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Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2003-194
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Ottawa, 2 July 2003
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Canadian Hellenic Cable Radio Ltd.
Montréal, Quebec |
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Application 2002-0270-6
Public Hearing at Montréal, Quebec
3 February 2003 |
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Ethnic FM radio station in Montréal
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In this decision, the Commission
approves the application by Canadian Hellenic Cable Radio Ltd.
(Hellenic Radio) for a new ethnic FM radio station in Montréal at
105.1 MHz. The new station will direct its programming primarily to the
Greater Montréal Area’s Greek-speaking community and will also provide
ethnic programming in Armenian, Croatian, Serbian, Russian and Tagalog,
as well as in English and French. |
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Introduction
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1. |
The Commission received an application by
Canadian Hellenic Cable Radio Ltd. (Hellenic Radio) for a broadcasting
licence to operate a commercial FM ethnic radio programming undertaking
in Montréal at 105.1 MHz (channel 286A) with an effective radiated power
(ERP) of 141 watts. |
2. |
The Commission considered Hellenic Radio’s
application at a public hearing held in Montréal from 3 to 19 February
2003. At the public hearing, the Commission heard eleven other
applications in connection with the Montréal market, including an
application by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) to amend the
broadcasting licence for CBME-FM Montréal by adding a transmitter in
Montréal at 104.7 MHz. |
3. |
The Department of Industry (the Department)
advised that the use of 105.1 MHz, as proposed in Hellenic Radio’s
application, would be second adjacent1
with the use of 104.7 MHz, as proposed in the CBC’s application.
The Department stated that, while these applications would usually be
considered to be technically mutually exclusive, it would be possible
for the two operations to co-exist if each applicant were willing to
accept a zone of interference around the other’s transmitter site. At
the hearing, each applicant stated that it was willing to accept
interference from the other party’s station. |
4. |
Of the twelve applications related to the
Montréal market, the Commission today approves five: the present
proposal for the operation of a commercial ethnic FM radio station, the
proposals for the operation of a commercial French-language specialty
(jazz and blues) FM radio station (Broadcasting Decision CRTC
2003-192),
of a commercial French-language AM radio station (Broadcasting Decision
CRTC 2003-193) and of a native FM radio station (Broadcasting Decision
CRTC 2003-195) as well as the request for the addition of a transmitter
to the broadcasting licence for CBME-FM (Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2003-196). |
5. |
The criteria used by the Commission to
evaluate the applications considered at the 3 February 2003 public
hearing are set out in Introductory statement to Broadcasting
Decisions CRTC 2003-192 to 2003-203: Applications related to radio
stations in the Province of Quebec, Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2003-33,
2 July 2003 (the Introductory Statement). In the Introductory Statement,
the Commission also addresses the various proposals that were
technically mutually exclusive and the general interventions to most of
the applications, and states its conclusions on the capacity of the
markets in Montréal, in Sherbrooke, in Trois-Rivières and in Saguenay to
support the addition of one or more new radio stations, taking into
account the competitive state of each market. |
6. |
The present decision addresses the
particulars of Hellenic Radio’s application. |
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The applicant
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7. |
Hellenic Radio is controlled by its sole
shareholder, Mr. John Daperis, and managed by Ms Ossia Maria Griffiths. |
8. |
Since 1965, Hellenic Radio has provided a
closed circuit special programming audio service to the Greek-speaking
community in the Greater Montréal Area (GMA). The service is distributed
by cable and financed solely by advertising. Hellenic Radio stated that,
if its application for the proposed over-the-air radio service were
approved, it would cease operating its closed circuit service. |
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Overview of the application
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9. |
Hellenic Radio stated that at least 70% of
all programming broadcast by the proposed FM station would be ethnic
programming, and that at least 60% would be in third languages, that is,
languages other than English, French or a language of the Aboriginal
peoples of Canada. The applicant proposed to serve a minimum of six
cultural groups in a minimum of eight languages during each broadcast
week. |
10. |
A primary focus of the new station would be
to provide an over-the-air radio service to the Greek-speaking community
in the GMA. In its application, Hellenic Radio stated that it would also
