The Commission approves an application by Northern Native Broadcasting (Terrace, B.C.) for a broadcasting licence to operate an English- and Indigenous-language Type B Native FM radio station to serve the urban Indigenous community in Vancouver.
The Commission also approves applications by Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta for broadcasting licences to operate English- and Indigenous-language Type B Native FM radio stations to serve the urban Indigenous communities in Edmonton and Calgary.
In addition, the Commission approves applications by First Peoples Radio Inc. for broadcasting licences to operate English- and Indigenous-language Type B Native FM radio stations to serve the urban Indigenous communities in Ottawa and Toronto.
In light of the above, the Commission denies the remaining applications for broadcasting licences to operate radio stations to serve the urban Indigenous communities in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa and Toronto.
In Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2015-399 (the Call), the Commission called for applications for radio stations to serve the urban Indigenous communities in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa and Toronto. It noted the pressing need for radio services that would serve the Indigenous community as a whole given that issues vitally important to Indigenous Canadians are not fully covered or addressed at all in non-Indigenous media. Radio stations serving such communities can play a critical role in serving the public interest and contributing to the fulfilment of the policy objectives set out in sections 3(1)(d)(iii) and 3(1)(o) of the Broadcasting Act (the Act), specifically, to meet the needs and reflect the special place of Indigenous peoples within Canadian society.
During the course of the proceeding, through written comments and the appearance of parties at the public hearing, both applicants and interveners emphasized the importance of meeting the needs and interests of these urban Indigenous communities, and of the need to build local businesses and establish local contacts in each community. In rendering the above decisions, the Commission has addressed the needs and interests of those communities by recognizing the importance of ensuring the Canadian broadcasting system contributes to the promotion and protection of Indigenous cultures. The support that will be provided through the addition of new radio stations, and the provision by those stations of significant amounts of local programming that reflects the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the communities, will make a significant contribution to the populations in those communities and to meeting the relevant objectives of the Act.
In assessing the applications, the Commission considered plans and commitments regarding Indigenous programming, including how the applicants’ commitments would reflect the interests and needs of the Indigenous populations to be served, foster the development of Indigenous cultures, and help preserve Indigenous languages. It also sought the applicants’ views regarding what would constitute a solid and viable business plan, and questioned them on the business plans for their proposed services. In addition, the Commission considered the applicants’ plans to provide for broad participation by the Indigenous populations of the regions served in the governance, operation and programming of the stations.
The Commission is confident that the successful applicants in the present proceeding will take their role very seriously and work together to ensure that their services promote the interests of and reflect Indigenous communities. Neither this decision nor any future policy review absolve non-Indigenous radio or television broadcasters from serving the Indigenous peoples in their local communities. The Commission will closely monitor the ability of the broadcasting system as a whole to fulfill the mandate of promoting and serving Indigenous communities.
Call for applications
In Broadcasting Decision 2015-282, the Commission revoked the broadcasting licences for the Type B Native radio stations CKAV-FM Toronto, CKAV-FM-2 Vancouver, CKAV-FM-3 Calgary, CKAV-FM-4 Edmonton and CKAV-FM-9 Ottawa, held by Aboriginal Voices Radio Inc. (AVR). The decision to revoke those licences was based on AVR’s serious and repeated non-compliance with its regulatory obligations, and on the inability of the licensee to adequately meet the needs of the IndigenousFootnote 1 populations in those communities.
The revocation of the broadcasting licences for the former AVR services has left a void in the number of stations serving the urban Indigenous communities in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa and Toronto. In the Commission’s view, these five radio markets are of particular interest to new players who wish to operate new radio stations to serve those communities.
In Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2015-399, the Commission called for applications for broadcasting licences to operate new radio stations to serve the urban Indigenous communities in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa and Toronto. This call was open to any person or group who wished to submit an innovative application that focused on serving Indigenous Canadians, regardless of the type of service proposed.
The Commission noted in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2015-399 that there is a pressing need for radio services that would serve the Indigenous community as a whole given that issues vitally important to Indigenous Canadians are not fully covered or addressed at all in non-Indigenous media. Radio stations serving such communities can play a critical role in serving the public interest and contributing to the fulfilment of the policy objectives set out in sections 3(1)(d)(iii) and 3(1)(o) of the Broadcasting Act (the Act), specifically, to meet the needs and reflect the special place of Indigenous peoples within Canadian society.
The Commission also indicated that applicants would be required to provide evidence giving clear indication of a demand and a market for the services proposed. This included demonstrating the needs of the Indigenous communities in the markets in question, how proposed services would meet those needs, and whether the markets could sustain proposed additional services should they already have services targeting Indigenous communities.
CRTC – June 14, 2017.
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