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Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2006-602
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Ottawa, 24 October 2006
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Standard Radio Inc.
Montréal, Quebec
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Application 2005-1563-7
Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2006-83
7 July 2006
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CHOM-FM Montréal - Licence renewal
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The Commission renews the broadcasting licence for the commercial radio programming undertaking CHOM-FM Montréal, from 1 January 2007 to 31 August 2013.
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The application
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1.
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The Commission received an application by Standard Radio Inc. (Standard) to renew the broadcasting licence for the commercial radio programming undertaking CHOM-FM Montreal. The licence expires on 31 December 20061.
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2.
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As part of its application, Standard provided an update on the distribution of expenditures required under the terms of Acquisition of assets, Decision CRTC 2001-768, 20 December 2001 (Decision 2001-768), in which the Commission approved an application by Standard to acquire the assets of CHOM-FM from CHUM Limited. The licensee also provided plans related to the disbursement of the remaining benefits, as well as its plans related to Canadian talent development, commencing 1 September 2006.
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Intervention
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3.
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The Commission received an intervention offering general comments in connection with this application, from the Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo (ADISQ).
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4.
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ADISQ expressed its concerns regarding the streamlined process set out by the Commission in The CRTC Streamlines Radio Renewals Process, Broadcasting Circular CRTC 2002-448, 7 June 2002. ADISQ noted that there were not enough evaluations of the station's compliance throughout the current licence term and submitted that the streamlined process should be supported by adequate monitoring, with compliance reports placed on public files. The intervener is convinced that current technological resources could certainly allow the Commission to conduct much more frequent evaluations of the licensee's programming without requiring significant additional resources.
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5.
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ADISQ pointed out that the public file contained only one compliance evaluation for CHOM-FM's current licence term. The intervener finds this situation unfortunate because it is unable to assess the station's compliance with its requirements regarding the broadcast of Canadian music selections and French-language vocal music selections.
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6.
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ADISQ is pleased to note that CHOM-FM has met its Canadian talent development (CTD) obligations for the years 2001 to 2005, and that the licensee intends to renew its current CTD condition of licence requiring annual CTD contributions to MusicAction. However, ADISQ finds it unfortunate that it was unable to validate the information for the years 1999 and 2000.
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7.
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Standard did not reply to the intervention.
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Commission's analysis and determinations
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8.
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The Commission is satisfied with the licensee's plans for the continuation of disbursement of the benefits remaining under the terms of Decision 2001-768. The Commission notes that, by condition of licence, the licensee will contribute a minimum of $8,000 annually to MusicAction, as part of the CTD plan developed by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters.
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9.
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The Commission notes ADISQ's comments concerning the streamlined renewal process for radio licences. In Review of the Commercial Radio Policy, Broadcasting Notice of Public Hearing CRTC 2006-1, 13 January 2006, the Commission invited written comments from interested parties on various issues, including issues relating to the streamlined renewal process for radio licences. The Commission held a public hearing on this issue commencing 15 May 2006 in the National Capital Region. The Commission further notes that the monitoring of CHOM-FM's programming conducted by the Commission is consistent with the Commission's Radio Monitoring Plan.
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10.
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In Call for comments on the Commission's service standards,Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2006-16, 10 February 2006, the Commission announced that for the year 2006-2007, it was undertaking streamlining measures to specifically address, among other topics, licence renewal applications that are dealt with by public notice. In Streamlined processes for certain broadcasting applications,Broadcasting Circular CRTC 2006-1, 27 March 2006, the Commission announced that it would continue to examine additional options to increase the efficiency of its procedures, including a further streamlining of the licence renewal process. Finally, in Introduction of service standards for certain broadcasting applications,Broadcasting Circular CRTC 2006-2, 5 April 2006, the Commission announced new service standards for its processing of certain types of applications, including applications for licence renewals currently processed using the public notice approach.
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11.
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ADISQ's concerns regarding the streamlined renewal process for radio licences will be considered in the Commission's deliberations on this issue. The Commission further notes that technological resources that could facilitate the evaluation of licensees' programming are now available, and therefore encourages ADISQ to explore these resources. The Commission is of the view that ADISQ could itself assess the compliance of licensees.
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12.
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Accordingly, the Commission renews the broadcasting licence for the commercial radio programming undertaking CHOM-FM Montréal, from 1 January 2007 to 31 August 2013. The licence will be subject to the conditions set out in New licence form for commercial radio stations, Public Notice CRTC 1999-137, 24 August 1999.
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Employment equity
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13.
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Because this licensee is subject to the Employment Equity Act and files reports concerning employment equity with the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development, its employment equity practices are not examined by the Commission.
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Secretary General
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This decision is to be appended to the licence. It is available in alternative format upon request, and may also be examined in PDF format or in HTML at the following Internet site: www.crtc.gc.ca
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Footnotes:
[] In Administrative renewals, Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2006-396, 23 August 2006, the Commission renewed the broadcasting licence for the radio programming undertaking CHOM-FM from 1 September 2006 to 31 December 2006.
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Date Modified: 2006-10-24