Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2020-344

PDF version

Ottawa, 30 September 2020

Public record: 1011-NOC2020-0344

Notice of hearing

3 December 2020
Gatineau, Quebec

Deadline for submission of interventions/comments/answers: 30 October 2020

[Submit an intervention/comment/answer or view related documents]

The Commission will hold a hearing on 3 December 2020 at 11:00 a.m., at the Commission Headquarters, 1 Promenade du Portage, Gatineau, Quebec. The Commission intends to consider the following applications, subject to interventions, without the appearance of the parties:

Applicant/Licensee and Locality

1. Maritime Broadcasting System Limited
Digby, Nova Scotia
Application 2020-0175-9

Application by Maritime Broadcasting System Limited for a broadcasting licence to operate an English-language commercial FM radio station in Digby to replace its English-language commercial AM radio station CKDY Digby.

The station would operate at 99.7 MHz (channel 259B1) with an average effective radiated power (ERP) of 2.39 KW (directional antenna with a maximum ERP of 6.53 KW with an effective height of antenna above average terrain of 165.7 metres).

The applicant proposes to broadcast 126 hours of programming per broadcast week, of which a minimum of 42 hours would be devoted to local programming.

The applicant also proposes a Country music format.

Background

In Broadcasting Administrative Decision CRTC L2020-15, 26 March 2020, the Commission administratively approved an application to amend the broadcasting licence for CKDY in order to add an English-language temporary low power FM rebroadcasting transmitter in Digby, due to serious vandalism and destruction of CKDY’s AM transmitter site. In the application, the licensee indicated that since CKDY is the only radio station in the community, it was essential that the station came back on air as soon as possible. It also indicated that since new components for AM transmission are increasingly becoming obsolete and would take a considerable amount of time and expense to replace, a temporary FM transmitter would be the quickest interim solution, while full conversion to the FM band would represent the most cost-effective long-term solution.

The Commission may withdraw this application from the public hearing if it is not advised by the Department of Industry, at least 20 days prior to the hearing, that the application is technically acceptable.

Applicant’s address:

90 Lovett Lake Court
Suite 101
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3S 0H6
Email: corinne.crockett@mbsradio.com
Email to request electronic version of application: corinne.crockett@mbsradio.com

2. Amherstburg Broadcasting Corporation
Amherstburg, Ontario
Application 2020-0369-8

Application by Amherstburg Broadcasting Corporation, for a broadcasting licence to operate a low-power English-language commercial FM radio station in Amherstburg.

The station would operate at 107.9 MHz (channel 300LP) with an effective radiated power of 50 watts (non-directional antenna with an effective height of antenna above average terrain of 51.6 metres).

The applicant proposes to broadcast 126 hours of programming per broadcast week, of which 123.5 hours would be devoted to local programming.

The applicant proposes a mix of news, talk and adult contemporary music targeting the entire population of Amherstburg.

The Commission may withdraw this application from the public hearing if it is not advised by the Department of Industry, at least 20 days prior to the hearing, that the application is technically acceptable.

Applicant’s address:

494 Front Road North
Amherstburg, Ontario
N9V 2V7
Email: martynadler@bell.net
Email to request electronic version of application: martynadler@bell.net

Procedure

Deadline for interventions, comments or answers

30 October 2020

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Rules of Practice and Procedure (the Rules of Procedure) apply to the present proceeding. The Rules of Procedure set out, among other things, the rules for content, format, filing and service of interventions, answers, replies and requests for information; the procedure for filing confidential information and requesting its disclosure; and the conduct of public hearings. Accordingly, the procedure set out below must be read in conjunction with the Rules of Procedure and related documents, which can be found on the Commission’s website under “Statutes and Regulations.” Guidelines on the CRTC Rules of Practice and Procedure, Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin CRTC 2010-959, 23 December 2010, provides information to help interested persons and parties understand the Rules of Procedure so that they can more effectively participate in Commission proceedings.

