ARCHIVED -  Decision CRTC 95-521

This page has been archived on the Web

Information identified as archived on the Web is for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. Archived Decisions, Notices and Orders (DNOs) remain in effect except to the extent they are amended or reversed by the Commission, a court, or the government. The text of archived information has not been altered or updated after the date of archiving. Changes to DNOs are published as “dashes” to the original DNO number. Web pages that are archived on the Web are not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards. As per the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, you can request alternate formats by contacting us.

Decision

Ottawa, 10 August 1995
Decision CRTC 95-521
Thunder Bay Electronics Ltd.
Thunder Bay, Ontario - 940647100 - 940648900
Licence renewals for CKPR-TV and CHFD-TV Thunder Bay
Following a Public Hearing held in the National Capital Region beginning on 15 May 1995, the Commission renews the broadcasting licences for television programming undertakings CKPR-TV and CHFD-TV Thunder Bay, from 1 September 1995 to 31 August 2002, subject to the conditions in effect under the current licences, as well as to those conditions specified in the appendices to this decision and in the licences to be issued.
Thunder Bay Electronics Ltd. is wholly-owned and controlled by local resident Mr. H.F. Dougall through H.F. Dougall Company Limited.
CKPR-TV is an affiliate of the CBC English-language television network. CHFD-TV is an affiliate of the CTV Television Network.
Local reflection
On 24 March 1995, the Commission issued Public Notice CRTC 1995-48 in conjunction with the release of decisions renewing the licences of privately-owned English-language television stations in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec. In that public notice, the Commission reiterated the importance of the principle of local reflection and reminded television licensees that they have a special responsibility to serve the public within the particular geographic areas they are licenced to serve.
(i) Local news
During the current licence term, CKPR-TV essentially fulfilled its commitment to produce an average of 7 hours 59 minutes of original, local news programming weekly. CKPR-TV surpassed its commitment during the period from 1991-1993. According to the Commission's monitoring of CKPR-TV's program logs, the station produced an average of 8 hours 15 minutes of original, local news weekly in the 1991-1992 broadcast year, and an average of 8 hours 17 minutes weekly in 1992-1993.
During the 1993-1994 broadcast year, however, CKPR-TV fell short of its commitment to local news programming by an average of 24 minutes each week. The licensee explained that during this period it had replaced full local newscasts with regular updates of local news scheduled throughout prime time, and that it had presented a nightly "wrap up" of local news with the 11:00 p.m. newscast broadcast on CHFD-TV.
For its part, CHFD-TV fulfilled its commitment throughout the current licence term to produce an average of 2 hours 45 minutes of original, local news programming weekly. During the period of 1991 to 1994, CHFD-TV surpassed its commitment. According to the Commission's monitoring of CHFD-TV's program logs, the station broadcast an average of 5 hours 31 minutes of original, local news weekly during the 1991-1992 broadcast year, and an average of 5 hours 5 minutes weekly in 1993-1994.
During the new licence term, the Commission expects the licensee to adhere to the commitments made in its licence renewal applications to broadcast a minimum weekly average of 7 hours 40 minutes of original, local news on CKPR-TV, and a minimum weekly average of 3 hours 7 minutes of original, local news on CHFD-TV.
During the current licence term, the licensee fulfilled its commitment to produce "Northwest Newsweek", a weekly, 30-minute program which reviews regional news stories. The Commission notes that the licensee proposed to continue to broadcast "Northwest Newsweek" on both CKPR-TV and CHFD-TV during the new licence term.
(ii)) Other local programming
During the current licence term, the licensee co-produced two outdoor shows, one in association with Superior Fishing, and the other in association with Outdoor Encounters. The licensee also co-produced a documentary on aboriginal issues in association with Magic Arrow Productions, Lakehead University and Thunder Bay Television.
In its licence renewal applications, the licensee stated that it would actively seek potential opportunities to co-produce programming with the independent production community. The licensee identified, as a priority, the development of a drama series whose target audience would be youth between the ages of 12 and 17 years. In addition, the licensee stated that it plans to co-produce with Magic Arrow Productions a series of vignettes featuring native traditions, legends and beliefs, and to syndicate this series for broadcast on other television stations across Canada.
