Vol. 148, No. 24 — November 19, 2014

Registration

SI/2014-97 November 19, 2014

BROADCASTING ACT

Order Declining to Refer Back to the CRTC Decision CRTC 2014-412

P.C. 2014-1172 October 30, 2014

Whereas the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (“the Commission”), in its Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2014-412 of August 6, 2014, approved an application by South Fraser Broadcasting Inc. for a broadcasting licence to operate an English-language commercial FM radio programming undertaking in Surrey, British Columbia on frequency 107.7 MHz, channel 299A, with an average effective radiated power of 1,066 watts;

Whereas, subsequent to the rendering of the decision to approve the application by South Fraser Broadcasting Inc., the Governor in Council received a petition in writing requesting that that decision be set aside or referred back to the Commission for reconsideration and hearing;

And whereas the Governor in Council, having considered the petition, is not satisfied that that decision derogates from the attainment of the objectives of the broadcasting policy for Canada set out in subsection 3(1) of the Broadcasting Act (see footnote a);

Therefore, His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, pursuant to section 28 of the Broadcasting Act (see footnote b), declines to set aside or refer back to the Commission for reconsideration and hearing the decision, contained in Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2014-412 of August 6, 2014, to approve the application by South Fraser Broadcasting Inc. for a broadcasting licence to operate an English-language commercial FM radio programming undertaking in Surrey, British Columbia.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

To respond, by the statutory deadline of November 4, 2014, to a petition, pursuant to section 28 of the Broadcasting Act, requesting the Governor in Council to set aside or refer back to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for reconsideration and hearing its decision, contained in Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2014-412, to issue a broadcasting licence to South Fraser Broadcasting Inc. (South Fraser) to operate a new commercial FM English-language radio station in Surrey, British Columbia.

Objectives

Background

On March 25, 2013, the CRTC issued a call for applications for broadcasting licences for radio stations to serve Greater Vancouver, British Columbia. In response to this call, the CRTC received 11 applications to launch new radio stations, and two existing stations sought licence amendments to permit additional transmitters to extend the reach of their signals. These were considered at a public hearing held in Surrey in January 2014.

On August 6, 2014, in Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2014-412, the CRTC approved two applications. One was by 0971197 B.C. Ltd. (Roundhouse Radio) for a licence to operate an English-language specialty (spoken word) commercial FM station in downtown Vancouver at 98.3 MHz. The other, which the CRTC approved by majority decision, was the application by South Fraser for a licence to operate a new commercial FM English-language radio station in Surrey at 107.7 MHz. The CRTC denied the other 11 competing applications.

On August 26, 2014, the Governor in Council received a petition from a private citizen concerning specifically the decision to issue a broadcasting licence to South Fraser. The petitioner alleged the following: first, that the CRTC gave a licence to a radio station format that “does not suit Surrey’s needs;” and second, that the CRTC’s licensing of South Fraser calls into question the integrity of its licensing process, given the allegations that the owner of South Fraser has connections to the owners/employees of Sher-E-Punjab Radio Broadcasting Inc. The latter is an entity that, as the CRTC has stated in an entirely separate process, “may be carrying on a broadcasting undertaking in whole or in part in Canada without a licence or pursuant to an exemption contrary to the Broadcasting Act.”

Regarding the first allegation, it should be noted that according to the CRTC, South Fraser “will fill a programming void by introducing a first local English-language service dedicated to a Surrey audience” and “will serve the needs of Surrey residents by offering local news and community information.” The CRTC also stated that the South Fraser station, “as a new entrant to the Vancouver radio market, [...] will enhance the diversity of news voice in the market.”

Regarding the second allegation, the integrity of the licensing process is outside the scope of section 28 of the Broadcasting Act. Section 28 provides that the Governor in Council may set aside or refer a decision back to the CRTC for reconsideration and hearing if the Governor in Council is satisfied that the decision derogates from the attainment of the policy objectives of the Broadcasting Act. In the present case, after careful consideration of the petition, the Governor in Council was not satisfied that the decision derogates from these objectives.

Therefore, under section 28 of the Broadcasting Act, the Governor in Council has declined to set aside or refer back to the CRTC for reconsideration and hearing the decision, contained in Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2014-412 of August 6, 2014, to issue a broadcasting licence to South Fraser to operate a new English-language commercial FM radio station in Surrey, British Columbia.

Implications

As a result, the CRTC decision stands.

Departmental contact

Scott Shortliffe
Deputy Director General
Broadcasting and Digital Communications Branch
Department of Canadian Heritage
Telephone: 819-997-9058