broadcast programming targeted to the Armenian, Croatian and Serbian
communities in the mother tongue of each of these cultural groups as
well as programming in third languages targeted to other cultural
groups. At the hearing, the applicant clarified that the other cultural
groups to be served would be the Russian and Filipino communities and
that the station would provide ethnic programming in at least eight
languages: Greek, Armenian, Croatian, Serbian, Russian, Tagalog, French
and English. |
11. |
Hellenic Radio presented evidence of demand
in the Montréal market for its proposed station. It cited data from
Statistics Canada’s 2001 Census of Canada indicating that approximately
41,000 people of Greek heritage live in Montréal, representing about
1.2% of the city’s total population. The applicant also stated that its
own market research found that 80% of these people declare Greek as
their mother tongue, while over 51% speak Greek at home. In addition,
the applicant claimed that the Greek cultural community is underserved
by the existing radio stations that provide ethnic programming in the
GMA. It also emphasized that there are no over-the-air radio or
television services available to the Armenian, Croatian and Serbian
cultural groups. |
12. |
Hellenic Radio planned to devote
approximately 60% of the programming aired in each broadcast week to
music. At least 90% of all musical selections would be drawn from
content category 3 (special interest). Almost all of the category 3
musical selections would be drawn from content subcategory 33 (world
beat and international music). |
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The interventions
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13. |
The Commission received 85 interventions in
support of Hellenic Radio’s application from individuals and
organizations related to the ethnic communities that the applicant
proposed to serve. The interveners generally considered that the
programming proposed by Hellenic Radio would be of interest and benefit
to these cultural communities. |
14. |
An intervention filed by la radio
communautaire intergénération Jardin du Québec (Radio intergénération),
the licensee of the French-language community radio station CHOC-FM
Saint-Rémi, did not object to the proposed new ethnic radio service, but
did oppose Hellenic Radio’s request to operate at 105.1 MHz in Montréal.
The intervener stated that it planned to file an application with the
Commission to use 105.1 MHz to reduce the interference its station
experiences from WKOL Plattsburgh, New York, and another radio station
in Vermont. |
15. |
In response, Hellenic Radio stated that it
had specifically designed the contours of its proposed radio station so
that they would not encroach on CHOC-FM’s signal in St-Remi or in its
surrounding areas. |
16. |
The Commission notes that, to date, it has
not received an application by Radio intergénération to use 105.1 MHz
for the operation of CHOC-FM. The Commission also notes that the
Department has indicated that CHOC-FM’s contour will be protected from
the operation of Hellenic Radio’s station at 105.1 MHz. |
17. |
The Commission also received opposing
interventions from Radio Centre-Ville Saint-Louis (Radio Centre-Ville)
and from Fred Leclaire and Hyman Glustein. The interveners expressed
concern that approval of Hellenic Radio’s proposal would have a negative
impact on the existing radio stations that currently provide ethnic
programming in the Montréal market. These interventions are discussed
later in this decision under the heading "Impact of a new entrant and
competitive state of the market." |
18. |
An opposing intervention submitted by the
Association des radiodiffuseurs communautaires du Québec as well as the
comments filed by the Association québécoise de l’industrie du disque,
du spectacle et de la vidéo, by the Société professionnelle des auteurs
et compositeurs du Québec and by the Union des artistes are discussed in
the Introductory Statement. |
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Evaluating the application
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19. |
The Commission has considered the merits of
Hellenic Radio’s application in light of how it meets the provisions of
the Ethnic broadcasting policy, Public Notice CRTC
1999-117,
16 July 1999 (the Ethnic Policy) and the Commission’s criteria for
evaluating competitive applications for new commercial radio stations2. |
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The Ethnic Policy
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20. |
The Ethnic Policy includes a number of key
provisions that the Commission has taken into account in its
consideration of the applications for new ethnic radio services. Several
of these provisions have been incorporated into the Radio
Regulations, 1986 (the Radio Regulations) as minimum
standards that must be met. |
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Levels of ethnic and third language
programming |
21. |
Section 7.(1) of the Radio Regulations
stipulates that an ethnic radio station shall devote not less than 60%
of its broadcast week to ethnic programs. Section 7.(2) requires that at
least 50% of an ethnic radio station’s broadcast week must be devoted to
