CBC Radio | The Current |

The Current is a meeting place of perspectives, ideas and voices, with a fresh take on issues that affect Canadians today. Our team of journalists—based in every major region of the country—think locally and globally. We bring new insight to stories that Canadians are talking about now, and we uncover stories they’ll be talking about next week and next year.

We don’t just talk about the issues. We poke and prod them and look at them from new angles, shedding light on what needs to be exposed and taking delight in the surprising twists and turns our stories take. Nothing's off limits—politics, business, culture, justice, science, religion—if it's pertinent to Canadians, it's on the Current agenda.

Host Anna Maria Tremonti is our focal point. Her wealth of experience and journalistic savvy bring depth and sharpness to The Current as it unfolds from coast to coast to coast.

Lisa Ayuso formerly known as the Clockwatcher to Workology fans has been keeping busy at The Current since 2003. She started at the CBC in 1999 at This Morning and since then has worked on Workology, Richler on Radio, Sounds Like Canada as well as other CBC radio projects. As a Toronto performer, she was a member of Pretty, Porky and Pissed Off and the co-founder of The Corporate Wetnurse Association. Lisa is a loving fan of Dolly Parton.

Since 1997 Willy Barth has worked as the morning senior editor for This Morning, in charge of final script edit, line-up, production value and studio direction. He has worked closely with hosts Michael Enright and Shelagh Rogers in the early morning hours to add radio value to the program. Willy co-ordinated and produced all This Morning remotes over the past five years. Before that, Willy was Peter Gzowski's remote producer whenever Peter took Morningside on the road. Willy directed Peter's last program in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Willy has been with CBC Radio since 1980 and has worked in both network and regional locations.

Originally from Calgary, Pam Bertrand started out in journalism over three decades ago at CJRT Radio in Toronto. She's worked as a Researcher, Producer and Senior Producer and now Executive Producer for both CBC and CTV with many different programs such as The Journal, W5, and Undercurrents. She joined The Current as Executive Producer in January 2004.

Before joining The Current, Aaron Brindle worked as a freelance producer for CBC Radio and as the marketing director for a Vancouver-based software company. As a freelancer for CBC’s The Sunday Edition, Aaron produced a number of documentaries including an examination of language extinction among the Kalahari bushmen, the AIDS epidemic in Zimbabwe, indentured child labourers in Canada, World War II refugees, and a profile of a 15 year-old computer hacker. Aaron also produced an episodic series for Toronto’s Metro Morning following the travails of a major league batboy wannabe.

John was a "Day-Oner" with The Current when it launched in the fall of 2002. He has travelled to the Middle East, the Balkans, and across Canada for the program. Before coming to CBC, John worked at CTV, the National Post, the Toronto Star and the Prague Post, an English-language newspaper in the Czech Republic. He began his journalism career as a reporter with The Reminder, a community newspaper in Flin Flon, Manitoba.

Dominic Girard showed up at The Current some years ago hoping for some radio experience before launching a career in television. Once he realized that radio is actually the better medium for visual storytelling, he chose to stay. He prefers stories involving ordinary people doing extraordinary things, the quirky and the odd, and takes responsibility for any opening satire that makes you chuckle.

Howard has been an investigative journalist with the CBC's Fifth Estate since 1991. He has won numerous awards for journalism including the Justicia award and sharing the Michener award as part of a team that investigated the wrongful laying of sex abuse charges against members of a foster family in Saskatoon. Some of his othe investigations included the Airbus Affair, the infilitration of neo-Nazis into the Canadian Airborne before it was disbanded, and the presence of Somali war criminals in Canada. He was a finalist this year for an International Emmy for a documentary examining the plight of animals in movies.

Kathleen is one of the original producers at The Current. Her CBC Radio career begain in 1999 in Winnipeg where she worked as a reporter and associate producer in Winnipeg. She returned home to Toronto as a producer with National Radio News and As It Happens. Before moving to radio, she worked as a print reporter at the Whitehorse Daily Star and The Vancouver Sun, and as a student intern at the Toronto Star.

