About CPAM 1410 (CJWI)

CPAM 1410 (CJWI)

CPAM 1410 (CJWI) is a French-language ethnic AM radio station broadcasting from Montreal, Quebec, serving the city's Haitian, Latin American, and francophone African communities. Owned by Groupe Médias Pam Inc. and headed by Haitian-born lawyer and businessman Jean-Ernest Pierre, the station broadcasts predominantly in Haitian Creole, with programming also in French and Spanish. On the air since 2002 — first on 1610 kHz, then on 1410 kHz from 2013 — it is a central media voice for Montreal's Haitian diaspora, one of the largest in Canada.

Overview

CJWI is a commercial AM station licensed to Montreal, broadcasting on 1410 kHz with 10,000 watts day and night (Class B). Its studios are located on East Crémazie Boulevard in Montreal (3390 boul. Crémazie Est). The station's format is ethnic variety targeting francophone ethnocultural communities, with a primary focus on Haitian immigrants and secondary service to Latin American and French-speaking African communities.

The station is known as "CPAM Radio Union," though it identifies on air simply as "CPAM 1410." Its programming blends community talk, news, interviews, and music, with shows addressing Haitian politics, health, migration, and cultural life. The station plays an important community role as a platform for information exchange and opinion within the diaspora.

History

On November 7, 2001, the CRTC approved an application by CPAM Radio Union.com inc. — a private commercial company owned by Jean Ernest Pierre — to operate a new French-language ethnic AM radio station in Montreal. Pierre, a Haitian-born lawyer and businessman who immigrated to Canada in the late 1970s, proposed a service for the francophone ethnocultural communities of Haitian, Latin-American, and African descent in the greater Montreal area. The station would broadcast on 1610 kHz with 1,000 watts non-directional (Class C).

CJWI signed on the air in the summer of 2002 as "CPAM Radio Union," with studios and offices at 3733 Jarry Est in Montreal. Its transmitter was a rarity among AM stations: a short Valcom fibreglass whip antenna mounted on the roof of a warehouse on Jarry Boulevard near Autoroute 40, rather than a conventional tower array. Because 1610 kHz sits in the sparsely populated AM extended band, the station's signal was heard by shortwave-style DX hobbyists across North America from its earliest days.

On December 13, 2004, the CRTC authorized CJWI to broadcast limited amounts of programming in third languages — languages other than French, English, or an Aboriginal language — expanding its ability to serve its multilingual audience.

By the late 2000s, the station faced technical problems. Listeners in downtown Montreal and on the north and south shores had difficulty receiving the 1,000-watt signal, and a Toronto station on the same 1610 frequency was causing nighttime skywave interference. With its target audience increasingly settled in the suburbs, CPAM applied on May 20, 2009 to move from 1610 kHz to 1410 kHz and increase power from 1,000 to 10,000 watts day and night, relocating its antenna. The CRTC approved the change on October 26, 2009 (Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2009-667), moving the station from Class C to Class B. The 1410 frequency had a history of its own: it was CFMB's original channel from 1962 until that station moved to 1280 in 1997.

The transition took several years to implement. From April 28, 2013, CJWI simulcast on both 1610 and 1410, ending the dual broadcast on or before June 3, 2013. The vacated 1610 frequency was later occupied in 2014 by CHRN, the Radio Humsafar ethnic station.

The station's licence history has included regulatory turbulence. In 2020, the CRTC considered the renewal of CJWI alongside that of its sister station CJMS 1040, both cited for apparent failures to meet licence conditions. The Commission refused to renew CJMS 1040's licence but gave CPAM another chance, renewing CJWI for two years with special conditions including three mandatory orders, a requirement to broadcast an announcement of its non-compliance, and what amounted to a $2,836 penalty for the harm to the Canadian music industry from insufficient Canadian content. The Commission found the licensee had breached two of its three previous mandatory orders and stated it "seems to lack both the willingness and the knowledge required to operate the station in compliance" — but credited the station's belated efforts to understand its music-programming obligations after consulting Commission staff.

Programming

CPAM 1410's programming is predominantly in Haitian Creole, with significant blocks in French and Spanish. The schedule includes morning wake-up programming ("Réveil Matin," weekdays 6–9 a.m.), midday music and talk ("CPAM Sous Compas," "Matinées Agréables"), afternoon community programming ("CPAM 1410 Pluriel," "Billet De Retour"), and evening specialty shows such as "Tropicolor" and "Détente Tropique." Weekend programming includes evangelical ("Bouquet Évangélique") and entertainment blocks.

Content focuses on the life of the Haitian community: homeland and diaspora politics, immigration and settlement issues, health, education, and culture. The station's talk programming provides a forum for community debate, while its music programming features compas, zouk, and other Caribbean genres alongside French-language popular music. News and interview segments connect Montreal's Haitian community with developments in Haiti and in Quebec. Religious programming, including evangelical blocks, reflects the important role of faith communities in diaspora life, and the station's hosts frequently act as intermediaries — explaining Quebec institutions, from the health system to the school system, to newcomers in their own language.

Coverage and Audience

CJWI's 10,000-watt signal on 1410 kHz covers Greater Montreal, with the 2009 frequency and power change specifically intended to improve reception for suburban listeners on the north and south shores. The station's audience is defined by community rather than geography: Haitian immigrants and their families, along with Latin American and francophone African listeners, across the Montreal metropolitan area. Montreal is home to one of the largest Haitian diaspora communities in the world, giving the station a substantial potential audience. Because the station's programming is overwhelmingly in Haitian Creole — a language with limited media outlets in Canada — CPAM faces little direct competition for its core listeners' attention.

Ownership

CJWI is owned and operated by Groupe Médias Pam Inc., controlled by Jean-Ernest Pierre. Pierre's ownership has been constant since the station's 2001 licensing, making CPAM one of the few Montreal ethnic stations under continuous founder ownership for more than two decades — a stability that has helped it weather both major technical transitions and recurring regulatory challenges.

Digital Presence

CPAM 1410 streams online and maintains a presence on radio-directory platforms. The station's official website could not be independently verified in this research environment. Its contact points include studios at 3390 boulevard Crémazie Est, Montréal, and a listed phone line at 514-287-1288.

The 1410 transmitter site is located at Saint-Constant, near Autoroute 30 south of Montreal, using a Nautel XR-12 solid-state transmitter — a facility shared for several years with the former CJMS 1040.

The station's history — from the 2001 licence award through the rooftop whip antenna, the 2009 frequency change, and the 2020 licence renewal — is documented by the Canadian Communications Foundation's broadcasting-history.ca project, in CRTC decisions including 2009-667, and in Montreal media coverage of the renewal proceedings. For Montreal's Haitian diaspora, CPAM remains what it has been since 2002: a daily companion in Creole and a forum for community life.

Studios and On-Air Identity

Directory listings place the station's studios on East Crémazie Boulevard in Montreal, and the station identifies on air as CPAM 1410.