third language programs, that is, programs in a language other than
English, French or a language of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada. |
22. |
In its application, Hellenic Radio stated
that it would devote a minimum of 70% of the programming broadcast
during each broadcast week to ethnic programs. Hellenic Radio further
made a commitment to devote a minimum of 60% of the programming
broadcast during each broadcast week to third language programs. |
23. |
Hellenic Radio’s commitments with respect
to the amounts of ethnic and third language programming to be broadcast
exceed the minimum requirements of the Radio Regulations. Given the
competitive nature of this proceeding, the Commission considers that it
is appropriate to impose these commitments as conditions of licence,
as set out in the appendix to this decision. |
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Broad service requirement |
24. |
Under the Ethnic Policy, ethnic stations
are expected to serve a range of ethnic groups in a variety of languages
since the scarcity of available frequencies may not permit the licensing
of an over-the-air single-language service for each ethnic group in a
given market. This approach also allows for the provision of service to
groups that would not otherwise be able to afford their own
single-language service. |
25. |
When dealing with applications for ethnic
services, the Commission decides on the minimum number of distinct
groups that a station must serve on the basis of the demographics of the
community, the services already available, and the degree of support
shown by local community organizations. The Commission also assesses the
ability of ethnic stations to provide appropriate amounts of quality
programming to ethnic groups, and the availability of ethnic programming
from all stations serving a market. |
26. |
In support of its plans to target its
programming primarily to the Greek community, Hellenic Radio reiterated
that it has been serving this cultural group since 1965 through its
closed circuit special programming audio service distributed by cable.
The applicant stated that members of the Greek community are accustomed
to receiving Hellenic Radio’s service and that it should be available to
them over-the-air. It also submitted that the Greek community is
currently underserved by existing over-the-air radio stations in the
Montréal market. |
27. |
Hellenic Radio explained that it had
decided to also target programming to the Armenian, Serbian, Croatian,
Russian and Filipino cultural groups because they are active,
well-organized communities that would be able to contribute a
substantial amount of content for programs. The applicant noted that
many members of the Greek, Armenian, Serbian and Russian communities are
Orthodox Christians and, therefore, share close religious ties. It
stated that its research had revealed that the Armenian, Croatian,
Serbian and Filipino cultural groups currently do not receive any
over-the-air radio service targeted to their respective community. |
28. |
The GMA is currently served by two ethnic
radio stations, a community radio station that broadcasts some ethnic
programming and a multilingual television station. In addition, the
signal of an out-of-market radio station reaches Montréal and offers
some ethnic programming in the market. The Commission’s analysis of the
programming offered by these over-the-air radio and television stations,
in 2001 and 2002, indicates that, in each broadcast week, the Greek
cultural group received 40.25 hours of radio service and 7 hours of
television service, the Russian cultural group received one hour of
radio service and the Filipino cultural group received 2 hours of
television service. There was no over-the-air radio or television
programming targeted specifically to the Armenian, Serbian, or Croatian
cultural groups. |
29. |
The Commission is satisfied that there is
evidence of support from the cultural groups to be served and that the
applicant will be able to provide quality programming. The Commission
finds that the approach outlined by Hellenic Radio is appropriate in
that it will ensure the availability of more over-the-air radio
programming in Montréal for the six cultural groups identified by the
applicant as currently underserved. |
30. |
The Commission considers it appropriate to
impose, as a condition of licence, the applicant’s commitment to
offer, on a weekly basis, programming directed to a minimum of six
cultural groups in a minimum of eight languages. This condition is set
out in the appendix to this decision. |
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Level of Canadian music |
31. |
Section 2.2 of the Radio Regulations
provides that, if 7% or more of the musical selections broadcast during
ethnic programming periods are Canadian selections, and such selections
are reasonably scheduled throughout such periods, then at least 35% of
all category 2 (popular) musical selections and at least 10% of all
category 3 (special interest) musical selections broadcast during the
part of the broadcast week that is not devoted to ethnic programs must
be Canadian. The lower level for ethnic programming periods is based on
the more limited availability of Canadian selections in third languages.
