GATINEAU – The CRTC has awarded a controversial FM frequency to Aboriginal Voices Radio Inc. in Vancouver.
The group was awarded a licence in 2001 but was denied the use of 90.9 MHz because it “did not constitute the best possible use of that frequency,” the commission stated. AVR was asked to propose another frequency, and it asked to use 106.3 MHz.
However, many community members opposed it, saying it would interfere with the signal coming on 106.5 FM from KLYN in Lynden, Wa., which is receivable in the Vancouver area. KLYN is known as Praise 106.5 and is the only single-faith Christian radio station available in Vancouver. Praise 106.5 provides Canadian news and traffic reports, and carries advertising from Canadian businesses.
The commission received seven interventions in favour of Aboriginal Voices Radio using 106.3, and more than 7,000 opposing it. “Opposing interveners also contended that no other Christian radio service is available in the lower mainland of British Columbia, and that the Commission should respect the rights of Canadians to choose to listen to a service that contributes to a peaceful atmosphere in their daily lives.”
AVR felt that its application met the Broadcasting Act’s objectives to create programming for Aboriginal peoples, and its frequency, one of the rare ones in the lower BC mainland, would not interfere with any Canadian stations.
The CRTC has no mandate or obligation to protect foreign signals, it stated. “KLYN-FM is not entitled to receive the same technical protection in Canada as Canadian services enjoy,” the decision said. “Affording protection to foreign stations in Canada would limit the spectrum available to Canadian undertakings.”
AVR would serve the public interest, it said. “The Commission notes that, while Vancouver and the lower mainland are currently well served by a diversity of Canadian radio services, the urban Aboriginal population of over 50,000 individuals is underserved, with little programming directed principally at their cultural heritage. In this regard, the Commission notes that Aboriginal persons have a favoured status under the Act, which other segments of society, including faith-based groups, do not enjoy.”
The commission noted that KLYN is available via the Web, and listeners have access to other faith-based programming on satellite radio, other Internet sites, and pay audio services.
