Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2024-231
Ottawa, 4 October 2024
Public record: 1011-NOC2024-0231
Notice of hearing
12 December 2024
National Capital Region
Deadline for submission of interventions/comments/answers: 4 November 2024
[Submit an intervention/comment/answer or view related documents]
The Commission will hold a virtual hearing on 12 December 2024 at 11:00 a.m. in the National Capital Region. The Commission intends to consider the following applications, subject to interventions, without the appearance of the parties:
Applicant/Licensee and Locality
- Local Radio Lab Inc.
Bolton, Ontario
Application 2024-0313-7 - Association des francophones du Nunavut
Iqaluit, Nunavut
Application 2023-0443-4 - Northern Native Broadcasting (Terrace, B.C.)
Vancouver, British Columbia
Application 2024-0351-7
Summary of item 1
Item 1: Application submitted by Local Radio Lab Inc.
The Commission will consider the application submitted by Local Radio Lab Inc. (LRL), on behalf of Vista Radio Ltd. (Vista), to acquire from Vista ownership, by way of assets, the radio station CJFB-FM Bolton. LRL also requests a new licence to continue the operations of this undertaking. The details of the application are found below.
The applications
1. Local Radio Lab Inc.
Bolton, Ontario
Application 2024-0313-7
Application by Local Radio Lab Inc. (LRL) for authority to acquire from Vista Radio Ltd. ownership, by way of assets, the English-language commercial FM radio station CJFB‑FM Bolton.
LRL is also requesting a new broadcasting licence to continue the operation of the undertaking under the same terms and conditions as those currently in effect.
LRL is a corporation wholly owned and effectively controlled by Christopher Grossman.
Pursuant to the Asset Purchase Agreement, LRL would purchase the assets of the station for $100,000, plus the assumption of specified liabilities. The applicant proposes a total value of the transaction in the amount of $238,780, which includes the leases to be assumed by the purchaser. The applicant also proposes a tangible benefits package of $14,326, which is equal to 6% of the stated value of transaction, the minimum percentage established by the Tangible Benefits Policy.
Should the Commission approve the transaction, it proposes to order that the new licensee adhere to the obligations that currently apply to the station listed in the application, as updated in Revised conditions of licence for commercial AM and FM radio stations, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2022-334, 7 December 2022. All licensees of commercial radio stations are subject to this regulatory policy.
The specific obligations of the station subject to this application can be found here:
- CJFB-FM Bolton– Various commercial radio stations – Licence renewals and amendments, Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2019-202, 11 June 2019
The Commission also proposes to order the new licensee to make expenditures in the form of tangible benefits consistent with the Tangible Benefits Policy.
Further obligations which reflect issues raised on the record of this proceeding may also be imposed by way of orders. This proceeding provides the opportunity for the applicant and the public to comment on these issues and any orders that may arise as a result.
Consistent with subsections 9.1(4) and 11.1(7) of the Broadcasting Act, interested persons may, as part of this process, make representations to the Commission with respect to the proposed orders.
Following the closing of the transaction, LRL would become the licensee of CJFB‑FM.
Applicant's address:
185 Lake Promenade
Toronto, Ontario
M8W 1A6
Fax: 416-922-7588
E-mail: grossmanchristopher@gmail.com
E-mail to request electronic version of application: grossmanchristopher@gmail.com
2. Association des francophones du Nunavut
Iqaluit, Nunavut
Application 2023-0443-4
Application by Association des francophones du Nunavut for a broadcasting licence to operate a French-language community FM radio station in Iqaluit, Nunavut.
The station would operate at 107.3 MHz (channel 297A) with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 500 watts (omnidirectional antenna with an effective height of antenna above average terrain [EHAAT] of -48.9 metres).
The applicant is currently operating the French-language community FM radio station with a low-power frequency and is requesting technical changes to transfer from an unprotected to a protected status.
The current station serves an official language minority community. The proposed station would offer a better signal and serve a larger geographic area.
The applicant proposes to broadcast 126 hours of programming per broadcast week, of which 72 hours and 30 minutes would be devoted to local programming.
The application is expected to have little commercial impact. Therefore, the Commission will examine this application during the current proceeding, given that it would fall under an exception to issue a call for comments on market capacity and the appropriateness of issuing a call for radio applications, as set out in A targeted policy review of the commercial radio sector, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2014-554, 28 October 2014.
Should the Commission approve the application, it proposes to issue orders pursuant to subsection 9.1(1) of the Broadcasting Act (the Act) requiring the licensee to adhere to the same conditions of service currently in effect for CFRT-FM Iqaluit. These conditions of service can be reviewed in CFRT-FM Iqaluit – Licence renewal, Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2023-200, 10 July 2023.
Further obligations which reflect issues raised on the record of this proceeding may also be imposed by way of orders. This proceeding provides the opportunity for the applicant and the public to comment on these issues and any orders that may arise as a result.
