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Rouyn-Noranda, Ville-Marie, Fabre, Val d'Or, Lebel-sur-Quevillon, Joutel and Matagami, Quebec - 199712047
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Licence renewal for CKRN-TV and its transmitters
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1. Following a Public Hearing in Québec beginning on 27 January 1998, the Commission renews the broadcasting licence for CKRN-TV (SRC) Rouyn-Noranda and its transmitters CKRN-TV-2 Ville-Marie, CKRN-TV-3 Fabre, CJDG-TV Val d'Or, CJDG-TV-2 Lebel-sur-Quevillon, CJDG-TV-3 Joutel and CJDG-TV-4 Matagami from 1 September 1998 to 31 August 2002, subject to the conditions in effect under the current licence, as well as to those conditions specified in this decision and in the licence to be issued.
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2. In Decision CRTC 92-555 dated 13 August 1992 which last renewed this licence, the Commission outlined the licensee's commitment to produce and broadcast, on a yearly basis, a minimum weekly average of 2 hours and 30 minutes of local news programming. The licensee did not honour this commitment in 1993-94, 1994-95 or 1995-96. The four-year term granted herein will enable the Commission to assess at an early date the licensee's adherence to the commitments made for the new licence term.
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3. In its licence renewal application, the licensee proposed to decrease the minimum amount of local news programming that it broadcasts from 2 hours and 30 minutes to 2 hours and 5 minutes. Having considered the application, the interventions submitted by the Conseil de la culture de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue and the Conseil régional de développement de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue as well as the licensee's reply to the interventions, the Commission is of the view that the licensee's circumstances do not warrant a departure from its long-standing practice of denying licence amendment applications filed by Iicensees who are in non-compliance. Accordingly, it denies the Iicensee's application.
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4. The Commission therefore expects the licensee to broadcast, on a yearly basis, a minimum weekly average of 2 hours and 30 minutes of local news programming, and to ensure that these newscasts are different from those of CFEM-TV (TVA) Rouyn-Noranda and CFVS-TV (TQS) Val d'Or.
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5. In Decision CRTC 92-555, the Commission also set out the expectation that the licensee would increase the amount of local news programming broadcast, as soon as its financial situation had improved. The licensee did not meet this expectation despite an increase in its level of profitability. The Commission therefore expects the licensee to increase the amount of local news programming broadcast and will re-examine this at the time of CKRN-TV's next licence renewal.
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6. The Commission expects the licensee to reflect, in its local programming, the cultural, economic, political and social reality of the region, taking into account the requirements set out in the Policy for Local Television Programming (Public Notice CRTC 1991-22).
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7. With respect to captioning for the hearing impaired, the licensee, in its licence renewal application, set out a commitment to provide captioning (open or closed) or signing for its local news headlines, as of the 1997-98 broadcast year. The Commission requires the licensee to submit a report, by no later than 31 December 1998, outlining its progress towards meeting this commitment. The Commission encourages the licensee to make yearly progress in the area of captioning.
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8. In addition to the 12 minutes of advertising material permitted by subsection 11(1) of the Television Broadcasting Regulations, 1987, the licensee may, by condition of licence, broadcast infomercials as defined in Public Notice CRTC 1994-139 and in accordance with the criteria contained in that public notice, as amended.
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9. It is a condition of licence that the licensee 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).
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10. It is also a condition of licence that the licensee 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.
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11. It is a condition of licence that the licensee 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 applica-tion of the foregoing condition of licence will be suspended as long as the licensee remains a member in good standing of the CBSC.
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12. The Commission notes that this licensee is subject to the Employment Equity Act that came into effect on 24 October 1996 (1996 EEA), and therefore files reports concerning employment equity with Human Resources Development Canada. Under the 1996 EEA, the Commission no longer has authority over employment equity for any undertaking that is subject to the 1996 EEA.
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13. The Commission acknowledges the intervention submitted by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation with regard to this application.
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This decision is to be appended to the licence.
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Laura M. Talbot-Allan
Secretary General
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This document is available in alternative format upon request.
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