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32. |
In its application, Hellenic Radio made a
commitment to devote 10% of all musical selections broadcast during
ethnic programming periods to Canadian selections. At the public
hearing, Hellenic Radio agreed to abide by its commitment by condition
of licence. Accordingly, the Commission is imposing the commitment as a
condition of licence, as set out in the appendix to this
decision. |
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Local reflection |
33. |
The Ethnic Policy provides that a primary
responsibility of over-the-air ethnic radio stations should be to serve
their local community. Accordingly, ethnic broadcasters should provide
plans on how they will reflect local issues and concerns. |
34. |
Hellenic Radio stated that approximately
80% of the broadcast week will be devoted to local programming produced
by the applicant and by members of the cultural groups to be served. At
the hearing, the applicant confirmed that it does not intend to offer
any brokered programming at this time. |
35. |
Spoken word programming will make up about
40% of the schedule. In addition to spoken word programs that will
appeal to its general audience, the station will offer programming of
specific interest to children under the age of six, to teenagers and to
seniors. |
36. |
Approximately half of the spoken word
programming, or 25 hours in each broadcast week, will be devoted to news
with eight to nine hours of the weekly newscasts devoted exclusively to
local news. Local news will reflect the GMA, Laval and the South Shore
areas of Montréal, while the areas outside the station’s contours will
be reflected in the regional news items. News will always be presented
in the ethnic languages of the cultural groups to be served. |
37. |
Hellenic Radio will offer a call-in program
to provide opportunities to members of the local ethnic communities to
express their views on various issues. At the hearing, Hellenic Radio
noted that it has been offering open-line programs three nights a week
for the past 34 years on its closed circuit special programming audio
service and confirmed that it has internal written guidelines to ensure
that such programming is consistent with the Commission’s Policy
Regarding Open-Line Programming, Public Notice CRTC 1988-213,
23 December 1988. Hellenic Radio submitted a copy of its guidelines to
the Commission following the hearing. The Commission is satisfied that
the applicant understands the importance of exercising control over the
content of open-line programs and that it will implement appropriate
mechanisms to monitor such programs. |
38. |
Hellenic Radio stated that the music aired
on the proposed station will respond to the needs and interests of its
target cultural groups. It will offer young people from these
communities opportunities to present their musical talents on air. |
39. |
Hellenic Radio made a commitment to
establish a five-member advisory board. Of the five members, four will
represent each of the principal cultural groups to be served by the
station, namely the Greek, Armenian, Serbian and Croatian communities,
and one will represent the broader community of the GMA. The advisory
board will provide advice to the station management regarding
programming issues and receive feedback from the various ethnic
communities concerning the station’s programming. It will also help the
station management to identify on-air talent within these communities. |
40. |
The Commission finds that Hellenic Radio’s
plans and commitments with respect to local programming, as outlined
above, are consistent with the Ethnic Policy. |
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Criteria for evaluating competing applications for new commercial
radio stations
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41. |
The Commission applies four main criteria
when evaluating competing applications for new commercial radio
services. While their relative importance varies depending on the
specific circumstances of the market concerned, the four criteria are as
follows: |
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- The diversity of news voices in the market;
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- The quality of the application;
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- The impact of a new entrant on existing stations; and
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- The competitive state of the market.
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Diversity of news voices in the market
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42. |
The Commission notes that Hellenic Radio
will provide a new over-the-air radio news voice for Montréal residents.
As described earlier in this decision, all news broadcast on the
proposed station will be in the languages of the cultural groups to be
served, including communities that currently receive little or no
television or radio programming in their respective mother tongues. The
station will thus increase the choice of news programming in third
languages in the GMA. |
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Quality of the application
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43. |
The Commission applies the following four
main criteria when assessing the quality of applications for new
commercial radio stations: |
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- The applicant’s local programming proposals and plans for
providing reflection of the local community;
- Canadian content commitments;
- The quality of the applicant’s business plan; and
- Commitments in support of the development of Canadian talent.
