The Commission had previously announced on 30 July 1996, that it had been advised by the Department of Canadian Heritage that the Governor in Council may direct the Commission, pursuant to paragraph 26(1)(b) of the Broadcasting Act, respecting the reservation of FM channels for use by the CBC. In light of the possibility that the Governor in Council could direct the Commission respecting the reservation of channels 236B (Montréal, Quebec) and 256C1 (Toronto, Ontario) for the CBC, the Commission stated that the deadlines for filing applications in response to Public Notice CRTC 1996-74 (Montréal) and Public Notice CRTC 1996-73 (as amended by Public Notice CRTC 1996-73-1) (Toronto) no longer applied.