Consistent with subsections 9.1(4) and 11.1(7) of the Act, interested persons may, as part of this process, make representations to the Commission with respect to the proposed orders.
The Commission may withdraw this application from the public hearing if it is not advised by the Department of Industry (also known as Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada) at least 20 days prior to the hearing, that the application is technically acceptable.
Applicant's address:
981 Nunavut Drive
P.O. Box 880
Iqaluit, Nunavut
X0A 0H0
E-mail: direction@afnunavut.ca
E-mail to request electronic version of application: direction@afnunavut.ca
3. Northern Native Broadcasting (Terrace, B.C.)
Vancouver, British Columbia
Application 2024-0351-7
Application by Northern Native Broadcasting (Terrace, B.C.) for a broadcasting licence to operate its Indigenous (Type B) FM radio station CJNY-FM Vancouver.
The licenced station would operate at 106.3 MHz (channel 292C) with an average effective radiated power (ERP) of 4,600 watts (directional antenna with maximum ERP of 9,000 watts and with an effective height of antenna above average terrain [EHAAT] of 605.4 metres).
The licenced station would serve the urban Indigenous community in Vancouver and would consist of a music-based service that would broadcast 126 hours of local programming per broadcast week. Programming would be broadcasted in the English, Salishan, Coast Salish and Halkomelem languages.
In Licensing of new radio stations to serve the urban Indigenous communities in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa and Toronto, Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2017-198, 14 June 2017 (Broadcasting Decision 2017-198), the Commission approved an application by Northern Native Broadcasting (Terrace, B.C.) for a broadcasting licence to operate an English- and Indigenous-language Indigenous (Type B) FM radio station to serve the urban Indigenous community in Vancouver, with a licence expiry date of 31 August 2023. According to Commission records, no decision to renew the licence of the station has been made to extend its broadcast authority beyond 1 September 2023. This application seeks to rectify the situation.
The Commission confirms that it does not intend to consider additional applications for the use of frequency 106.3 MHz in Vancouver as part of the present proceeding.
Should the Commission approve the application, it proposes to issue orders pursuant to subsection 9.1(1) of the Broadcasting Act (the Act) requiring the licensee to adhere to the same conditions of service currently in effect for CJNY-FM. The existing conditions of service can be found in Appendix 1 of Broadcasting Decision 2017-198.
Further obligations which reflect issues raised on the record of this proceeding may also be imposed by way of orders. This proceeding provides the opportunity for the applicant and the public to comment on these issues and any orders that may arise as a result.
Consistent with subsections 9.1(4) and 11.1(7) of the Act, interested persons may, as part of this process, make representations to the Commission with respect to the proposed orders.
The Commission may withdraw this application from the public hearing if it is not advised by the Department of Industry (also known as Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada) at least 20 days prior to the hearing, that the application is technically acceptable.
Applicant’s address:
4562B Queensway Drive
Terrace, British Columbia
V8G 3X6
Fax: 250-638-8027
E-mail: cellis@cfnrfm.ca
Website to view the application: www.cfnrfm.ca
E-mail to request electronic version of application: cellis@cfnrfm.ca
Procedure
Deadline for interventions, comments or answers
4 November 2024
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 filed with the Commission and served on 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 must 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.
Interested persons are permitted to coordinate, organize, and file, in a single submission, interventions by other interested persons who share their position. Information on how to file this type of submission, known as a joint supporting intervention, as well as a template for the covering letter to be filed by the parties, can be found in Changes to certain practices for filing interventions – Expansion of filing practices to include the filing of joint supporting comments for broadcasting policy proceedings, Broadcasting Information Bulletin CRTC 2010-28-1, 10 December 2010.
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, 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 e-mail 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.
In the event that an application to be considered during the non-appearing phase of the hearing is brought to an oral phase of the hearing, and if parties wish to appear, they must provide reasons why their written interventions or answers are not sufficient and why an appearance is necessary. Parties requiring communication support must state their request on the first page of their intervention. Only those parties whose requests to appear have been granted will be contacted by the Commission and invited to appear at the public hearing.
Important notice
All information that parties provide as part of this public process, except information designated confidential, whether sent by postal mail, fax, e-mail 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, e-mail 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 versions of the applications are available on the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca by selecting the application number within this notice. They are also available from the applicants, either on their websites or upon request by contacting the applicants at their e-mail addresses, provided above.
Links to interventions, replies and answers filed for this proceeding, as well as other documents referred to in this notice, are available on the Commission’s “Consultations and hearings: have your say” page.
Documents are available upon request during normal business hours by contacting:
Documentation Centre
Examinationroom@crtc.gc.ca
Tel.: 819-997-4389
Fax: 819-994-0218
Client Services
Toll-free telephone: 1-877-249-2782
Toll-free TTY: 1-877-909-2782
Secretary General
- Date modified: