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Ottawa, 20 March 1986
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Decision CRTC 86-235
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CKMW Radio Ltd.
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Brampton, Ontario - 852496900
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Following a Public Hearing in Toronto commencing 3 December 1985, the Commission renews the broadcasting licence for CKMW Brampton from 1 April 1986 to 30 September 1990.
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The Commission also approves the licensee's proposal to amend its Promise of Performance in accordance with the policy guidelines set out in Public Notice CRTC 1985-139 entitled "A Broadcasting Policy Reflecting Canada's Linguistic and Cultural Diversity", subject to the provisions set out in this decision. The licence to be issued will be for an "ethnic station", as defined in the Radio (A.M.) Broadcasting Regulations, as amended (SOR/86-193 dated 6 February 1986) and will be subject to the conditions specified in this decision and in the licence to be issued.
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CKMW was licensed as a conventional English-language station and was authorized to devote 40% of its weekly broadcast time to multilingual programming (Decision CRTC 83-673). Under the proposal, approved herein, CKMW will no longer be operated as a predominantly English-language station, but will offer a full schedule of programming in a variety of languages, directed to a number of different groups, while continuing to provide some English-language programming.
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In approving this change in programming the Commission has considered carefully a number of factors, including evidence of a significant expansion of the ethnic population in the Brampton and Greater Peel area. At the hearing, the licensee stated that the size of the ethnic community is rapidly increasing, due in part to a continuing migration from the City of Toronto to the suburbs. The Commission has also taken into account the small audiences and limited advertising revenues that have been attracted to CKMW's English-language programming in the past, compared with the revenues derived from ethnic-language advertising placed by local businesses. The licensee submitted evidence to demonstrate that the amount of advertising directed to ethnic communities in the Greater Peel area will expand substantially when CKMW becomes a full-time ethnic station.
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Based on the foregoing, as well as on the numerous interventions submitted in support of increased ethnic programming on CKMW, the Commission is satisfied that there is a demand and a market for an ethnic station in the Brampton area and that approval of the new Promise of Performance is in the public interest.
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The Commission has also taken note of the change of ownership and control of the station (Decision CRTC 85-667), and the important commitment made by the licensee that CKMW continue to maintain a focus on Brampton and Peel events. The Commission reminds the licensee that its primary obligation is service to the Brampton community within the Greater Peel area and has taken note of the licensee's statements that it will continue to devote 27% of its daily news to Brampton and Peel events and that, of this, a 70% to 80% portion would represent Brampton concerns.
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The licensee indicated that CKMW will also continue to serve its English-speaking listeners by providing English newscasts and public service announcements during periods of bilingual programming, in addition to 18 hours of English-language programming during the broadcast week.
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The licensee also indicated that it will devote 108 hours (85.7%) of the broadcast week to ethnic programming. Of this, 87 hours will be devoted to programs of Types A and B, as a condition of licence.
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As discussed at the hearing, the licensee will provide, as a condition of licence, programming directed to a minimum of twelve cultural groups and broadcast in a minimum of fourteen different languages.
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In its application, the licensee proposed a Spoken Word level of 22 hours 25 minutes per week. The Commission does not feel that this amount of Spoken Word programming will be adequate to provide a satisfactory level of news and information to the much larger and more diverse ethnic audience which will now be served or that it adquately reflects the intent of the ethnic policy. Accordingly, the licensee is expected to revise this aspect of its Promise of Performance and to submit the appropriate amendments to the Promise of Performance within three months of the date of this decision.
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As discussed at the hearing and in accordance with the licensee's application, the Commission expects that at least 70% of the vocal musical selections broadcast on CKMW will be in languages other than English or French.
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The Commission acknowledges the licensee's commitments to the development of Canadian talent, including a budgetary allocation of $10,000 per year. The licensee's principal initiative, the "Canadian Ethno-Cultural Talent Search", will invite contestants to submit demomonstration tapes for broadcast on CKMW in a competition for cash prizes and a recording session. In addition, the licensee will contribute cash awards to the top performers at Brampton's multicultural festival "Carabram" and "The Pioneer Rose Festival" and to students showing musical promise and belonging to the Malton Italian Association.
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Further, consistent with the objectives set out in Public Notice CRTC 1985-241, the Commission expects CKMW to participate in any initiatives taken towards the development of the Canadian ethnic recording and production industries.
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The licensee has formed a community advisory board composed of representatives of the English, Italian, East Indian, German, Portuguese and Croatian communities. The board is to meet at least four times per year. The licensee proposes to replace three members of the board every year so that, after a few years, each ethnic community to be served by CKMW will have been represented.
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The Commission has received numerous interventions in support of the application, together with an intervention from Radio 1540 Ltd. opposing the application on technical grounds, and notes that a change of frequency was not under discussion at this hearing.
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Fernand Bélisle
Secretary General
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