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Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2022-141

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Reference: Part 1 applications posted on 19 April 2022

Ottawa, 1 June 2022

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Ottawa, Ontario and Maniwaki, Quebec

Public record: 2022-0127-6 and 2022-0129-2

CBOF-FM and CBO-FM Ottawa – New transmitters in Maniwaki

  1. The Commission has the authority, pursuant to subsection 9(1) of the Broadcasting Act (Act), to issue licences for such terms not exceeding seven years and subject to such conditions related to the circumstances of the licensee as the Commission deems appropriate for the implementation of the broadcasting policy set out in subsection 3(1) of the Act and to amend any condition on application of the licensee.
  2. Consistent with this authority, the Commission approves the application (2022-0127-6) by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) to amend the broadcasting licence for the French-language radio programming undertaking CBOF-FM Ottawa, Ontario, in order to operate a new transmitter in Maniwaki, Quebec, to rebroadcast the programming of its national French-language network service ICI Radio-Canada Première. The Commission received an intervention in regard to the CBOF-FM application, but the intervention did not address matters directly related to the establishment of a new transmitter in Maniwaki.
  3. The new transmitter (CBOF-FM-1 Maniwaki) will operate at 94.3 MHz (channel 232 A1) with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 210 watts (non-directional antenna with an effective height of the antenna above average terrain (EHAAT) of -0.3 metres).
  4. The Commission also approves the application (2022-0129-2) by the CBC to amend the broadcasting licence for the English-language radio programming undertaking CBO-FM Ottawa, Ontario, in order to operate a new transmitter in Maniwaki, Quebec, to rebroadcast the programming of its national English-language network service Radio One. The Commission did not receive any interventions in regard to the CBO-FM application.
  5. The new transmitter (CBOM-FM Maniwaki) will operate at 93.3 MHz (channel 227 A1) with an ERP of 205 watts (non-directional antenna with an EHAAT of -0.3 metres).
  6. When requesting technical changes, licensees are generally required to demonstrate a technical or economic need. In regard to the present applications, the CBC stated that the amendments will allow it to replace CBO-FM’s timeworn AM antenna and transmitter in Maniwaki with a new FM antenna and transmitter and to provide an improved quality of service to a larger portion of the population in the region of Maniwaki. The CBC also stated that the amendments will allow it to replace CBOF-FM’s current AM transmitter in Maniwaki with an FM transmitter and co-locate it with CBOM-FM. The Commission is satisfied that the licensee has demonstrated a technical need for the requested technical changes.
  7. Pursuant to subsection 22(1) of the Act, this authority will only be effective when the Department of Industry notifies the Commission that its technical requirements have been met and that a broadcasting certificate will be issued.
  8. The transmitter must be in operation by no later than 1 June 2024. To request an extension, the licensee must submit a written request to the Commission at least 60 days before that date, using the form available on the Commission’s website.
  9. As set out in section 16 of the Radio Regulations, 1986 (the Regulations), licensees have obligations relating to the broadcast of emergency alert messages received from the National Alert Aggregation and Dissemination System. In regard to the authorized contours of the new FM transmitters CBOF-FM-1 and CBOM-FM resulting from the implementation of the technical parameters approved in this decision, the Commission reminds the licensee that continued compliance with section 16 of the Regulations may require that any alert broadcast decoders (e.g., ENDEC) used for the purposes of broadcasting emergency alert messages on CBOF-FM and CBO-FM, or on any rebroadcasting transmitters that may appear on the broadcasting licences for those stations, be reprogrammed to properly account for the new authorized contours.

Secretary General

This decision is to be appended to each licence.

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