ARCHIVED - Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2013-445

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Route reference: 2013-218

Ottawa, 27 August 2013

Acadia Broadcasting Limited
Sioux Lookout and Red Lake, Ontario

Applications 2012-1371-9 and 2012-1360-3, received 26 October 2012

CKDR-2-FM Sioux Lookout and its transmitters, and CKDR-5-FM Red Lake and its transmitter – Licence renewals

The Commission renews the broadcasting licences for the commercial radio station CKDR-2-FM Sioux Lookout and its transmitters CKDR-1 Ignace and CKDR-3 Hudson, and for the commercial radio station CKDR-5-FM Red Lake and its transmitter CKDR-4 Ear Falls from 1 September 2013 to 31 August 2020.

Introduction

1. Acadia Broadcasting Limited (Acadia) filed applications to renew the broadcasting licences for the commercial radio station CKDR-2-FM Sioux Lookout, Ontario and its transmitters CKDR-1 Ignace and CKDR-3 Hudson, and for the commercial radio station CKDR-5-FM Red Lake, Ontario and its transmitter CKDR-4 Ear Falls, which expire 31 August 2013.^[1]

2. The Commission received an intervention by the Province of Ontario related to the participation of these stations in the National Public Alerting System (NPAS). The public record for these applications is available on the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca under “Public Proceedings.”

3. As specified in its three-year plan, the Commission will be looking at measures to ensure the participation of Canadian broadcasters and telecommunications service providers in the NPAS. Therefore, the Commission will not impose conditions of licence requiring the participation of broadcasters in the NPAS at this time. However, the Commission expects all licensees to voluntarily participate in the NPAS so that Canadians receive timely warnings of imminent perils.

Change to the schedule for paying tangible benefits

Acadia’s proposal

4. As part of its licence renewal application, Acadia requested to change the payment schedule for the tangible benefits package that the Commission approved by administrative letter and announced in Broadcasting Public Notice 2007-60. This benefits package was put in place as part of the transaction in which the ownership and effective control of Fawcet Broadcasting were transferred to Northwoods Broadcasting Limited. Acadia assumed responsibility for the benefits package when control was transferred to it in 2012.

5. The benefits packaged provided for total expenditures of $223,387 by the end of the 2013-2014 broadcast year, allocated as follows:

• Radio Starmaker Fund/Fonds RadioStar (Starmaker): $111,694
• FACTOR: $73,717
• Local initiatives: $37,976

6. Acadia indicated that it had, through an oversight, directed all payments originally allocated to Starmaker to local initiatives between 2008 and 2012. Accordingly, Acadia submitted a revised payment schedule for the Commission’s approval. Under the revised schedule, all funds to support local initiatives for the remaining two broadcast years would be paid to Starmaker.

7. Acadia acknowledged that, despite its revised plan, there would still be a shortfall of $59,279 in payments to Starmaker at the end of the original seven-year term for the benefits package. It therefore proposed to continue to make payments to Starmaker over the next licence term until it had fulfilled the original commitment to pay $111,694 to Starmaker. Acadia argued that repaying the entire outstanding balance by the end of the 2013-2014 broadcast year would have a negative financial impact on its radio stations.

Commission’s analysis and decisions

8. The Commission notes that there has been no overall shortfall in Acadia’s contributions to the benefits package. Rather there has been an overpayment to one initiative and an underpayment to another. The Commission is of the view that Acadia made its payments in good faith and notes that, upon identifying the error, it proposed a revised payment schedule to compensate for the shortfall to Starmaker.

9. The revised plan that Acadia has proposed would result in an overpayment of its tangible benefits package since the amount designated for local initiatives would be exceeded. However, over a seven-year licence term, Acadia would have an additional six years to complete the terms of its original agreement with respect to contributions to Starmaker. The Commission considers that such a long extension would be unfair to Starmaker. After reviewing the complete record of this proceeding, the Commission considers that it is appropriate to grant an extension to 31 August 2015 for Acadia to complete its required contributions to Starmaker.

Conclusion

10. The Commission renews the broadcasting licences for the commercial radio programming undertaking CKDR-2-FM Sioux Lookout, Ontario and its transmitters CKDR-1 Ignace and CKDR-3 Hudson, and for the commercial radio programming undertaking CKDR-5-FM Red Lake, Ontario and its transmitter CKDR-4 Ear Falls from 1 September 2013 to 31 August 2020. The licence will be subject to conditions of licence set out in Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2009-62, as amended from time time, with the exception of condition of licence 8 relating to single-station markets.

Employment equity

11. In accordance with Implementation of an employment equity policy, Public Notice CRTC 1992-59, 1 September 1992, the Commission encourages the licensee to consider employment equity issues in its hiring practices and in all other aspects of its management of human resources.

Secretary General

Related documents

• Notice of applications received, Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2013-218, 7 May 2013
• Various radio programming undertakings – Administrative renewals, Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2012-447, 17 August 2012, as corrected by Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2012-447-1, 22 August 2012
• Conditions of licence for commercial AM and FM radio stations, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2009-62, 11 February 2009
• Applications granted approval pursuant to streamlined procedures, Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2007-60, 7 June 2007

*This decision is to be appended each licence.

Date modified:

2013-08-27