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Local programming plans and Canadian
content commitments |
44. |
Hellenic Radio’s local programming
proposals and Canadian content commitments are addressed above in the
section relating to the Ethnic Policy. |
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Business plan |
45. |
Hellenic Radio projected $513,750 in
revenues in 2003, increasing to $1,109,488 by 2009. The applicant based
its projections on the current performance of its closed circuit radio
service and the anticipated revenue growth associated with an
over-the-air service available to a broader audience. It expected that
approximately 85% of these revenues would be generated by the Greek
cultural group. |
46. |
The Commission has examined
Hellenic Radio’s projected revenues in light of the actual revenues
generated by its current closed circuit service and by the existing
ethnic radio stations in Montréal. The Commission considers that
Hellenic Radio’s projections are reasonable. |
47. |
The Commission finds that Hellenic Radio
has presented a viable business plan for its proposed station. |
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Canadian talent development |
48. |
In its application, Hellenic Radio
confirmed that it will participate in the plan developed by the Canadian
Association of Broadcasters (CAB) for contributions by radio licensees
to Canadian talent development. As a participant in this plan, the
applicant will, based on the size of the Montréal market, contribute at
least $8,000 in each broadcast year to eligible third parties for the
development of Canadian musical and other artistic talent. In its
application, Hellenic Radio stated that, beginning in the fourth year of
operation, its contributions under the CAB’s plan may increase, based on
the station’s earnings. If its projected revenues were met, the
applicant would make contributions in accordance with the CAB’s plan as
follows: |
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49. . |
As well as participating in the CAB’s plan,
Hellenic Radio stated that it will contribute $3,000 a year for seven
years to the Canadian Association of Ethnic Broadcasters (CAEB) to fund
the development of a catalogue of Canadian ethnic recordings. |
50. |
After discussions at the
hearing, Hellenic Radio clarified its commitments to Canadian talent
development and stated that it will: |
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- in each broadcast year of the first three years of operation,
contribute a minimum of $8,000 to eligible third parties for the
development of Canadian musical and other artistic talent in
accordance with the CAB’s plan;
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- beginning in the fourth year of operation and in each subsequent
broadcast year of the licence term, contribute either a minimum of
$8,000, or a minimum of 2.5% of its total revenues, whichever amount
is greater, to eligible third parties for the development of Canadian
musical and other artistic talent; and
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- over a seven-year period, contribute a minimum of $3,000 in each
broadcast year to the CAEB to fund the development of a catalogue of
Canadian ethnic recordings.
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51. |
The Commission finds that the
applicant’s commitments for Canadian talent development are appropriate
for an ethnic radio station serving the GMA, and is imposing these
commitments as conditions of licence, as set out in the
appendix to this decision. |
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Impact of a new entrant and competitive state of the market
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Concerns of the interveners |
52. |
Radio Centre-Ville is the
licensee of CINQ-FM Montréal, a community radio station that provides
programming to various cultural groups in the GMA, including the Greek
community. According to Radio Centre-Ville, the Greek community in the
GMA is already well served by the licensed radio stations that provide
ethnic programming in the market. The intervener noted that, in each
broadcast week, its own station offers 12 hours 30 minutes of
Greek-language programming, while ethnic radio station CFMB Montréal
offers 16 hours, and community radio station CHAA-FM Longueuil offers
6 hours. Radio Centre-Ville also expressed concern about the potential
negative financial impact of licensing Hellenic Radio’s proposed ethnic
radio station on the existing radio stations that currently provide
ethnic programming to listeners in the GMA. |
53. |
Messrs Leclaire and Glustein
considered that Hellenic Radio’s proposed programming schedule would not
complement those of existing radio stations that offer ethnic
programming in the market and would increase the fragmentation of
audiences and advertising revenues. |
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The applicant’s replies |
54. |
In response, Hellenic Radio pointed out
that it has been providing programming to the Greek-speaking community
since 1965, through its cable distributed closed circuit radio service
that it is completely financed by advertising. Hellenic Radio stated
that it currently broadcasts 119 hours of programming targeted to this
cultural group in each broadcast week. It maintained that, since it will
also provide programming to other ethnic communities that currently
