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Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2005-183
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Ottawa, 2 May 2005 |
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Radio communautaire de la Rive-Sud inc.
Longueuil, Quebec |
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Application 2003-1004-5
Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2003-55
1 October 2003 |
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CHAA-FM Longueuil – Licence renewal |
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The Commission renews the
broadcasting licence for CHAA-FM Longueuil, from 1 July 2005 to
31 August 2011. |
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The application
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1. |
The Commission received an application by
Radio communautaire de la Rive-Sud inc. to renew the broadcasting
licence for the French-language Type B community radio programming
undertaking CHAA-FM Longueuil. The licence expires 30 June 2005.1
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Intervention
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2. |
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 CHAA-FM’s licence. |
3. |
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 was not enough evaluation 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 process on CHAA-FM’s licence renewal application, and, as a
condition of eligibility for future streamlined renewal processes, that
the Commission require that CHAA-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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4. |
The licensee did not reply to ADISQ’s
intervention. |
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The Commission’s analysis and determination
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5. |
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 measures, the Commission
will soon issue a circular explaining its conclusions in this regard. |
6. |
The Commission addressed ADISQ’s concerns
in a number of licence renewal decisions issued previously. In
particular, the Commission stated that, while it had adopted a
streamlined process, it will continue to carry out its supervisory role,
particularly through monitoring of radio stations’ compliance. Such
monitoring activities include checking logger tapes, playlists, logs and
a sampling of the programming broadcast by the stations. The Commission
also considers all the complaints that it receives, as well as any
negative rulings issued by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council. |
7. |
In addition, the Commission 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. |
8. |
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, the Commission 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. |
9. |
The Commission notes that the licensee did
not propose any changes in the number of hours that it intends to
broadcast in each broadcast week. Community stations can decrease or
increase their weekly broadcast time by up to 20% without application to
the Commission. A change of more than 20%, however, requires prior
Commission approval. The Commission reminds the licensee that, at the
time of CHAA-FM’s last licence renewal application, it made a commitment
to broadcast 126 hours of programming in each broadcast week, all of
which will be produced by the station. |
10. |
Based on its review of this licence renewal
application and of the licensee’s past performance, the Commission
renews the broadcasting licence for the French-language Type B
community radio programming undertaking CHAA-FM Longueuil, from
1 July 2005 to 31 August 2011. The licence will be subject to the
conditions of licence 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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11. |
The Commission considers that community
radio stations should be particularly sensitive to employment equity
issues in order to fully reflect the communities they serve. It
encourages the licensee 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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Footnote: |