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Decision
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Ottawa, 22 July 1988
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Decision CRTC 88-463
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Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
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Labrador City and Churchill Falls, Newfoundland -871700100
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Related documents: Public Notices CRTC 1986-72 dated 24 March 1986 and 1987-124 dated 7 May 1987; Decision CRTC 86-997 dated 8 October 1986.
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Following a Public Hearing in Sydney, Nova Scotia on 15 March 1988, the Commission renews the broadcasting licences for CBNLT Labrador City and its rebroadcaster CBNLT-1 Churchill Falls from 1 September 1988 to 31 August 1993, subject to the conditions of licence specified in this decision and in the licences to be issued.
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Background
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At a hearing in Wabush, Newfoundland on 18 November 1985, the Commission considered the CBC's application to amend CBNLT's licence in order to permit it to receive all of its programs from CBNT St. John's, Newfoundland, thereby relieving the Corporation of the requirement that it provide local programming from Labrador City.
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Subsequently, the Commission issued Public Notice CRTC 1986-72 in which it expressed serious concern that the CBC had discontinued the production of 75 minutes per week of local live television programming in Labrador City as of 31 March 1985, without prior notification to the community or authorization from the Commission. Accordingly, the Commission determined that the CBC and community representatives should develop a communications strategy to determine how best to meet the immediate and future communication needs of area residents. CRTC Commissioner James Robson was appointed to convene a meeting between officials of the Corporation and the Mayors of Labrador City and Wabush and to report on the results.
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Pursuant to Commissioner Robson's report, the Commission issued Decision CRTC 86-997 on 8 October 1986. While acknowledging that elimination of local television production was a serious deprivation for these remote communities, the decision recognized that it would be unreasonable to expect the CBC to reinstate completely the former level of local origination at CBNLT, given the budget cuts the CBC had sustained. The Commission required the CBC, by condition of licence, to continue to provide programming received from studios located at Labrador City and requested the Corporation to submit a report within two months on the measures it would take "in order to reinstate at CBNLT the production of a reasonable amount of local television programming." The report was filed with the Commission on 5 December 1986.
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In its report, the Corporation offered to add a regular four-minute local news summary to be broadcast on weekday evenings immediately prior to the regional supper-hour news program. It further indicated that it would continue to make use of a character generator to provide two minutes of local public service announcements, also to be aired locally at the conclusion of the early evening news. The CBC also stated that it would maintain local input from Wabush and Labrador City on the CBC's morning radio program originating from Goose Bay and ensure emergency access to the local radio and television transmitters. The report also contained a commitment to maintain a journalist and camera person in the Wabush/Labrador City area who would be responsible for providing regular local area news coverage for inclusion in the provincial television news program originating from CBNT St. John's.
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In Public Notice 1987-124 dated 7 May 1987, the Commission expressed the view that the Corporation's undertak-ing to provide a regular news summary constituted a positive initiative in terms of the reinstatement of local television production at CBNLT. As a follow-up, the Commission required the Corporation to report within 30 days on an implementation schedule for the proposed local programming service and noted that it would further review this matter with the Corporation at the time of CBNLT's licence renewal. The Corporation subsequently notified the Commission on 25 May 1987 that it intended to introduce regular weekday local newscasts on CBNLT as of 4 August 1987.
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The Sydney Hearing
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In the context of CBNLT's licence renewal, the Commission assessed the manner in which the Corporation, in consultation with the communities of Wabush and Labrador City, has implemented its local production commitments.
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The Deputy Mayor of Wabush, Mr. Don Flynn, and Mayor Alex Snow of Labrador City appeared at the Sydney hearing to make representations on behalf of local residents. They described the unique communication needs of these remote, isolated communities, specifically that communications, both within the area of Labrador West and with the outside, are a vital ingredient of overall community development. Mr. Flynn described the extensive recreational facilities available and the importance of local information, event coverage and promotion. Outlining some of the difficulties associated with northern living, he emphasized the importance and need for a reliable means of communicating with residents when emergency situations arise.
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Both interveners praised the work of the local CBC staff and suggested that there were simply "not enough people left" to provide an adequate local television service. Mr. Flynn nevertheless acknowledged that as a result of the ongoing consultation process, the CBC had made certain improvements to the local news package since its introduction.
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When questioned as to what would be an acceptable level of service, the interveners suggested that the local news summary should be extended and provision made for the insertion of film clips and that, in addition, there should be regular opportunity for other local programming such as an interview series or occasional special event coverage.
