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Ottawa, 26 January 1993
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Decision CRTC 93-31
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CHWO Radio Limited
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Oakville, Ontario - 912833100CJMR 1320 Radio LimitedMississauga, Ontario - 912832300
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Following a Public Hearing in the National Capital Region beginning on 21 September 1992, the Commission approves the application by CHWO Radio Limited to amend the broadcasting licence for CHWO Oakville by deleting the condition of licence relating to the minimum time to be devoted to ethnic programs as well as the condition of licence related to the minimum numbers of target cultural groups and languages of programming.
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The Commission also approves the application by CJMR 1320 Radio Limited (CJMR 1320) to amend the broadcasting licence for CJMR Mississauga by deleting the condition of licence relating to the minimum time to be devoted to ethnic programs as well as the condition of licence related to the minimum numbers of target cultural groups and languages of programming, and by substituting therefor the following conditions:
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It is a condition of CJMR's licence that a minimum of 65 hours of the broadcast week be devoted to ethnic programs of Type A and B.
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It is a condition of CJMR's licence that programming be directed to a minimum of 11 cultural groups in a minimum of 15 different languages. These amendments will see the amount of ethnic programming broadcast by CHWO Oakville reduced from 36% to 3% weekly, and the level of ethnic programming on CJMR Mississauga increased from 17% to at least 60% weekly. This increase will result in CJMR assuming the status of an ethnic radio programming undertaking, as defined in Public Notice CRTC 1985-139 entitled "A Broadcasting Policy Reflecting Canada's Linguistic and Cultural Diversity" (the policy).
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The Commission notes that, following this approval, CJMR will commence service to the Iranian, Arabic and Ethiopian communities, all of which currently receive only limited service in the Toronto area. In line with the policy, the Commission expects service to these, or to similarly under-served groups, to continue for the duration of the current licence term. The Commission further expects the licensee to demonstrate, at the time of CJMR's next licence renewal, its plans for the continued provision of service to smaller ethnic groups not well served by other ethnic radio broadcasters.
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At the hearing, CJMR 1320 made a commitment to provide the initial financial support for the establishment of a course entitled "Introduction to Ethnic Broadcasting", to be offered at Mohawk College in Hamilton in 1993. The Commission requires the licensee, within three months of the date of this decision, to submit a report, including budgets and detailed plans for the implementation of this initiative.
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Interventions in opposition to these applications were submitted by Toronto area ethnic broadcasters Radio 1540 Limited (licensee of CHIN and CHIN-FM Toronto), CKMW Radio Ltd. (licensee of CIAO Brampton), and CIRC Radio Inc. (licensee of CIRV-FM Toronto). At the hearing, the interveners expressed concerns chiefly related to the amount of brokered ethnic programming to be broadcast by CJMR. Brokered programs are those acquired through the purchase of blocks of air-time by independent program producers. The interveners were also concerned with CJMR 1320's ability to control the quality of brokered programming. They further argued that the brokerage system generally fails to reflect the needs and concerns of the communities served by a radio station, and that the CJMR 1320 application does not provide for any station-produced ethnic programming.
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In response to the concerns raised by the interveners, CJMR 1320 offered to accept a condition of licence limiting the use of brokered ethnic programming on CJMR to 60% of the broadcast week.
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In response to Public Notice CRTC 1985-139, referred to above, an Industry Code for Brokerage was developed. CJMR 1320 has stated that it abides by this code which introduced criteria for the production of quality brokered programs and outlines the general guidelines for program brokers. The Commission also notes that over the past few years it has not received an abnormal number of complaints related to brokered programming on CHWO or CJMR.
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Accordingly, it is a condition of CJMR's licence that the broadcast of brokered ethnic programming be limited to a maximum of 62% of the broadcast week. The 2% difference betweek the maximum level proposed by the applicant and the maximum level allowed by condition of licence is intended to provide CJMR 1320 with a measure of flexibility in scheduling.
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The Commission also acknowledges the intervention in opposition to these applications submitted by Genstar Development Company (Eastern) Limited, and is satisfied with the applicants' response.
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Allan J. Darling
Secretary General
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