Opening remarks at the public hearing for new radio broadcasting licences in Montreal and Quebec City, Quebec

Quebec City (Quebec)
February 20, 2019

Dr. Caroline J. Simard
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

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Hello, and welcome to this public hearing.

During this hearing, we will review two applications submitted by Leclerc Communication. The first one is a request for authorization to acquire commercial radio stations CHOI-FM of Quebec City and CKLX-FM of Montreal, both owned by RNC Média. The second is a request to amend the CKLX-FM conditions of licence to transition from a predominately spoken word format to a music format. . Without being subject to a condition of license to that effect, CKLX-FM currently offers exclusively sports-oriented programming.

We will also review Leclerc Communication’s request for exception to the Commission’s Common Ownership Policy. It submitted this request with the intention of operating three French‑language FM stations in the Quebec City market, which is one more than the maximum allowed. Leclerc Communication has indicated that its acquisition of CHOI-FM and CKLX-FM is contingent on the Commission’s approval of the proposed format amendment and the exception to the Common Ownership Policy.

Our first priority is to determine whether this transaction, which includes a request for exception to the Common Ownership Policy, is in the public interest. With this in mind, we will consider factors including the applicant’s programming commitments and the benefits that this programming would have for the communities in question. We will also consider the intangible benefits that could result from this transaction, as well as the tangible benefits in the form of the financial contributions that would be made to the radio broadcasting system.

Procedure

Before we begin, I would like to acknowledge the presence of my colleagues. The hearing panel is composed of:

• Yves Dupras, Commissioner, Quebec Region;
• Christianne Laizner, Vice-Chairperson, Telecommunications;
• and, of course, me: Dr. Caroline J. Simard, Vice-Chairperson, Broadcasting.

The following Commission staff members, in particular, are here to support us:

• Cédrick Lelièvre, Hearing Manager and Senior Corporate Analyst
• Moïra Létourneau, Legal Counsel
• Jade Roy, Hearing Secretary

I now invite Ms. Roy to explain the procedure that we will follow during the hearing.
Madam Secretary…