The Commission encourages the licensee to pursue opportunities for co-productions during the new licence term.
Expenditures on Canadian programming
The Commission expects the licensee to expend for each station, in the first year of the new licence term, at a minimum, the amount it was expected to expend for that station in the 1994-1995 broadcast year. In each subsequent year of the licence term, the Commission expects the licensee's Canadian programming expenditures for each station to be adjusted in accordance with the Commission's prescribed formula.
Service to the deaf and hard of hearing
During the current licence term, the licensee fulfilled its commitments with regard to captioning of local programming broadcast on CKPR-TV and CHFD-TV. At the beginning of the current licence term, the licensee computerized the news rooms of CKPR-TV and CHFD-TV. Currently, each station captions all headlines and scripted portions of its studio newscasts.
Consistent with its policy approach for closed captioning announced in Public Notice CRTC 1995-48, the Commission encourages the licensee, by the end of the licence term, to caption all local news programming broadcast on CKPR-TV and CHFD-TV, respectively, including live segments, using either real-time captioning or another method capable of captioning live programming.
The Commission also encourages the licensee to close caption at least 90% of all programming broadcast by CKPR-TV and CHFD-TV, respectively, during the broadcast day by the end of the licence term.
Employment equity
In Public Notice CRTC 1992-59 dated 1 September 1992 and entitled "Implementation of an Employment Equity Policy", the Commission announced that the employment equity practices of broadcasters would be subject to examination by the Commission. In its applications, the licensee stated that it is currently preparing an employment equity program and that it will forward to the Commission its action plan for employment equity, once it is completed by an independent consultant. The Commission requires the licensee to develop and implement an effective plan of action to ensure that adequate employment equity practices are followed throughout its organization.
Interventions
The Commission acknowledges the many interventions submitted in support of these applications for licence renewal.
Allan J. Darling
Secretary General
APPENDIX I / ANNEXE I
Conditions of Licence for CKPR-TV Thunder Bay
1. The licensee shall operate this broadcasting undertaking as an affiliate of the English-language television network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
2. The licensee shall adhere to the guidelines on gender portrayal set out in the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' (CAB) "Sex-Role Portrayal Code for Television and Radio Programming", as amended from time to time and accepted by the Commission. The application of the foregoing condition of licence will be suspended as long as the licensee remains a member in good standing of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC).
3. The licensee shall adhere to the guidelines on the depiction of violence in television programming set out in the CAB's "Voluntary Code Regarding Violence in Television Programming", as amended from time to time and accepted by the Commission. The application of the foregoing condition of licence will be suspended as long as the licensee remains a member in good standing of the CBSC.
4. The licensee shall adhere to the provisions of the CAB's "Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children", as amended from time to time and accepted by the Commission.
APPENDIX II/ ANNEXE II
Conditions of licence for CHFD-TV Thunder Bay
1. The licensee shall operate this broadcasting undertaking as part of the network operated by CTV Television Network Ltd.
2. The licensee shall adhere to the guidelines on gender portrayal set out in the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' (CAB) "Sex-Role Portrayal Code for Television and Radio Programming", as amended from time to time and accepted by the Commission. The application of the foregoing condition of licence will be suspended as long as the licensee remains a member in good standing of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC).
3. The licensee shall adhere to the guidelines on the depiction of violence in television programming set out in the CAB's "Voluntary Code Regarding Violence in Television Programming", as amended from time to time and accepted by the Commission. The application of the foregoing condition of licence will be suspended as long as the licensee remains a member in good standing of the CBSC.
4. The licensee shall adhere to the provisions of the CAB's "Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children", as amended from time to time and accepted by the Commission.

Date modified: