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Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2025-341

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Reference: Part 1 application posted on 20 August 2025

Gatineau, 16 December 2025

CJRO Radio
Carlsbad Springs and Casselman, Ontario

Public record: 2025-0356-5

CJRO-FM Carlsbad Springs and its transmitter CJRO-FM-4 Casselman – Technical amendments

  1. The Commission has the authority, pursuant to subsection 9(1) of the Broadcasting Act (the Act), to issue licences for the carrying on of broadcasting undertakings and to amend those licences.
  2. Consistent with this authority, the Commission approves the application by CJRO Radio to amend the technical parameters of CJRO-FM-4 Casselman, Ontario, a low-power rebroadcasting transmitter of the English- and French-language community FM radio programming undertaking CJRO-FM Carlsbad Springs, Ontario. Specifically, CJRO Radio proposed to relocate its rebroadcasting transmitter to a new site, to change the frequency from 107.9 MHz (channel 300LP) to 96.3 MHz (channel 242LP), to increase the effective radiated power (ERP) from 2 to 50 watts, to increase the effective height of the antenna above average terrain (EHAAT) from 25.8 to 43.0 metres, and to amend the transmitter site’s existing coordinates.
  3. The Commission received an intervention in support from the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA) in regard to this application. The NCRA highlighted CJRO-FM’s emphasis on local news. It expressed that the proposed technical amendments would be in the public interest and would allow CJRO-FM-4 to better serve its bilingual listeners in its broadcasting area.
  4. Pursuant to section 5.1 of the Broadcasting Act and section 41 of the Official Languages Act, the Commission must promote the vitality and support the development of official language minority communities (OLMCs). CJRO-FM and CJRO-FM-4 serve the French language OLMC in Carlsbad Springs and Casselman. The amendment would allow the station to reach additional listeners and would prevent current listeners from losing service. Accordingly, the Commission finds that approving the application would benefit the OLMC in Casselman.
  5. When a licensee files an application for technical amendments, the Commission requires the licensee to present compelling technical or economic evidence justifying the requested amendments. In this case, CJRO Radio submitted that relocating the rebroadcasting transmitter is necessary because the owner of the current site has ceased its operations, and that CJRO Radio’s agreement with that owner is therefore ending. The applicant has reached an agreement with the Municipality of Casselman to install the FM transmitter on top of the municipal water tower. Since the rebroadcasting transmitter has to be moved, a change that requires a technical amendment, CJRO Radio applied concurrently to increase the transmitter power in order to better serve listeners within its coverage area. The Commission is satisfied that the licensee has demonstrated a technical need for the requested amendments.
  6. The Commission considers that the proposed technical amendments would benefit listeners in Casselman and surrounding areas by increasing the station’s contours and improving its signal.
  7. Pursuant to subsection 22(1) of the Act, this authority will only be effective when the Department of Industry (also known as Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada) notifies the Commission that its technical requirements have been met and that a broadcasting certificate will be issued.
  8. The licensee must implement the technical amendments by no later than 16 December 2027. To request an extension, the licensee must submit a written request to the Commission at least 60 days before that date, using Form 300, which is 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. The implementation of the technical amendments approved in this decision could result in changes to CJRO-FM-4 Casselman’s authorized contours. 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 CJRO-FM Carlsbad Springs or on any rebroadcasting transmitters that may appear on the broadcasting licence for that station, be reprogrammed to properly account for the new authorized contours.
  10. This decision is to be appended to the licence.

Secretary General

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