ARCHIVED - Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2009-667

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Route reference: 2009-293

Ottawa, 26 October 2009

CPAM Radio Union.com inc.
Montréal, Quebec

Application 2009-0646-4, received 22 April 2009

CJWI Montréal – Technical change

The Commission approves an application by CPAM Radio Union.com inc. to amend the broadcasting licence for the French-language ethnic commercial AM radio station CJWI Montréal by changing the frequency from 1610 kHz (class C) to 1410 kHz (class B), by modifying the authorized contours by increasing the transmitter power from 1,000 to 10,000 watts day and night, and by relocating its antenna to another site. The implementation is subject to the notification by the Department of Industry discussed in paragraph 11 below.

Introduction

1. The Commission received an application by CPAM Radio Union.com inc. (CPAM) to amend the broadcasting licence for the French-language ethnic commercial AM radio programming undertaking CJWI Montréal by changing the frequency from 1610 kHz (class C) to 1410 kHz (class B), by modifying the authorized contours by increasing the transmitter power from 1,000 to 10,000 watts day and night, and by relocating its antenna to another site.

2. The licensee indicated that listeners in certain areas, specifically downtown Montréal and Montréal’s north and south shores, are having difficulty receiving the existing AM signal.

3. CPAM explained that during the past two years, an AM radio station from Toronto broadcasting on the same frequency has become a source of sky wave interference, particularly at night. Moreover, since CJWI’s target audience has moved to the Montréal suburbs, the proposed technical changes would allow it to remedy the interference problem and provide a higher quality signal to its audience.

4. The Commission received interventions in support of the application, as well as interventions opposing it. The public record for this proceeding is available on the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca under "Public Proceedings."

Commission’s analysis and determinations

5. After examining the application and interventions, the Commission finds that the primary issue to be addressed in its determinations is whether it is appropriate to permit CPAM to implement a technical change that would substantially expand the authorized contours of CJWI Montréal.

6. Communications Michel Mathieu and other interveners opposed the application, stating that the licensee does not need 10,000 watts or a frequency change because the service was licensed to provide a French-language radio service to the Haitian and Latin-American communities in the greater Montréal area. The intervention filed by Communications Michel Mathieu included a letter from Maison Haïti dated 2 June 2009, in which Maison Haïti notes that the great majority of the members of the communities targeted by the station still live mainly in the communities of Saint-Michel, Montréal Nord, Rivières des Prairies and Saint-Léonard. According to other interveners, the rationale to use a new AM frequency, with a night-time and day-time transmitter power of 1,000 watts, to provide a high-quality service to the members of those communities is still relevant. The interveners also pointed out that that frequency would no longer be available for a new service.

7. In its reply, the licensee stated that it did not deny the facts raised by Maison Haïti but submitted that the communities in question were moving to the suburbs. The licensee further submitted that the engineer’s report filed by Communications Michel Mathieu was not realistic, since it proposed using frequency 1610 kHz to increase the power to 10,000 watts and this proposal is not appropriate because it would exacerbate interference with the Toronto AM station operating on frequency 1610 kHz.

8. After examining the application, the interventions and the licensee’s replies to the interventions, the Commission is satisfied that the proposed technical change would enable the licensee to serve the needs of its target audience. The Commission notes that CPAM has a distinct mandate: it is a French-language ethnic station serving three distinct cultural groups – the Haitian, Latin American and African communities. The Commission has also taken into consideration the fact that the station contributes to the diversity of musical formats in the market and constitutes a voice in news and public affairs by broadcasting French-language programming aimed primarily at the above-mentioned ethnocultural groups.

9. Further, given the highly specialized nature of the service and the fact that the change would result in only a slight increase in revenues, the Commission considers that the economic impact of the proposed change on existing stations would be minimal.

Conclusion

10. In light of all of the above, the Commission approves the application by CPAM Radio Union.com inc. to amend the broadcasting licence for the French-language ethnic commercial AM radio programming undertaking CJWI Montréal by changing the frequency from 1610 kHz (class C) to 1410 kHz (class B), by modifying the authorized contours by increasing the transmitter power from 1,000 to 10,000 watts day and night, and by relocating its antenna to another site.

11. The Commission reminds the licensee that pursuant to section 22(1) of the Broadcasting Act, this authority will only be effective when the Department of Industry (the Department) notifies the Commission that its technical requirements have been met and that a broadcasting certificate will be issued. Therefore, in the absence of the notification by the Department, the licensee will not be able to implement the new technical parameters approved in this decision.

Secretary General

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: http://www.crtc.gc.ca.

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