OTTAWA – Corriere Canadese has formally appealed to federal Cabinet the CRTC decision to grant a multilingual national multi-ethnic discretionary service with mandatory 9(1)(h) distribution to Rogers, as Cartt.ca had previously reported.
“In the Decision’s relegation and monopoly granted to a single corporate entity, to purportedly speak for all other linguistic and ‘ethnic’ Canadians, who are non-Anglo and non-Franco, the Decision violates the very essence of sections 2,7,15 and 27 of the Charter, as well as the underlying constitutional imperative to Federalism and Respect for Minorities as enunciated by the SCC, in the Quebec Secession Reference,” reads the petition to Cabinet.
It adds: “the Decision defies logic; it 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. The Decision is both unfair and wrong.”
The appeal to cabinet questions the process where Rogers was originally granted only short licence term since the Commission decided did not deserve a full term licence and so the appeal puzzled that: “one of the largest Canadian corporate conglomerates, already blessed with numerous and massive government advantages, and with no connection to the ethnic communities, is being subsidized further to determine the quality of ‘ethnic programming’, what news is relevant to Allophone Canadians, and what programs they will watch.”
An appeal to Cabinet is a legal procedure but it is also a political process, so they quote the fact that Prime Minister issued a Mandate Letter to the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism, calling on the Minister to deliver on “top priorities”.
Among these was to: “Lead work across the government to strengthen Canada’s multicultural advantage—implement a revitalized Multiculturalism Program and develop new initiatives to celebrate diversity and foster greater inclusion.”
Interestingly, the petition to Cabinet does not ask the Government to scrap the decision to grant mandatory carriage for OMNI as there is a need for more channels serving those communities. So, they are suggesting the Government “need not necessarily require the Commission to withdraw the licence from Rogers for OMNI Regional. In our view, there is room for a regional service such as OMNI, and a service that is truly national, focused on news and public affairs, and produced and delivered “by and for the communities” targeted.
Also in the pipeline, Cartt.ca has become aware from sources who do not yet wish to be named, that we will likely see an appeal to the Courts on the same decision from one of the other licence hopefuls in accordance with Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act, which reads: “An appeal lies from a decision or order of the Commission to the Federal Court of Appeal on a question of law or a question of jurisdiction if leave therefore is obtained from that Court on application made within one month after the making of the decision…”
One month ends today, Monday, June 24th. We shall see if that brings any new challenges to the decision.
