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Ottawa, 26 February 1986
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Decision CRTC 86-141
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Keith Dancy, on behalf of a company to be incorporated, rt Erie, Ontario - 851204800
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Following a Public Hearing in Toronto on 8 october 1985, the Commission approves the application for a broadcasting licence for an English-language AM radio station at Fort Erie on the frequency 530 kHz, with a transmitter power of 250 watts, to broadcast programming originating part-time from its studios in Fort Erie and part-time from CJRN Niagara Falls which is also owned by Mr. Dancy.
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The Commission will issue a licence expiring 30 September 1988, subject to the conditions specified in this decision and in the licence to be issued. This term will enable the Commission to consider the renewal of this licence at the same time as that of CJRN Niagara Falls.
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This authority will only take effect at such time as the Commission receives documentation from the application establishing that the company has been incorporated in accordance with the application in all material respects.
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The Commission notes that this AM radio station will provide a first local service to the residents of Fort Erie. Although a number of Canadian and U.S. signals are available over-the-air, Fort Erie is the largest community in the Niagara Peninsula not served by a local radio station. It also lacks a local daily newspaper and cable service. The Commission considers that the results of a survey on broadcasting attitudes submitted by the applicant and the supportive interventions filed by the Town of Fort Erie and The Greater Fort Erie Chamber of Commerce demonstrate a need and clear desire for a local radio station.
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In assessing this application, the Commission has noted that the licensee operates CJRN from a transmitter located near Fort Erie and is satisfied that the co-siting of the proposed station represents one of the most economical means of providing radio service to Fort Erie. Although there will be some overlap of the service contours of CJRN and the proposed station, the resulting duplication of service will only occur during the early years of the new operation. Once the licensee establishes a fully independent local service, as he hopes to do during the first term of licence, the situation will no longer exist.
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This new commercial AM station will share its Class C frequency with a traveller's advisory service recently licensed to Transport Canada at the Pearson International Airport in Toronto. Consequently, it is expected that the new Fort Erie signal will be subjected to considerable co-channel interference outside the Niagara Peninsula, particularly in the Toronto area. Given this frequency-sharing arrangement with the advisory service, the international power limit on 530 kHz and the technical constraints imposed by adjacent channel assignments in Windsor, Ontario and Buffalo, New York, the Commission notes that it is unlikely that the proposed station would develop into a high power regional service.
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At the hearing, the licensee emphasized its plans "to establish immediately, in prime time morning, noon hour and dinner hour listening periods, as strong communication empathy with the residents of Fort Erie, and to provide a voice for Fort that reflects the community". Initially, more than 50 hours of programming per week will originate from the Fort Erie studios with the remainder to be derived from CJRN. During periods of simulcasting, the licensee would utilize a second studio transmitter link as a means of providing separate commercial messages or public service announcements to the two markets. He has also indicated that the talk show originating from CJRN, which will be broadcast on the new station, will continue to have one phone line dedicated to Fort Erie. The licensee intends "as rapidly as economically feasible, to expand on a block-programming basis so as to provide a listening focus that will be distinctively Fort Erie".
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In view of the frequency-sharing arrangement and other technical constraints affecting the operation of the proposed station and taking into account the licensee's commitment to a strong local service, the Commission considers that approval of this application is in the public interest.
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The Commission notes that the Department of Communications will not be in a position to grant technical certification until such time as international co-ordination procedures with the U.S.A. are successfully completed. Therefore, in accordance with paragraph 22(1)(b) of the Broadcasting Act, the Commission will only issue the licence, and the authority granted herein may only be implemented, at such time as written notification is received from the Department of Communications that it will issue a Technical Construction and Operating Certificate.
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It is a condition of licence that construction of the station be completed and that it be in operation within twelve months of the date of this decision or such further period as the Commission may, upon receipt of a request for extension before the expiry of the said twelve months, deem appropriate under the circumstances.
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Fernand Bélisle
Secretary General
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