OTTAWA – “The Governor in Council, having considered the petitions, is satisfied that the decision does not derogate from the attainment of the objectives of the broadcasting policy for Canada," reads the Order-in-Council on the appeals to cabinet over the CRTC’s decision to grant Rogers Media a 9(1)(h) licence for its national ethnic TV channel.
The decision was made Saturday, but made public Wednesday, and there was as little explanation as possible. TLN Media, ECG, Corrcan, and ICTV, all rejected applicants, had filed appeals to cabinet over the decision.
Furthermore, a separate ICTV appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal which actually called for the dismissal of the CRTC chair was rejected by the court, “finding that the applicant did not demonstrate an arguable case that the decision of the CRTC has made an error of law or jurisdiction based on a reasonable apprehension of bias.“ The Court decided that the motion for leave to appeal should be dismissed, with costs.
In a single line reaction to Cartt.ca, TLN Media CEO Aldo Di Felice said: “I guess might is always right. Even when it isn’t.”
Rogers, for its part, is glad the fight is over. “We are thankful that the Governor-in-Council agreed with the CRTC’s decision to award Rogers Media a 9(1)(h) licence for OMNI Regional,” said Colette Watson, SVP of TV and broadcast operation. “OMNI Television has celebrated culture and community for more than 30 years, and looks forward to building on its experience and infrastructure to deliver vital news and information programming that is meaningful, contextual, and relevant.”
