OTTAWA – According to a front-page story of the Italian newspaper Corriere Canadese’s June 4th issue, Jean Brazeau, VP regulatory affairs of CorrCann “has written a letter to the PM and individual members of cabinet expressing disappointment and saying that Corrcan is going to launching a formal petition to Cabinet asking for a re-determination, a change in the decision.”
Of course, when the CRTC issued its decision on the licensing of a national, multilingual multi-ethnic discretionary service with mandatory 9(1)(h) distribution to Rogers Media to continue on with OMNI, it probably anticipated that the other applicants, which CorrCann was one, would not be very happy about it.
“The decision defies logic; is an affront to the concept of respect for the integrative process lived by newer Canadians, disdainful to the concept of Multiculturalism as a reflection of the Canadian reality, and, defiant of the procedural fairness Canadians might expect in the mechanisms outlined in calls for proposals,” reads the Corriere Canadese story.
Cartt.ca, at the time of the decision, published the reaction of one of the applicants, Aldo Di Felice, whose Telelatino had applied in partnership with Asian Television Network for the must-carry license. He did not mince words then: “The decision does not explain where we failed. It seems the threat of OMNI’s shutdown has again resulted in another bailout. All told, the $45 million granted in 2017 plus the additional $60 million granted now means that Rogers will receive over $100 million dollars to support its multicultural service. While minority led multicultural services like ours receive zero,”
Other applicants, at the time, had expressed displeasure but have so far decided to remain silent.
The Broadcasting Act provides for an appeal process to Cabinet and that appeal has to be filed within 45 days after the decision, which brings us to July 7th. Then Cabinet has another 45 days to determine whether it would let the decision stand, set it aside or refer it back to the Commission, which brings us to August 21st.
So, it appears that CorrCan will prevail itself of this option, but we cannot recall when such appeal has been successful. (Update: Actually, a reader with a better memory reminded us of how Denham Jolly's Milestone Communications appealed to Cabinet, and won, an originally denied radio station license in Toronto – and how Dan Iannuzzi, one of the founders of Corriere Canadese and what is now OMNI, appealed to obtain Mandatory Carriage [instead of a Category 2] licence for World Television Network in the early 2000s. Cabinet sent the decision back to re-hear, but the CRTC stuck with its original decision and denied the licence.)
However, the Government has intervened a few times over the years to promote Ethnic Broadcasting. For example, on October 4, 2000, an order-in-council required the Commission to “report on the earliest possible establishment of over-the-air television services that reflect and meet the needs of the multicultural, multilingual and multiracial population of the Greater Vancouver Area.”
The result was the issuance of a license to local company Multivan Broadcasting Corporation and the decision had stated at the time that: “The new station will be owned by local investors of ethnic origin with strong broadcasting, business and community backgrounds.”
Will ethnic ownership become another issue of contention? Consider that the station was later sold to Rogers/OMNI, so be careful before jumping to conclusions…
Corrcan has not yet filed its appeal to cabinet.