An intervention or answer from a respondent must be received by the Commission and by the applicant on or before the above-mentioned date. An answer from a respondent must also be served on any other respondent.

Interventions and answers should clearly identify the application referred to and indicate whether parties support or oppose the application, or, if they propose changes to it, include the facts and grounds for their proposal.

The Commission encourages interested persons and parties to monitor the record of the proceeding, available on the Commission’s website, for additional information that they may find useful when preparing their submissions.

Submissions longer than five pages should include a summary. Each paragraph of all submissions should be numbered, and the line ***End of document*** should follow the last paragraph. This will help the Commission verify that the document has not been damaged during electronic transmission.

Pursuant to Filing submissions for Commission proceedings in accessible formats, Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin CRTC 2015-242, 8 June 2015, the Commission expects incorporated entities and associations, and encourages all Canadians, to file submissions for Commission proceedings in accessible formats (for example, text-based file formats that allow text to be enlarged or modified, or read by screen readers). To provide assistance in this regard, the Commission has posted on its website guidelines for preparing documents in accessible formats.

Submissions must be filed by sending them to the Secretary General of the Commission using only one of the following means:

by completing the
[Intervention/comment/answer form]

or

by mail to
CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N2

or

by fax at
819-994-0218

A true copy of each intervention or answer from a respondent must be sent to the applicant and, in the case of a respondent to an application, to any other respondent.

Parties who send documents electronically must ensure that they will be able to prove, upon Commission request, that filing, or where required, service of a particular document was completed. Accordingly, parties must keep proof of the sending and receipt of each document for 180 days after the date on which the document is filed or served. The Commission advises parties who file or serve documents by electronic means to exercise caution when using email for the service of documents, as it may be difficult to establish that service has occurred.

In accordance with the Rules of Procedure, a document must be received by the Commission and all relevant parties by 5 p.m. Vancouver time (8 p.m. Ottawa time) on the date it is due. Parties are responsible for ensuring the timely delivery of their submissions and will not be notified if their submissions are received after the deadline. Late submissions, including those due to postal delays, will not be considered by the Commission and will not be made part of the public record.

The Commission will not formally acknowledge submissions. It will, however, fully consider all submissions, which will form part of the public record of the proceeding, provided that the procedure for filing set out above has been followed.

Important notice

All information that parties provide as part of this public process, except information designated confidential, whether sent by postal mail, fax, email or through the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca, becomes part of a publicly accessible file and will be posted on the Commission’s website. This information includes personal information, such as full names, email addresses, postal/street addresses, telephone and fax numbers, etc.

The personal information that parties provide will be used and may be disclosed for the purpose for which the information was obtained or compiled by the Commission, or for a use consistent with that purpose.

Documents received electronically or otherwise will be put on the Commission’s website in their entirety exactly as received, including any personal information contained therein, in the official language and format in which they are received. Documents not received electronically will be available in PDF format.

The information that parties provide to the Commission as part of this public process is entered into an unsearchable database dedicated to this specific public process. This database is accessible only from the web page of this particular public process. As a result, a general search of the Commission’s website with the help of either its own search engine or a third-party search engine will not provide access to the information that was provided as part of this public process.

Availability of documents

Electronic version of the application is available on the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca by selecting the application number within this notice. It is also available from the applicant, either on his website or upon request by contacting the applicant at his email address, provided above.

Electronic versions of the interventions and answers, as well as of other documents referred to in this notice, are available on the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca by visiting the “Consultations and hearings – Have your say!” section, then selecting “our applications and processes that are open for comment”. Documents can then be accessed by clicking on the links in the “Subject” and “Related Documents” columns associated with this particular notice.

Documents are also available at the following address, upon request, during normal business hours.

Les Terrasses de la Chaudière
Central Building
1 Promenade du Portage
Gatineau, Quebec
J8X 4B1
Tel.: 819-997-2429
Fax: 819-994-0218

Toll-free telephone: 1-877-249-2782
Toll-free TTY: 1-877-909-2782

Secretary General

Date modified:

2020-09-30