Carole has worked in live current affairs radio forever ... working on Morningside, As It Happens and This Morning before coming to The Current.

Nicola Luksic - Producer

Nicola Luksic started her CBC career in 2003 as an associate producer with The Fifth Estate and The Current. She's been producing with The Current ever since. Her passion for radio documentary has lured her to Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Zambia, and the jungles of Chiapas, among other places off the beaten track. Nicola also loves creating new radio shows. She also produced three seasons of And Sometimes Y - the award winning CBC radio show on language as well as Between You and Me, a summer show about sex and relationships.

Dick has been with the CBC since 1976, living and working in Iqaluit, Saskatoon, Fredericton and Halifax. Most of the time has been spent in radio as reporter, host or producer for local, regional and national shows. He did spend five years as a reporter and producer for CBC TV. Currently he is a documentary editor and producer. He is also deeply involved in journalism training in Canada and Africa.

Before coming to the CBC in 2007, Kristin earned degrees in international development, political science and journalism. She also worked with a non-profit organization in Johannesburg, South Africa, and freelanced for The Toronto Star and This Magazine.

After studying both in Canada and Europe - Lara began her journalism career at the CBC working for Newsworld in 2004. Soon after she delved into the land of radio - with an internship at The Current. She was hired - but some say only for her capabilities to chase people down in places like Kabul and Kazakhstan. Lara has since honed her international speed dialing and journalism skills on the program since 2005.

Ellen started her journalism career in the 1980s as an "agent of social change" at the University of Victoria's student newspaper while pursuing a degree in English literature. While she still can't balance a cheque book, her first job after university was working as business and finance reporter for an English language newspaper in Mexico City. She returned to Canada to work with the Vancouver Sun. She also wrote for a variety of magazines as a staff reporter and freelancer before switching to radio in 1994 to join CBC Vancouver's morning show The Early Edition. She worked for three years for the German public broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, producing news and current affairs as well as documentaries from various countries in Europe, including a series from post-conflict Bosnia. She's now a part-time producer on The Current, based in Vancouver. When she's not here she can be found working as a translator and caring for three young daughters.

Pedro’s broadcasting life began in late 1989 when he was “bushed” into action during the U.S. invasion of Panama. Then, after years of dwelling deep in the under-belly of independent radio both in Canada and abroad, Pedro began at CBC working in the National Radio Newsroom from 1997 to 2000. That was followed by four years with the independently produced television debate program counterSpin. Then, after a year of producing special projects for Newsworld, Pedro found his way back to CBC Radio. He has been a Producer with The Current since July 2005.

Before joining CBC Radio, Idella Sturino worked as a producer for CBC Newsworld's counterSpin and counterSpin Sunday with Avi Lewis. Prior to that, she worked as a reporter and editor for The Canadian Press in Toronto and Montreal. She has also worked at Shift and This magazines.

Joan Webber has been with CBC since 1996, working in Regina, Saskatoon and Vancouver. During that time she has worked as a reporter for both radio and television and as a radio producer for local and national programs. In the time Joan has been with The Current she has produced programs and documentaries from places such as Iqaluit, Miami, Cuba, and Mexico. She has won a variety of awards for her journalism including a Jack Webster, and a Gabriel award. Prior to Joan's career with CBC, she worked for The National Film Board where she created and operated a NFB documentary rep theatre in Saskatoon.

Gord Westmacott - Producer

Gord Westmacott is a producer at The Current where he frequently abuses his colleagues by shouting into the phone to people half-way around the world. He's been with CBC Radio since the spring of 2002, and worked at As It Happens for three years before coming to the Current. Before that, he worked for counterSpin at CBC Newsworld and Studio 2 at TV Ontario.

Chris spent much of the 1990s in the trenches of academia, before drifting into journalism and eventually, the CBC. Following stints as a current affairs producer with CBC Television and as a writer/editor with CBC Online, Chris has been a producer with The Current since its inception and has spearheaded much of the show’s environmental coverage, including the acclaimed Climate Currents and Watershed series.