receive little or no over-the-air radio service targeted specifically to
them, the proposed station will complement, not compete with existing
radio stations in the market. |
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The Commission’s findings |
55. |
The Commission generally favours
competition and diversity, and the improvements in the overall quality
of available services that they promote. At the same time, the
Commission seeks to ensure that the competitive impact of a new entrant
to the radio market will not impinge unduly on the ability of incumbent
stations to meet their programming responsibilities. |
56. |
The capacity of the Montréal market to
sustain one or more new entrants and the competitive state of the market
are discussed in the Introductory Statement. With regard to the specific
concerns raised in the interventions by Radio Centre-Ville and Messrs Leclaire
and Glustein, the Commission finds that approval of Hellenic Radio’s
application for a new ethnic radio station will not have a significant
negative effect on Montréal’s existing radio stations. |
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Cultural diversity
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57. |
In Commercial Radio Policy 1998,
Public Notice CRTC 1998-41, 30 April 1998, the Commission encouraged all
radio broadcasters to reflect the cultural diversity of Canada in their
programming and employment practices, especially with respect to news,
music and promotion of Canadian artists. |
58. |
The Commission notes that Hellenic Radio
will provide many opportunities to the cultural groups to be served to
participate in the proposed station in various ways, including producing
programming, participating in the advisory committee, and expressing
their views and concerns on open-line programming. Hellenic Radio also
stated that the proposed station’s personnel will include members of
Montréal’s cultural communities and that on-air personalities will
reflect Canada’s diversity. |
59. |
The Commission is satisfied with the
information presented by Hellenic Radio both in its application and in
discussions at the hearing regarding its plans to reflect cultural
diversity in the operation of its proposed station. The Commission
considers that the proposed station will contribute to the fulfilment of
the objectives of section 3(1)(d)(iii) of the Broadcasting Act
which states, in part, that the Canadian broadcasting system should
reflect the multicultural and multiracial nature of Canadian society.
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The Commission’s conclusion
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60. |
The Commission considers that the new FM
station proposed by Hellenic Radio will provide a high quality,
over-the-air radio service to cultural groups in the GMA that are
currently underserved. The Commission finds that the service proposed by
Hellenic Radio is consistent with the objectives of the Ethnic Policy
and the criteria for evaluating competitive applications for commercial
radio stations. |
61. |
In light of the above, the Commission
approves the application by Canadian Hellenic Cable Radio Ltd. for a
commercial FM ethnic radio programming undertaking to serve the GMA. The
new station will operate at 105.1 MHz (channel 286A) with an ERP of
141 watts. |
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Issuance of the licence
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62. |
The licence will expire on 31 August 2009
and will be subject to the conditions specified therein and in the
appendix to this decision. |
63. |
The Department has advised the Commission
that, while this application is conditionally technically acceptable, it
will only issue a broadcasting certificate when it has determined that
the proposed technical parameters will not create any unacceptable
interference with aeronautical NAV/COM services.
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64. |
The Commission reminds the applicant that,
pursuant to section 22(1) of the Broadcasting Act, no licence may
be issued until the Department notifies the Commission that its
technical requirements have been met, and that a broadcasting
certificate will be issued. |
65. |
Furthermore, the licence for this
undertaking will be issued once the applicant has informed the
Commission in writing that it is prepared to commence operations. The
undertaking must be operational at the earliest possible date and in any
event no later than 24 months from the date of this decision, unless a
request for an extension of time is approved by the Commission before 2
July 2005. In order to ensure that such a request is processed in a
timely manner, it should be submitted at least 60 days before this date.
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Employment equity
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66. |
In accordance with Implementation of an
employment equity policy, Public Notice CRTC 1992-59, 1 September
1992, the Commission encourages the applicant 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 at the following Internet site:
http://www.crtc.gc.ca |
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These criteria were first set
out in Introductory Statement – Licensing new radio stations,
which appeared in Decisions CRTC
99-480,
99-481 and
99-482,
all dated 28 October 1999. |