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Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2005-263
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Ottawa, 28 June 2005
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La radio communautaire du comté
Rimouski and Mont-Joli, Quebec |
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Application 2004-1522-5
Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2005-32
15 April 2005 |
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CKMN-FM Rimouski and Mont-Joli – Licence renewal
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The Commission renews the
broadcasting licence for the radio programming undertaking CKMN-FM
Rimouski and Mont-Joli, from 1 September 2005 to 31 August 2009. This
short-term renewal will allow the Commission to assess, at an earlier
date, the licensee’s compliance with the provisions of the Radio
Regulations, 1986. |
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The application
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1. |
The Commission received an application by
La radio communautaire du comté (La radio du comté) to renew the
broadcasting licence for the Type B French-language community radio
programming undertaking CKMN-FM Rimouski and Mont-Joli, which expires
31 August 2005. |
2. |
The Commission did not receive any
interventions in connection with this application. |
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Non-compliance
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3. |
On 15 April 2003, the Commission directed
La radio du comté to submit logger tapes and other related documents for
the programming broadcast by CKMN-FM Rimouski and Mont-Joli during the
week of 6 to 12 April 2003. |
4. |
On 26 June 2003, the licensee submitted
part of the requested documents to the Commission, along with a letter
indicating that some logger tapes were missing. The licensee explained
that its non-compliance with respect to the logger tapes was
attributable to human negligence and the recording device used. The
licensee also described the steps taken to remedy the situation. |
5. |
The Commission’s verification of the logger
tapes submitted by the licensee for the week of 6 to 12 April 2003
showed that approximately 16 hours and 25 minutes of tapes were missing.
The Commission consequently notified the licensee in a letter dated
25 November 2003 that its failure to provide complete logger tapes
constituted an apparent violation of subsections 8(5) and 8(6) of the
Radio Regulations, 1986 (the Regulations), which read as follows: |
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8(5) A licensee shall retain a clear and intelligible tape
recording or other exact copy of all matter broadcast:
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a) for four weeks from the date of the broadcast; or
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b) where the Commission receives a complaint from any person
regarding the matter broadcast or for any other reason wishes to
investigate it and so notifies the licensee before the expiration of
the period referred to in paragraph (a), for eight weeks from the
date of the broadcast.
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8(6) Where, before the expiry of the applicable period referred to
in subsection (5), the Commission requests from the licensee a clear
and intelligible tape recording or other exact copy of matter
broadcast, the licensee shall furnish it to the Commission forthwith.
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6. |
In its letter dated 25 November, the
Commission further noted that the list of musical selections for the
week of 6 to 12 April 2003 was also incomplete because it had been
prepared on the basis of the tape recordings. The Commission therefore
reminded the licensee that the lists of musical selections must reflect
all the musical selections broadcast during the period in question. In
view of the missing documents, the Commission was unable to analyze the
programming aired by CKMN-FM for that period. |
7. |
In another effort to assess the licensee’s
performance, the Commission directed the licensee, in a letter dated 19
January 2004, to submit the logger tapes and related documents for the
programming broadcast by CKMN-FM during the week of 11 to 17 January
2004. |
8. |
On 6 February 2004, the licensee provided
the Commission with the requested documents, but stated that some
sections were missing because of electrical and electronic failures. |
9. |
In a letter dated 19 March 2004, the
Commission pointed out that it was missing 6 hours and 30 minutes of
programming from the logger tapes and 3 hours from the list of musical
selections. It was therefore unable to analyze the programming aired by
CKMN-FM for the week in question. The Commission reminded the licensee
that its failure to provide complete logger tapes and complete lists of
musical selections constituted an apparent violation of subsections 8(5)
and 8(6) of the Regulations and subsection 9(3), which reads as follows: |
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9(3) At the request of the Commission, a licensee shall submit for
any period specified by the Commission in its request:
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a) the information required by the most recent Station
Self-assessment Report form issued by the Commission; and
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b) a list of the musical selections in the order in which they
are broadcast by the licensee during that period that includes the
title and performer of each musical selection and a legend that
identifies:
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(i) any Canadian musical selection;
(ii) any hit;
(iii) any instrumental selection;
(iv) any content category 3 musical selection that is described
in the appendix to Public Notice CRTC 2000-14
dated January 28, 2000 and entitled Revised Content Categories
and Subcategories for Radio, published in the Canada Gazette Part
I on February 5, 2000; and
(v) the language of the musical selection, where the musical selection
is not an instrumental selection.
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10. |
The Commission then directed the licensee
to inform it of the steps it had taken to remedy the apparent
non-compliance involving the logger tapes and lists of musical
selections. |
11. |
In a letter dated 31 March 2004, the
licensee informed the Commission of the steps taken with its staff
regarding logging requirements. The licensee also stated that it had
replaced the taping software and would monitor the equipment daily to
ensure its smooth operation. Finally, the licensee stated that the
electrical failures were beyond its control. |
12. |
In Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2005-32,
15 April 2005, the Commission indicated that it would review the application
for renewal of the CKMN-FM licence and noted the apparent failure
of the licensee to comply with the provisions of the Regulations concerning
the submission of logger tapes and lists of musical selections. |
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Commission’s analysis and determination
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13. |
Based on its review of the material
provided by the licensee for the weeks of 6 to 12 April 2003 and 11 to
17 January 2004, the Commission finds that the licensee has been in
non-compliance with subsections 8(5), 8(6) and 9(3) of the Regulations.
The Commission has noted the steps taken by La radio du comté to remedy
the non-compliance with the requirements of the Regulations concerning
logger tapes and lists of musical selections. The Commission reminds the
licensee that it is required to comply with the provisions of the
Regulations at all times. |
14. |
The Commission has reviewed the application
for licence renewal and the licensee’s past performance. Given that the
licensee has already implemented the necessary remedial action to
conform with the Regulations, the Commission renews the
broadcasting licence for the Type B French-language community radio
programming undertaking CKMN-FM Rimouski and Mont-Joli, from 1 September
2005 to 31 August 2009. This short-term renewal will allow the
Commission to assess, at an earlier date, the licensee’s compliance with
the provisions of the Regulations relating to logger tapes and lists of
musical selections. |
15. |
The licence will be subject to the conditions
set out in New licence form for community radio stations, Public
Notice CRTC 2000-157,
16 November 2000. |
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Employment equity
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16. |
The Commission considers that community
radio stations should be particularly sensitive to employment equity
issues in order to reflect fully the communities they serve. It
encourages the applicant to consider these issues in its hiring
practices and in all other aspects of its management of human resources. |
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Secretary General |
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This decision is to be appended to the
licence. It is available in alternative format upon request, and may
also be examined in PDF format or in
HTML at the following Internet site: http://www.crtc.gc.ca
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