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Ottawa, 25 August 1986
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Decision CRTC 86-787
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Téléduc Inc.
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Trois-Rivières, Quebec - 860648500
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Following a Public Hearing in Hull, Quebec on 17 June 1986, the Commission renews the broadcasting licence for CFCQ-FM Trois-Rivières for six months only, from 1 October 1986 to 31 March 1987, subject to the terms and conditions specified in this decision and in the licence to be issued.
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The Commission authorized the operation of CFCQ-FM in 1976 (Decision CRTC 76-773), noting the particular characteristics of the proposed programming:
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The proposed programming as described ... is essentially educational, oriented toward school and school-related needs, institutional needs and student information. Courses which can be used to earn school credits will constitute a sizeable percentage of the programs broadcast by the station; the station will also present programs provided by educational institutions in the region.
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In subsequent decisions, the Commission reminded the licensee of its commitments in this regard. In 1981 (Decision CRTC 81-315), the Commission stated that it expected the licensee to maintain its educational orientation during the next licence term. In 1982 (Decision CRTC 82-677), the Commission authorized an increase in the station's broadcasting time "providing that it does not affect the educational character of the station". It further noted the licensee's commitment to broadcast at least eleven hours of courses per week and reminded it that "at no time should the station's music programming conflict with, or take precedence over, the educational nature of the station".
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In Notice of Public Hearing CRTC 1986-32 of 21 April 1986, the Commission noted that CFCQ-FM had come back on the air on 16 March 1986 after approximately eighteen months. It noted the licensee's proposed amendments to its Promise of Performance and in particular that CFCQ-FM's orientation would be changed by a reduction in its educational content. The Commission stated that it expected to discuss this matter with the licensee at the hearing, as well as the agreement between Téléduc Inc. and 2332-6192 Québec Inc. (2332-6192).
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The licensee has submitted an application for the renewal of the licence for an FM educational station. According to the Commission's definition (Public Notice CRTC 1984-151 dated 18 June 1984, entitled "The Review of Radio - Simplification of the FM Policy", Appendix II), programming of this type must be primarily educational. However, the proposals contained in the Promise of Performance and in the programming description contain very few educational commitments. In fact, the commitments in the current Promise of Performance have been noticeably decreased, with news diminishing from 5 to 2 hours per week, spoken word from 52.6% to 25%, foreground programming from 40% to 13% and Category 6 (Music - Traditional and Special Interest) from 26 to 20 hours, with an increase in Category 5 (Music - General), particularly rock, from 22 to 64 hours.
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The licensee also proposed to amend the vocal/instrumental ratio from 30:70 to 75:25 and to increase its advertising content by broadcasting an average of 4 minutes per hour with a maximum of 6 minutes per hour of traditional advertising, whereas it is now limited to 4 minutes of restricted advertising per hour.
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At the hearing, the licensee was unable to support its educational programming proposals nor to alleviate the Commission's serious concerns over the proposed orientation of CFCQ-FM. In its statements, the licensee acknowledged that the educational approach had been abandoned, formal accredited courses had been reduced considerably and only one project had been drawn up with a post-secondary educational institution. With regard to its original promise concerning education, the licensee stated specifically [TRANSLATION]: "... I think that it has been abandoned as an objective and what we really want is to educate but not necessarily in the sense of providing courses for people". When the Commission asked whether the licensee had an advertising policy, the licensee stated [TRANSLATION]: "We in fact had a policy, which must be somewhere in our papers ... at this point in time we are not excluding any specific type of advertising."
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The Commission received interventions from Télémédia Communications Inc. and Communications Radiomutuel Inc., licensees of CHLN and CJTR TroisRivières respectively, opposing CFCQ-FM's licence renewal mainly because of the proposed amendments to the Promise of Performance and the implications of the agreement between Téléduc Inc. and 2332-6192. With regard to this agreement, both the Commission and the intervenors were concerned that the licensee would not be exercising direct control over its station, but that 2332-6192 would actually be in charge, without having the responsibility of a licensee.
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In response to these interventions and to the Commission's concerns in this regard as expressed at the hearing, the licensee stated [TRANSLATION]:
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... obviously we do not exercise control now, any more than when it was Radio-Québec or the CEGEP of Trois-Rivières, that is, [regarding] daily operations ...
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However, to give an example, the proposed programming by Teleduc Inc., the programming planning for the fall, is submitted to the board of directors which approves it. The directors comment and make observations ... and I think that these are taken into account.
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The Commission is of the opinion that the licensee has not explained, to its satisfaction, how management and programming roles would be shared between Téléduc Inc. and 2332-6192. The Commission reminds the licensee that, in accordance with the Broadcasting Act, it must retain sole responsibility for its broadcast programming.
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In light of the foregoing, the Commission has decided to renew the licence of CFCQ-FM for six months only. Moreover, it denies all of the above-mentioned amendments to the Promise of Performance and requires that CFCQ-FM remain an educational radio station and that it adhere to the current Promise of Performance for the new licence term. The new Promise of Performance to be submitted with the next application for licence renewal must contain all the necessary elements for programming that is primarily educational, in accordance with the authority initially granted in Decision CRTC 76-773, including a large percentage of spoken word material, as is required for such a service.
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The Commission further requires that control of the licensee's operations and programming not be delegated to another party without prior approval of the Commission.
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Should the licensee decide at any time that it no longer wishes to operate CFCQ-FM as an educational station in accordance with its mandate, the Commission would expect it to surrender its licence. In such a case, the licensee, or any other interested party, would be free to apply for an independent FM licence which would be subject to the same analysis and procedures as an application for a licence to operate a new radio service.
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At the time of the next licence renewal application, the Commission will call the licensee to a public hearing and the licensee will have to demonstrate clearly that it has complied with its authorized Promise of Performance, failing which it will have to justify any future licence renewal. The Commission warns the licensee that any departure from the requirements of this decision and the conditions of its licence may jeopardize the renewal of its licence.
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The Commission has also taken into account the intervention from CKSM 1220, licensee of CKSM Shawinigan, in opposition to the renewal of the present licence on grounds that have been raised in this decision. It also acknowledges the intervention from Mr. Denis Laberge and the 19 letters submitted by persons and organizations in the region in support of the application to renew the licence of CFCQ-FM.
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Fernand Bélisle
Secretary General
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