The CRTC has approved a broadcasting licence for Comité de la radio communautaire Huronne-Wyandot inc. (Radio Huronne-Wyandot) to operate an indigenous (Type B) FM radio station in Wendake, located in the Quebec City region.
The station will operate at 100.3 MHz with an average effective radiated power of 239 watts. Its licence will expire Aug. 31, 2030.
As part of its conditions of service, not-for-profit corporation Radio Huronne-Wyandot each broadcast week must devote at least 35 per cent of its popular music selections to Canadian selections broadcast in their entirety.
In addition, Radio Huronne-Wyandot must adhere to the…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC has ordered Iristel to pay amounts it owes Bell and its subsidiary Northwestel after finding the far north provider failed to show sufficient evidence that it was wronged in an interconnection dispute.
Iristel, which admitted to withholding amounts due because of perceived wrongdoing, alleged in a Part 1 application last October that Bell has failed and had no intention to add an interconnection point at Kuujjuaq in northern Quebec for Iristel to carry its call traffic in the region. In the interim, the telecoms voluntarily agreed since 2015 to have the traffic routed…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC wants to know whether it should exempt Google from having to negotiate with news publishers to host content for five years and thereby lock-in an agreement the platform struck with a news collective earlier this month.
Google held an open call, as it’s required under the new Online News Act, between February 28 and April 30 to field prospective eligible news businesses that want a piece of the $100 million it agreed to distribute every year to host news content. The process resulted in Google reaching an agreement with the Canadian Journalism Collective…
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By Connie Thiessen
Corus Entertainment has pulled the plug on two of its AM radio formats in Vancouver and Edmonton, and laid off staff.
880 News (CHQT-AM) Edmonton, a sister station to 630 CHED, had been owned by Corus since 2000. It was re-launched as an all-news station in 2008. It has regularly finished near the bottom of the PPM ratings in the market.
AM 730 (CKGO-AM) Vancouver, a sister station to 980 CKNW, was formerly branded as Mojo Sports Radio, prior to the launch of what was billed as North America’s only “all-traffic” station in 2006. It’s also served as the primary game broadcaster for select local sports…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC is asking the public Tuesday for how it should go about mandating accessibility features on online streaming platforms as part of the implementation of the Online Streaming Act.
The regulator is bound by the new law to not only regulate online streamers, but to also force them to comply with accessibility rules, namely described video and audio description for Canadians who are blind or partially sighted and closed captioning for those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
While there are closed captioning (CC) rules for traditional broadcasters, the regulator is asking for comments by August 19 to questions…
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A private member’s bill that proposed amending the Telecommunications Act to require internet service providers to provide Canadians with the “typical” download and upload speeds that customers should expect during peak periods received royal assent last week, after passing third reading in the Senate earlier this month.
Bill C-288 was introduced in 2022 by Dan Mazier, Conservative Member of Parliament for Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, who wanted the act to be amended so ISPs could not use language such as “up to” and “maximum” to advertise theoretical speeds when marketing their internet packages.
In April 2023, Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC is seeking a contractor to analyze the wireline transport market, as it prepares to make a decision on an updated wholesale internet access framework.
According to the procurement document, dated Thursday, the regulator is looking for a contractor to draft a definition of wholesale wireline high-speed transport services market, which should “allow for upcoming technological changes.”
It is also seeking an analysis of the group of products that consumers would consider to be substitutes for the service and an assessment of the geographic area in which a customer purchases a service and “whether or not a customer…
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Videotron says no undue preference or disadvantage
By Ahmad Hathout
Rogers is alleging Videotron has refused to allow the cable giant to audit its subscriber information for the purposes of determining whether it’s paying a proper rate of access for Rogers’s OMNI Regional programming.
The comments come in an intervention supporting a complaint by not-for-profit media company Accessible Media Inc. (AMI), which alleges Videotron is forcing it to sign a pre-audit memorandum of understanding (MOU) before AMI is allowed to analyze Videotron’s subscriber records. The problem, according to AMI, is that the MOU includes language that turns bulk subscribers from institutions like…
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By Ahmad Hathout
A new bill that would force the CRTC to “consult” with the provincial governments on matters affecting French-speaking markets is drawing concern from regulatory authorities both in its legal terminology and the precedent it could set for a tribunal freshly saddled with increased responsibilities.
The private member’s bill C-354, which passed second reading in the House and is in the committee stage, would amend the CRTC Act to add to section 12 a paragraph that would require it to “consult with the Government of Quebec or the governments of the other provinces, as the case…
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A community television advocate is calling on the CRTC to reject a May application by Rogers to broaden certain broadcast regions to meet its local programming obligations, alleging the result will subvert community programming.
Rogers wants to broaden into four large zones – Vancouver Island, British Columbia; Southern Interior, British Columbia; Central Saskatchewan and Southern Manitoba – the areas that it must serve with community and local programs for the purpose, it said, of avoiding having to use repeat programming to meet its community and local TV obligations. It said this must be done because of the…
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