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Decision
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Ottawa, 22 June 1989
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Decision CRTC 89-371
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Boundary Broadcasting Limited
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Grand Forks, Christina Lake, Greenwood and Rock Creek, British Columbia - 883493900
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Following a Public Hearing held in Vancouver commencing 20 February 1989, the Commission renews the broadcasting licences for CKGF Grand Forks and its rebroadcasting undertakings CKGF-1-FM Christina Lake and CKGF-2-FM Greenwood, from 1 September 1989 to 31 August 1991, subject to the conditions specified in this decision and in the licences to be issued. This two-year licence term will enable the Commission to assess, at an early date, the licensee's performance in response to the concerns set out in this decision.The Commission renews, for a period of one year only, from 1 September 1989 to 31 August 1990, the broadcasting licence for a third rebroadcaster of CKGF located at Rock Creek. The licence is subject to the conditions specified in this decision and in the licence to be issued.Authority for CKGF's three FM rebroadcasters was granted in July 1984 (Decisions CRTC 84-556 and 84-557). To date, the licensee has implemented its authority for only two of the rebroadcasters; the third at Rock Creek has yet to be established. At the hearing the licensee stated that an unexpected decline in its financial performance had forced a delay in constructing the Rock Creek undertaking. It indicated, however, that its financial situation has now stabilized and that it should be able to have the Rock Creek undertaking in operation within 15 months of the hearing date:
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We're anxious to proceed with it... We would expect that it could be put on in the fall of this year, unless weather conditions create a severe problem, and then we would hold the equipment in storage and install in the spring.
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Accordingly, it is a condition of licence that construction of the Rock Creek undertaking be completed and that it be in operation by 31 May 1990.
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The licensee produces and broadcasts a total of 75 hours 15 minutes of local programming per week. For an additional 92 hours 45 minutes per week, CKGF operates as a network affiliate of Kootenay Broadcasting Company Limited, broadcasting programs received from CKAT Trail.
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As part of its assessment of the licensee's performance during the current licence term, the Commission requested logger tapes for the programming broadcast on CKGF on 23 February 1988. In a letter submitted with the logger tapes for that date, CKGF's station manager acknowledged that the tapes were incomplete:
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You will find approximately 90 minutes missing on the monitor tape... These errors were caused by a new employee during my vacation.
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On three subsequent occasions the Commission sought to monitor the Canadian content of the programming broadcast by CKGF Grand Forks, but found itself unable to do so due to the fact that the tapes submitted for each of the three days in question failed to include the network programming received from CKAT Trail.
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At the hearing, the licensee acknowledged the problems described above. In order to ensure no recurrence, the licensee indicated that it had ordered a tape machine with "the capability to record all programming, 24-hours-a-day, on CKGF" including the network programming received from CKAT Trail.
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Subsections 8(5) and 8(6) of the Radio Regulations, 1986 (the regulations) require each licensee to retain, and to furnish to the Commission upon request, "a clear and intelligible tape recording or other exact copy of all matter broadcast" for a period of at least four weeks from the date of broadcast. The Commission reminds the licensee of the importance of complying with the logger tape provisions of the regulations. Among other things, such requirements are necessary to facilitate the Commission's task of monitoring the performance of its licensees in meeting the requirements for Canadian content.
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Accordingly, the Commission requires the licensee to report within 60 days of the date of this decision confirming that the equipment referred to above is installed, operating and capable of meeting the requirements of the regulations. The Commission also expects the licensee to ensure that 30% or more of the musical selections broadcast on CKGF each broadcast day are Canadian selections, as required by subsection 13(2) of the regulations.
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The Commission reaffirms the particular importance it attaches to the development of Canadian talent and notes that the licensee has allocated an annual budget of $1,000 in direct expenditures to support such initiatives as its March of Dimes Talent Night, a Christmas Carol Festival, the purchase of syndicated programs and a $200 annual contribution to FACTOR. The Commission encourages the licensee to continue these efforts during the licence term and to develop new initiatives for the support, development and on-air exposure of local and regional talent.
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It is a condition of licence that the licensee adhere to the provisions of The Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children published by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), as amended from time to time and approved by the Commission.
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It is also a condition of licence that the licensee adhere to the CAB's self-regulatory guidelines on sex-role stereotyping, as amended from time to time and approved by the Commission.
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In Public Notice CRTC 1986-351 dated 22 December 1986, entitled Policy on Sex-Role Stereotyping in the Broadcast Media, the Commission stated that it intended to review with broadcasters at licence renewal time their efforts towards the elimination of sex-role stereotyping. In a letter to the Commission dated 11 September 1984, the licensee submitted a report outlining the station's policies and practices to prevent on-the-job discrimination. Not addressed, however, were any initiatives either taken or proposed by the licensee to avoid the presence of sex-role stereotyping in CKGF's programming or to deal with any complaints that might be received in this regard. Accordingly, the Commission requires the licensee to submit a further report within three months of the date of this decision, detailing the measures it has taken to address all of the concerns and expectations outlined in the Commission's policy statement.
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Fernand Bélisle
Secretary General
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