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Privacy and Security
Transparency

Speech

Notes for an address

by Michel Arpin

Vice-Chairman, Broadcasting
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

 

to the public hearing in Gatineau, Quebec

Gatineau, Quebec

January 18, 2010

(Check against delivery)

---

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to this public hearing.

My name is Michel Arpin, and I am the Vice-Chair of Broadcasting at the CRTC. I will be presiding over this hearing. Joining me on the panel are my colleagues:

• Rita Cugini, Regional Commissioner for Ontario
• Suzanne Lamarre, Regional Commissioner for Quebec
• Peter Menzies, Regional Commissioner for Alberta and the Northwest Territories
• Marc Patrone, National Commissioner
• Louise Poirier, National Commissioner, and
• Stephen Simpson, Regional Commissioner for British Columbia and the Yukon.

The Commission team assisting us includes:

• Michael Craig, Hearing Manager
• Crystal Hulley, Legal Counsel, and
• Jade Roy, Hearing Secretary.

Please speak with Ms. Roy if you have any questions with regard to the hearing procedures.

Campus and community radio stations

This hearing is being held to review the Commission’s policies for campus and community radio. It comes at a time when there has been a significant amount of change in the broadcasting industry.

In the years since the Commission issued its current policy, commercial radio has gone through a period of consolidation that has resulted in a few companies controlling a large number of stations. At the same time, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has modified the programming on some of its services, such as the introduction of new genres of music for Espace Musique and Radio 2.

There continues to be a strong demand for new FM radio licences, even though the FM dial in many markets has become overcrowded.

Canadians, for their part, are making the most of a sudden increase in choice for accessing audio content. In addition to the traditional radio format, consumers are tuning to satellite radio, out-of-market stations over digital cable and Internet radio stations. They are downloading podcasts and taking their portable MP3 players and smartphones everywhere they go. We can reasonably expect that digital technologies will have a growing influence on the listening habits of Canadians in the years to come.

Campus and community radio stations make a vital contribution to the diversity of voices in the Canadian broadcasting system. They offer programming that reflects their local communities while being different from commercial and public radio. Just as importantly, one of the key elements of the current policy is to promote community participation. Campus and community stations provide opportunities for citizens to get involved in the creation of programming and to gain hands-on experience in radio production.

As part of this proceeding, the Commission received comments on a number of issues, including:

• the roles of campus and community stations and their programming requirements
• the availability of programming dedicated specifically to official-language minority communities
• diversity in the broadcasting system
• sources of funding for campus and community stations
• the ways in which the Commission’s policies can address the scarcity of spectrum in many markets, and
• the impact of recent regulatory changes.

The panel would like to hear your views on these issues and have a discussion. This will help us better define the measures needed to ensure a healthy campus and community broadcasting sector in an environment that is constantly evolving.

Process

I would now invite the Hearing Secretary, Jade Roy, to explain the procedures we will be following. Ms. Roy…

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This document is available in alternative format upon request.