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Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2005-114
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Ottawa, 24 March 2005 |
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Radio CKYK FM inc.
Alma, Quebec |
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Application 2003-1161-3
Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2004-37
2 June 2004 |
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CKYK-FM and its transmitter CKYK-FM-1 Alma – Licence renewal
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The Commission renews the
broadcasting licence for the radio programming undertaking CKYK-FM
and its transmitter CKYK-FM-1 Alma, from 1 July 2005 to 31 August 2009.
This short-term renewal will permit the Commission to review, at an
early 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
Radio CKYK FM inc. (Radio CKYK) to renew the broadcasting licence for
the French-language commercial radio programming undertaking CKYK-FM and
its transmitter CKYK-FM-1 Alma. The licence expires on 30 June 2005. |
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Non-compliance
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2. |
On 30 July 2002, the Commission asked the
licensee to provide it with logger tapes and other material relating to
programming broadcast by CKYK-FM during the week of 21 to 27 July 2002. |
3. |
By letter dated 15 August 2002, the
licensee provided the Commission with the material requested, and stated
that, when it was preparing its self-assessment report, it noted its
non-compliance with paragraph 2.2(10) of the Radio Regulations, 1986
(the Regulations), which reads as follows: |
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(10) Except as otherwise provided under a licensee’s condition of
licence, an A.M. or F.M. licensee licensed to operate a commercial
station in the French language shall, between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00
p.m., in any period beginning on Monday of a week and ending on
Friday of the same week, devote 55% or more of its vocal musical
selections from content category 2 to musical selections in the
French language broadcast in their entirety.
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4. |
Specifically, the licensee stated in its
self-assessment report for the week of 21 to 27 July 2002 that it
devoted only 48.4% of the vocal musical selections broadcast by CKYK-FM
to musical selections in the French language. The licensee also
confirmed taking measures to remedy the non-compliance as quickly as
possible. Following its analysis of the logger tapes, the Commission
finds that the licensee devoted a total of only 48.6% of its vocal
musical selections to French-language musical selections in peak time
for the period in question. |
5. |
The Commission’s analysis also showed that
the logger tapes for the week of 21 to 27 July 2002 were incomplete,
given that the licensee failed to provide tapes for approximately 28
hours of programming aired by the station during that period. The
Commission therefore notified the licensee by letter dated 9 December
2002 of its apparent non-compliance with subsections 8(5) and 8(6) of
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
(a) for four weeks from the date of the broadcast; or
(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 a letter to the Commission dated 21
December 2002, the licensee explained that it could ascribe two reasons
for its apparent non-compliance with the requirement to provide logger
tapes: human negligence and defects in its recording equipment. The
licensee stated that it intended to purchase digital audio recording
equipment for installation in early 2003 to minimize the risks of again
failing to comply with the Regulations. The licensee also stated that a
station technician had checked the current equipment and that it had
assigned a new person to verify the accuracy of the logger tapes. |
7. |
On 2 June 2004, the Commission issued Broadcasting
Public Notice CRTC 2004-37,
which noted the apparent failure of the licensee to comply with the
provisions of the Regulations regarding the provision of logger tapes
and the broadcast of French-language vocal musical selections, between
6 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. |
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Intervention
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8. |
The Association québécoise de l’industrie
du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo (ADISQ) filed an intervention
