QUEBEC – Quebec City radio station CHOI-FM has asked the Supreme Court of Canada to delay its moment of truth for an extra 60 days.
The station’s owner, Genex Communications, has filed the request because of “serious discussions” with third parties that “could lead to the settlement of the current legal dispute."
The unusual request comes as the Supreme Court is about to rule on whether or not it will hear Genex’s appeal of the CRTC’s decision in July 2004 to revoke CHOI-FM’s licence. It was granted the right to hook itself back up to the “judicial respirator” last fall by the Federal Court of Appeal.
Earlier, the Federal Appeal Court had upheld the decision of the CRTC, which ruled that CHOI’s licence should not be renewed because of repeated violation of the terms of its licence and flagrant disregard for broadcast rules and the industry’s code of ethics.
Despite numerous warnings, through two licence terms, the CRTC said the station’s hosts were “relentless in the use of the public airwaves to insult and ridicule people”.
The CRTC had fingered one host in particular, Jean-François “Jeff” Fillion. He left the station last year and will launch his own pay-web radio site, PirateRadio.com, March 17th.
There have been several published reports that Genex is seeking to sell the station and would get out of radio entirely. Last month, the company withdrew its application to the CRTC for a licence to operate an English-language station in the same Quebec City market and it recently sold CKNU-FM in Donnacona.
If it were to conclude a sale agreement for CHOI, Genex might then try to seek the CRTC’s consent to give the new owners a temporary licence pending public hearings in order to keep the station on the air.
– Glenn Wanamaker
