MONTREAL – Quebec public safety channel Avis de recherche has filed an application in Federal Court for a judicial review of the CRTC’s decision two years ago refusing its mandatory carriage renewal application.
The French-language category B service bills itself as a public interest service due to its programming dedicated to public safety and prevention, as well as police bulletins on wanted suspects and missing persons. The CRTC did not renew its mandatory spot on digital basic in Quebec in August 2013, a move that baffled and distressed founder and president Vincent Geracitano, as Cartt.ca reported.
With its mandatory distribution terminated as of August 31st, ADR said that the major cable and satellite television distributors in Quebec have already notified it that they will cease distributing the service as of September 1st, 2015.
But documents filed by the channel in Federal Court on June 26 allege that “evidence has been unearthed suggesting there was significant political pressure placed on CRTC Commissioners to refuse ADR's mandatory carriage renewal application”.
“Since 2004, ADR has devoted itself to promoting public safety and prevention and to making a valued contribution to the well-being of the community”, said Geracitano in a statement Friday. “The loss of ADR will do a disservice to our community. This highly suspicious, incomprehensible and totally unjustified decision on the part of the CRTC is contrary to the public interest.”
ADR added that it “received letters of endorsement from almost every police service in Quebec, as well as letters from most police services across Canada” in addition to “the support of numerous mayors and provincial public safety ministers, several missing person's organizations, victims' associations, and a multitude of other organizations involved in the promotion of safety and crime prevention from across the country” as part of its renewal application.
http://adr.tv
