OTTAWA — The CRTC says it will not proceed with an application submitted in September requesting must-carry status under a barker licence type, on SiriusXM, for an audio-based radio guide for the visually impaired.
Evan Kosiner of Kosiner Venture Capital submitted the application on September 17, 2019, requesting 9 (1)(h) designation for the service that would allow visually impaired Canadians to have access to the alphanumeric information displayed on the screen in a car or on a portable receiver, where it would be turned into machine-read audio. The information would pertain to the song or the show being played.
In a letter dated January 17, the CRTC writes to Kosiner: “Commission staff notes that the Commission, very recently, completed a review of services currently granted mandatory distribution on the basic service pursuant to section 9(1)(h) of the Broadcasting Act and the licensing of a new national multi-ethnic discretionary service with 9(1)(h) status. As a consequence, the Commission is not currently accepting applications for services with mandatory distribution pursuant to section 9(1)(h) of the Broadcasting Act. In light of the above, the Commission will not proceed with your application. Note that this application is now considered closed and the Commission has disposed of all related documents.”
As noted in Cartt.ca’s previous coverage of this story, Kosiner’s application raised the issue of whether or not SiriusXM is a BDU. In its response to Kosiner, the Commission did not answer this question.
After receiving the CRTC’s letter on Friday, Kosiner responded to the Commission, writing: “We’ll be informing the Heritage Minister of this update as they’ve been monitoring this file, and after we have had meetings with both the prior and current Minister’s office and staff regarding this over the prior months. It is my understanding that accessibility is [a] key priority for the Trudeau Government and the fact that the Commission is not enforcing their own Accessibility Act of over a decade ago is egregious and cannot be tolerated. Further, SiriusXM has been cited multiple times in violation of their licence conditions for minimum Canadian guidelines.”
Kosiner concludes his letter by inviting the Commission to reach out to discuss the issue and saying that a new application will follow.
