OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC has awarded five new Type B Native FM radio station licences to three broadcasters seeking to serve the Indigenous communities of Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa and Toronto.
The Commission said Wednesday that Northern Native Broadcasting will broadcast in Vancouver at 106.3 FM; Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta will operate a station in Edmonton at 89.3 FM and in Calgary at 88.1 FM; and that First Peoples Radio Inc. will operate a station in Ottawa at 95.7 FM and in Toronto at 106.5 FM.
These five new stations’ programming must reflect the communities they serve, include a large portion of local content, such as news, and deal with the specific concerns of Indigenous people in the regions in question, reads the decision. Part of the spoken programming must also be in an Indigenous language. All of the licences will expire on August 31, 2023.
The CRTC said that these three organizations best demonstrated how their programming would reflect the interests and meet the needs of the Indigenous communities in their respective markets.
“The Commission is confident that the successful applicants in the present proceeding will take their role very seriously and work together to ensure that their services promote the interests of and reflect Indigenous communities”, continues the decision. “Neither this decision nor any future policy review absolve non-Indigenous radio or television broadcasters from serving the Indigenous peoples in their local communities.”
The Commission added that it will soon kick off a review of its Indigenous radio policy to ensure that the regulatory framework is effective and reflects the realities of radio stations serving Indigenous peoples.
“This decision comes at a crucial time, not only because it comes in the wake of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report, but also because of the many major issues that affect these communities, such as the disappearance and murder of Indigenous women, water quality on some reserves and Indigenous youth suicides”, said CRTC chairman and CEO Jean-Pierre Blais, in a statement. “We will closely monitor the licensees to ensure that they act in keeping with their mandate of serving and promoting Indigenous communities by dealing with the issues that affect them directly, speaking their languages and promoting their cultures.”
The CRTC staged an urban Aboriginal radio hearing in March after revoking the radio licences from Aboriginal Voices Radio (AVR) following multiple instances of non-compliance with its license terms. Cartt.ca’s coverage of that hearing is available here, here, and here.
