The most direct way to strengthen LJI’s success in places like East Ottawa is to improve continuity. The benefits of local reporting compound over time: residents learn where to go for accurate information, local institutions learn how to communicate through a trusted channel, and journalists build community knowledge that improves accuracy and relevance. Longer, more predictable funding cycles protect those gains and prevent the “stop-start” effect that rural communities feel most acutely.

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3. What kinds of policy changes or initiatives would make the greatest difference?

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For East Ottawa’s rural and village communities, long-term sustainability is tied to preparedness and local trust. The policy change with the greatest payoff would be to formally integrate community broadcasters into emergency management and public communications systems—recognizing that stations like CJRO are already doing the work, but often without the infrastructure supports or formal role clarity that would make the work more reliable.

A practical nation-building initiative here would look like a Rural Emergency Communications and Resilience Program that ensures local stations can remain on-air through extended outages and disruptions. In a region where winter storms can rapidly change travel safety, where localized flooding can isolate certain routes, and where rural services can be stretched, continuity of broadcast matters. It is not a “nice to have.” It is part of public safety.

Success should be measured in real-world terms rather than abstract indicators. Did the station remain operational during disruption periods? Were local advisories communicated quickly and clearly? Did residents report hearing consistent, verified updates? Did emergency agencies and local governments have an established pathway to get information on air rapidly?

Alongside emergency integration, federal advertising policy should modernize to ensure that rural residents actually receive federal messages through the channels they use. CJRO operates multiple local frequencies serving distinct communities—Embrun at 107.7 FM and Vars/Sarsfield/Casselman at 107.9 FM, with Casselman moving to 96.3 FM (planned for Spring 2026). That kind of hyper-local distribution is exactly what federal communications strategies need if they are serious about rural access and equity.

A nation-building approach, in other words, would treat local communications capacity as core infrastructure that enables safety, service access, and civic participation—especially in rural areas that sit close to cities but still experience rural vulnerabilities.

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4. Additional comments

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CJRO’s “Local First / Priorité Locale” orientation captures a core truth about rural development: community sustainability depends on local institutions that residents trust, recognize, and use. CJRO is not just broadcasting into these villages; it is reflecting them back to themselves—through local news, interviews, and daily community presence.

As NCRA/ANREC has emphasized in our national submission, rural development efforts are strongest when they are designed for rural operating realities and delivered through local anchors. CJRO is one of those anchors for East Ottawa. The station is positioned to help test practical approaches to rural communications readiness, to share lessons with other rural broadcasters, and to support federal partners in ensuring that programs and messages actually reach the communities they are intended to serve.

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