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ARCHIVED -  Decision CRTC 99-541

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Decision CRTC 99-541

  Ottawa, 17 December 1999
  Les Médias Acadiens Universitaires inc.
Moncton, New Brunswick – 199901666
  28 June 1999 Public Hearing
National Capital Region
  Licence renewal for CKUM-FM
  1. The Commission renews from 1 March 2000 to 31 August 2001, the licence for the campus/community radio programming undertaking CKUM-FM Moncton.
  2. This eighteen-month term will enable the Commission to assess at an earlier date the licensee’s compliance with the Radio Regulations, 1986 (the regulations) regarding logger tapes.
  Background
  3. In Notice of Public Hearing CRTC 1999-5 dated 30 April 1999, the Commission called the licensee to appear at the June public hearing to discuss its apparent non-compliance with section 8 of the regulations relating to the retention and submission of logger tapes. The Commission advised the licensee that it would be expected to show cause at the hearing why the Commission should not issue a mandatory order requiring the licensee to comply with that section of the regulations.
  4. This is the second licence renewal decision in which the licensee has been found in non-compliance with the regulations. In Decision CRTC 95-364, the Commission renewed the CKUM-FM licence for four years because the licensee failed to comply with the regulatory requirements regarding the level of French-language vocal music broadcast. The Commission notes that the corrective measures taken by the licensee in this regard were effective.
  Current licence term
  5. During the current licence term, the Commission asked the licensee to submit the logger tapes and documentation for the programming broadcast from 31 May to 6 June 1998. Two months later, the licensee submitted incomplete tapes. It admitted at the time that by taking so long to submit the logger tapes and by submitting incomplete tapes, it failed to comply with the regulations. The licensee explained at the hearing that when it received the Commission’s request it was in the process of hiring staff, including a general manager, a position that had been vacant for some time. Before it could respond to the Commission’s request, the new general manager and staff needed time to become familiar with the regulatory requirements and Commission policies. The licensee also had to request the assistance of the Alliance des radios communautaires (ARC) du Canada to prepare the documentation. The licensee explained further that the logger tapes were incomplete essentially because of human error.
  6. The corrective measures taken by the licensee to ensure future compliance with section 8 of the regulations include training for employees and volunteers; purchasing new video tape recorders; preventive maintenance for the video tape recorders every four months; purchasing 200 new tape cassettes; weekly logger tape checks and keeping a record of all logger tape checks; a new numbering system for logger tapes; and possibly adding a second video tape recorder for a back-up system.
  7. In view of the explanations provided by the licensee and the corrective measures it has taken to ensure compliance in the new licence term, the Commission is satisfied that the licensee demonstrated at the hearing a firm intention to comply with the regulations in the future and that it showed cause why the Commission should not issue a mandatory order.
  8. The licensee is expected to comply fully with the regulatory requirements regarding logger tapes and other provisions of the regulations. The Commission has decided to renew CKUM-FM’s licence for a period of only eighteen months in order to assess, within a reasonable period, the effectiveness of the corrective measures taken by the station. It will monitor closely the licensee’s performance in this respect, and places the licensee on notice that if it determines the licensee to have again failed to meet the regulatory requirements, the Commission may take all enforcement measures available to it under the Broadcasting Act (the Act).
  Conditions of licence
  9. In addition to the conditions specified in the licence to be issued, the licence is subject to the conditions that:
 

· the licensee broadcast a maximum of 4 minutes per hour of restricted advertising;

 

· the licensee retain full control over all decisions concerning the management and programming of this station and that representatives of the student body, faculty, alumni or administration representatives of the university or college with which the station is associated, considered together, form the majority of the board of directors. In addition, the Commission reminds the licensee that, in accordance with the requirements of the Direction to the CRTC (Ineligibility of Non-Canadians) P.C. 1997-486, as amended by P.C. 1998-1268, the chief executive officer and not less than 80 per cent of the members of the board of directors must be Canadians ordinarily resident in Canada.

  Other matters
  10. On 18 February 1999, the Commission released Public Notice CRTC 1999-30 – Call for Comments on a Proposed New Policy for Campus Radio. When the new policy for campus radio is published, the licensee will be invited to apply to the Commission to amend any of its conditions of licence that may be affected by the new policy.
  11. 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. It considers that campus and community radio stations should be particularly sensitive to this issue in order to reflect fully the communities they serve. It encourages the licensee to consider employment equity issues in its hiring practices and in all other aspects of its management of human resources.
  12. Section 22 of the Act states that the Commission may not renew a licence unless the Department of Industry has certified that the licensee has been or will be issued a broadcasting certificate. Accordingly, this renewal is subject to the issuance of technical certification by the Department of Industry.
  Secretary General
  This decision is to be appended to the licence. It is available in alternative format upon request, and may also be viewed at the following Internet site: www.crtc.gc.ca
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