CRTC revokes licences of native radio stations

Edmonton’s Aboriginal Voices Radio station and four sister stations are being shut down by the federal communications regulator.

In a decision Thursday “to help improve radio service for urban aboriginal listeners,” the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission said it is revoking the licences of AVR stations in Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa effective July 25.

The Ottawa station has been silent since last fall, the CRTC said.

CKAV-FM-4 Edmonton, known as Voices Edmonton 89.3 FM, remained on the air Thursday with a mix of adult-contemporary music.

Officials with AVR could not be reached for comment.

“Having a broadcasting licence in Canada is a privilege, and having a mandate to serve aboriginal communities is particularly significant,” CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais said in a news release.

“The CRTC notes with regret that AVR has been in non-compliance since its beginning, and has not fulfilled its commitments or the specific mandate given to it. AVR let its listeners down by failing to inform them on issues important to them. We find ourselves in an unfortunate situation where licence revocation is ... the only option.”

The CRTC will seek new operators in each of the markets, giving priority to proposals for services that would serve aboriginal communities.

AVR received its licences in the early 2000s. It had appeared before the CRTC four times in the past 15 years seeking renewals, but each time the commission found “numerous, repeated and serious instances of non-compliance” with radio regulations and licence conditions.

Issues accumulated over the years even though the CRTC showed flexibility, including short-term renewals to allow AVR to fix problems, the commission said.

When AVR appeared before the CRTC in May, it failed to show an ability to resolve issues, the commission said.

It said AVR failed to file audited financial statements for each of its stations and didn’t complete annual updates on the achievement of its business objectives.

It also failed to deliver “daily local newscasts on each station that include at least five distinct local news stories of direct and particular relevance to the aboriginal community within the market served.”

The CRTC said AVR hasn’t honoured its commitments and “has not fulfilled its mandate to reflect the distinctive place of the aboriginal community in Canadian society.”