Broadcasting - Staff Letter addressed to Simon Desrochers (Cogeco Media Inc.)
Gatineau, 27 May 2025
BY EMAIL
Simon Desrochers
Cogeco Media Inc.
800 De la Gauchetière Street West, Suite 1100
Montréal, Quebec, H5A 1M1
simon.desrochers@cogeco.com
Subject: Application 2025-0053-7 – CHPR-FM Hawkesbury, Ontario – Technical amendment to a broadcasting licence – Derogation to the CRTC Rules of Practice and Procedure in order to process the application
The Commission has received the above-noted application from Cogeco Media inc. (Cogeco) to change the authorized contours of the French-language radio programming undertaking CHPR-FM Hawkesbury, Ontario.
Cogeco proposes to relocate the current CHPR-FM station site to an existing tower to ensure the station’s continuity, since the current site is obsolete and could lead to a complete station breakdown.
Staff notes that the area covered by the station’s proposed primary contours would be different from that of the authorized primary contours, and this change would have a slight impact on listeners served. Even though community members would continue to be served by CHPR-FM, some of them, depending on their geographical location, could no longer receive the station’s signal.
Pursuant to section 5.2 of the Broadcasting Act, the Commission must consult Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs) when making decisions that could adversely affect them.
Considering the risk that the change in contour could lead to a loss of service for some community members, the Commission is of the view that this application could have an adverse effect on OLMCs. The Commission invites OLMC members to consult the application that was published today on the Commission’s website. OLMC members may submit interventions during the first intervention period, which is open to any interested party. Application 2025-0053-7 - CRTC - Open Part 1 Applications
However, in an exception to the Rules of Practice and Procedure (“the Rules”), a second intervention period of 10 days, reserved exclusively for OLMC members, has been added to this process. This period will follow the usual intervention period, allowing OLMC members to comment on the initial application as well as the interventions of other parties as it relates to the impact of the application on OLMCs.
For the purposes of the second intervention period, the Commission will pay particular attention to the official languages issues raised by this application and invites interveners to comment on potential measures to mitigate any adverse affect on the OLMC.
The procedure described below applies only to application 2025-0053-7 and does not constitute a predetermination on other Part 1 applications and should not be seen or understood as amending the Rules of Procedure with respect to Part 1 applications.
Amended procedure for the processing of application 2025-0053-7
Intervention and reply periods concerning the application:
- First intervention period of 30 days following the date of publication of the application. All interested parties may file their interventions, in accordance with subsection 26(1) of the Rules of Procedure. Deadline for filing an intervention: 26 June 2025.
- New: Additional intervention period reserved exclusively for OLMC members, 10 days following the deadline for the first interventions. Deadline for filing an intervention : 7 July 2025.
- Applicant’s reply, 10 days following the second intervention period, in accordance with subsection 27(1) of the Rules of Procedure. Deadline for the applicant to file a reply: 17 July 2025.
Should you need further information concerning this application, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone at 873-455-4137or by email at isabelle.jacques@crtc.gc.ca.
Sincerely,
Isabelle Jacques
Senior Analyst
CRTC – French-Language Audio Operations
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