Speech
Opening remarks
by David Colville
Vice-Chairman of Telecommunications and Commissioner, Atlantic Region,
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
at the public hearing in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax, Nova Scotia
March 1st, 2004
(CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY)
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to this public hearing.
My name is David Colville, and I am the Vice-Chairman of Telecommunications as
well as Regional Commissioner for the Atlantic Region. I will be chairing this
hearing. With me on the panel are my colleagues, Barbara Cram, Regional
Commissioner for Manitoba and Saskatchewan; Ronald Williams, Regional
Commissioner for Alberta and the Northwest Territories; and Commissioners
Jean-Marc Demers and Stuart Langford.
Among the members of the Commission staff working with us are Joe Aguiar,
Hearing Manager; Peter McCallum and Sylvie Jones, Legal Counsel; and Pierre
LeBel, Hearing Secretary. Please feel free to speak with them if you have any
questions about the procedures of the hearing.
Applications for radio undertakings
In June and September of 2003, the Commission issued three calls for
applications for broadcasting licences for radio undertakings. In this hearing,
we will look at 22 proposals that were received in response to those calls to
serve the markets in Halifax, Fredericton, Moncton and Saint John.
The panel will first hear the 11 applications to serve the Halifax market, in
the order of paragraphs 1 to 11 in Broadcasting Notice of Public Hearing CRTC
2003-12. Next
will be the three applications for the Moncton market, two of which are from
Rogers Broadcasting and one from Radio Beauséjour.
After that, we will hear two applications by Rogers Broadcasting and one by
Newcap to operate radio stations in Saint John.
And finally, we will look at the applications presented by Newcap, Maritime
Broadcasting System, la Société acadienne de radiotélévision, Ross Ingram and The
Joy FM Network to operate a radio station in Fredericton.
Criteria for evaluating applications
The panel will examine the proposals submitted with a view to ensuring that
they meet the cultural, economic and social objectives set out in the
Broadcasting Act.
In evaluating the applications in each market, our criteria will include
competition and the diversity of editorial voices in the market, the quality of
the applications, and the potential impact of a new entrant in the market.
We will also take into account the analysis of the market and advertising
revenues, the availability of financial resources, and the proposed initiatives
for the development of Canadian talent.
Procedure
This hearing should last about two weeks. Our sessions will begin at 9:00 a.m.
and end at around 5:00 p.m. If there are any changes to that schedule, we will
notify you as soon as possible.
I would ask you to please turn off your cell phones and beepers when you are
in the hearing room, as they are an unwelcome distraction for participants and
Commissioners. We hope we can count on your cooperation in this throughout the
hearing.
Before we begin, I will ask the Secretary, Mr. Pierre LeBel, to explain the
procedures that we will be following. Mr. LeBel .
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This document is available in alternative format upon request.
Date Modified: 2004-03-01 |