in connection with this application. ADISQ made general comments regarding
the streamlined process set out by the Commission in The CRTC Streamlines
Radio Renewals Process, Broadcasting Circular CRTC 2002-448,
7 June 2002 (Circular 2002-448).
ADISQ noted that, in Circular 2002-448,
the Commission stated that it would "assess the effectiveness
of this streamlining measure after the 2003 radio renewal round has
been completed." The intervener also commented on the renewal
of the CKYK-FM licence, including the licensee’s apparent failure
to comply with the Regulations, as described above. |
9. |
ADISQ stated that it was not opposed in
principle to the streamlined process adopted by the Commission for
renewal applications that do not raise any significant concerns, but it
was concerned about the use of the streamlined process for this
application. ADISQ submitted that there were not enough evaluations of
the station’s compliance, nor was there enough information on the public
file for it to determine whether or not to support the licence renewal
for a seven-year term. ADISQ asked that the Commission hold a full
public proceeding on the CKYK-FM renewal application, and, as a
condition of eligibility for future streamlined renewal processes, that
the Commission require that CKYK-FM file with the Commission: |
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- annual compliance reports on Canadian content and French-language
vocal music;
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- a report demonstrating that the station provides access to the
airwaves to French-language Canadian artists and offers a variety of
their musical selections; and
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- a separate compliance report on Canadian talent development (CTD)
contributions, to be placed on the public file.
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10. |
The licensee did not reply to the ADISQ
intervention. |
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The Commission’s analysis and determination
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11. |
The Commission notes that the licensee has
confirmed that it is already taking the measures required to remedy its
non-compliance with respect to the provision of logger tapes and the
broadcasting of French-language vocal music between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.,
Monday through Friday. The Commission reminds the licensee that it must
comply at all times with the provisions of the Regulations, including
the requirements pertaining to the provision of logger tapes and the
broadcast of French-language vocal musical selections between 6 a.m. and
6 p.m., Monday through Friday. |
12. |
Furthermore, the Commission notes ADISQ’s
comments regarding the streamlined renewal process for radio licences.
The Commission stated in Circular 2002-448
that the streamlining initiatives it has adopted in recent years in
order to lighten the regulatory burden have assisted the licensees
of broadcasting undertakings and have allowed the Commission to direct
its limited resources to priority sectors. With respect to the assessment
of the effectiveness of the streamlining measure, the Commission will
soon issue a circular explaining its conclusions in this regard. |
13. |
The Commission addressed ADISQ’s concerns
in a number of renewal decisions issued previously. In particular, the
Commission stated that, while it had adopted a streamlined process, it
would continue to carry out its supervisory role, particularly through
the compliance monitoring of radio stations. Such monitoring activities
include checking logger tapes, playlists, logs and a sampling of the
programming broadcast by the stations. The Commission also considers all
complaints filed, as well as any negative rulings issued by the Canadian
Broadcast Standards Council. |
14. |
The Commission also assesses the
information contained in the annual reports filed by the licensees
concerning CTD initiatives and examines the performance of the licensees
with respect to their individual commitments or conditions of licence,
as specified in previous renewal and other decisions. |
15. |
While the Commission recognizes that its
monitoring reports as well as the reports filed by the applicants may
not always have been readily available on the public record, the
Commission has now taken steps to ensure that these reports can be
accessed on its web site. Moreover, it is convinced that the additional
steps proposed by ADISQ, namely, that licensees be required to file
additional reports, would only add to the administrative burden faced by
broadcasters. |
16. |
Based on its review of this licence renewal
application and the licensee’s past performance, and given that this is
the first such infraction by the licensee, and that the licensee has
confirmed that it has already taken the measures required to remedy its
non-compliance with respect to the broadcasting of French-language vocal
music, the Commission renews the broadcasting licence for the
radio programming undertaking CKYK-FM and its transmitter CKYK-FM-1
Alma, from 1 July 2005 to 31 August 2009. This term will permit the
Commission to review, at an early date, the licensee’s compliance with
the Regulations regarding the broadcast of French-language vocal
musical selections and the provision of logger tapes. |
17. |
The licence will be subject to the conditions
of licence set out in New licence form for commercial radio
stations, Public Notice CRTC 1999-137,
24 August 1999. |
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Employment equity
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18. |
In accordance with Implementation of an
employment equity policy, Public Notice CRTC 1992-59,
1 September 1992, the Commission encourages the licensee to consider
employment equity 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 HTML
format at the following Internet site: http://www.crtc.gc.ca
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