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Mayor Snow questioned the CBC's priorities in terms of the cost-cutting measures it had taken with respect to local television service in Labrador City which, he claimed, contravened the Corporation's mandate, particularly its obligation to serve the North. He also described the importance of television in this region as "a basic communications mode, a mirror for a community to reflect itself."
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Stating emphatically that the position of the Town Councils was that service had not been re-instated to an acceptable level, the interveners elaborated:
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... we do not consider four minutes per day of canned local news, without film footage, to be a re-instatement of service... This is not an acceptable service.
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and:
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We believe the CBC has put the narrowest possible interpretation on the Commission's direction ... to restore some local production ...
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In response to the concerns expressed at the hearing by the interveners, Mr. John Power, CBC regional director for Newfoundland/Labrador, conveyed the Corporation's understanding of the position of the residents of these isolated towns and noted that these submissions indicated the degree to which local residents support and rely upon the CBC. He explained that since the station's last licence renewal in 1985, the regional broadcasting budgets for Newfoundland and Labrador had been reduced by $484,000, a total of 40 staff positions had been lost in the region, and another difficult year was anticipated for 1988/89.
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Mr. Power emphasized that the current level of service is the maximum the CBC can provide at this time, given its reduced resources, and argued that to provide the level of locally-originated programming requested would require the re-instatement of several staff positions.
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To compensate for the reduction in local television news and in order to improve the presentation and technical quality of its service in these areas, in recent months the CBC has allocated between $12,000 and $15,000 to upgrade its operating and technical television and radio facilities for Labrador City. These improvements, as outlined by Mr. Power, have enhanced the quality of local television newscasts and the Labrador City segments of the morning radio show.
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Mr. Power concluded his presentation by stating that as much as the CBC would like to promise further improvements to the service in Labrador City and Wabush, it would be financially unrealistic and misleading to do so. He further stated however:
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We will continue to meet with representatives of the communities, so there will be this continuing dialogue in our common purpose of exploring areas of possible improvements to the CBC service in western Labrador.
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The Commission's Conclusion
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While acknowledging the CBC's efforts and the improvements made to CBNLT's local programming service since its reinstatement in August 1987, specifically the allocation of funds to upgrade the Labrador City television and radio facilities and the fact that formation of the consultative committee has facilitated communication between the CBC and community representatives, the Commission is concerned that the local population still considers the level and quality of the local television service offered by CBNLT to be inadequate.
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The Commission is of the view that the CBC has a particular responsibility to maintain broadcasting services in isolated areas and that the capacity for local origination as a means of community expression should be of paramount consideration.
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In the particular case of Labrador City/Wabush, and having taken into account both the CBC's financial constraints and the residents' con-tinuing dissatisfaction with the amount and quality of the locally-originated productions, the Commission expects the CBC to broadcast, in place of advertisements or program promotion announcements, two additional minutes per weekday of local news updates, to be scheduled at a time that is convenient for local viewers. Until such time as the Corporation is in a position to provide a more complete local origination service at CBNLT, the Commission expects the CBC, in consultation with the community liaison committee, consisting of municipal government officials from both locations, to explore various means of upgrading the local service and improving the level and quality of local television coverage, in the context of the resources currently available to the CBC.
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Moreover, in noting the interveners' outline of the deficiencies in the production values of the local news summary as it is currently offered, the Commission requires the CBC to submit a report within three months of the date of this decision on the measures the Corporation will put in place to respond to this important concern, in a manner which meets the CBC's own high standards for local television production.
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Further, in view of the CBC's commitments to permit community access to the studio and transmitter facilities of CBNLT for local programming purposes, and given the active participation and involvement of residents in community activities as described by the representatives present at the Sydney hearing, the Commission encourages the community liaison com-mittee, in consultation with the Municipal Councils and CBC officials, to establish a community access proposal for television, similar to the radio access programs that have been developed in communities receiving the CBC Northern Service, specifically at Pond Inlet, North West Territories and Lac La Ronge, Saskatchewan.
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The Commission anticipates a high degree of volunteer activity and community input in any such endeavour and considers that there exists within the Labrador West region sufficient resources, talent and interest to ensure the success of such an initiative. The Corporation is required to report within six months of the date of this decision on the measures taken to develop a community access proposal.
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The Commission maintains the present condition of each licence which requires that programming broadcast by CBNLT and CBNLT-1 be received from studios located at Labrador City.
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Fernand Bélisle
Secretary General
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