OTTAWA – The CRTC last week approved Skigin Radio Incorporated’s November 2022 application for a broadcasting licence to operate a low-power, Indigenous FM radio station in Woodstock First Nation, New Brunswick.
Serving the Maliseet people of the Wolastoqiyik territory, Skigin Radio’s 50-watt station will operate at 107.7 MHz.
In its licence application, Skigin Radio had proposed to broadcast 112 hours of local programming and 14 hours of wrap-around programming (programming that originates from other radio stations) per broadcast week. Of that programming, 104 hours would be devoted to musical content, 20 per cent of which will be musical selections performed or composed by Indigenous creators, Skigin Radio said in its application.
The remaining 22 hours of weekly programming would be devoted to spoken word programming across several categories including children and youth, educational, religious, news and public affairs programming, according to Skigin Radio’s application.
Of the total 126 hours of programming per broadcast week, 100 hours will be devoted to English-language programming, 20 hours to programming in various Indigenous languages (Wolastoqey, Mi’kmaq and Ojibway), and six hours to French-language programming.
“Skigin indicated that it would broadcast programming developed for and recorded by the Indigenous population that the proposed station would serve,” reads the CRTC’s decision Monday. “Further, Skigin would support Indigenous content development, including by broadcasting Indigenous-created music, granting opportunities for studio recording time to Indigenous artists and showcasing such talent at on- and off-reserve events. Skigin would also promote Indigenous talent online, in pamphlets and in a newsletter.”
As a condition of service, Skigin Radio’s Woodstock First Nation radio station will be expected to devote at least 35 per cent of its popular music selections each broadcast week to Canadian selections, which includes music by Indigenous creators residing in Canada, the CRTC noted.
Skigin Radio’s broadcasting licence will expire Aug. 31, 2030. The CRTC will only issue the licence once Skigin Radio informs the commission in writing it is prepared to commence operation of its radio station, which must happen before Oct. 19, 2025 (24 months from the date of the CRTC’s decision), the commission said.
