CKAV-FM-2

On June 5 the CRTC approved application by Gary Farmer on behalf of a company to be incorporated as Aboriginal Voices Radio (AVR) for a new FM station to serve Vancouver.  However it denied the application for use of 90.9 MHz.  AVR was to operate the proposed station as a not-for-profit undertaking, with most programming originating from its Toronto studio during its initial years of operation, increasing to as much as thirty hours per week by the end of the first licence term.  The CRTC noted Statistics Canada 1996 census data indicating that Vancouver was home to 31,100 Aboriginal residents.

On February 12 the CRTC approved application for an extension to the deadline required for the submission of an application for an alternate frequency.  On May 7 the CRTC approved application by the CBC for use of the 90.9 frequency, previously denied to AVR, for a new French language station in Vancouver.  On July 3 the CRTC approved an extension of the time limit to commence operation of AVR’s new Vancouver station. On December 20 the CRTC announced that AVR had submitted an application proposing the use of 92.3 MHz with an effective radiated power of 1,200 watts.

On February 21 the CRTC approved an application by AVR to add an AM transmitter in Abbotsford to operate with a power of 10,000 watts on 850 kHz, but that service did not proceed.  On June 6 the CRTC granted a further extension to AVR’s time limit.  In late August and September, the CBC started testing signals on 104.1 and 106.3 from its Mount Seymour transmitter site for possible use by AVR.  These two frequencies were first adjacent channels to operating full power stations on 104.3 and 106.5 transmitting from Orcas Island in nearby Washington State.

On July 23 the CRTC approved an extension for the third time.  In late September and October AVR began testing transmissions on 106.3, inviting listeners to call in signal reports.  On December 3 the CRTC advised that AVR’s application to operate on 92.3 had been withdrawn subsequent to objections by the CBC that interference problems would exist with its CBU-FM-1 transmitter, licensed to serve Victoria on 92.1 MHz.

On July 19 the CRTC approved an extension for the fourth time, recognizing the value of the programming service proposed by AVR. 

On March 27 the CRTC approved a further time limit for the station to find another useable frequency.  On May 24 the CRTC announced that AVR had applied for use of 106.3 MHz.  The following day it was announced in the Vancouver press that the station would begin operation on June 30, but the frequency remained silent.  On June 22 the CRTC approved use of 106.3 (but did not specify the station power) by AVR, despite objections by KWPZ-FM 106.5 in nearby Lynden WA.  It denied a 7000-signature petition generated by KWPZ-FM opposing use of the 106.3 frequency in Vancouver.  In early July the CRTC allowed a further delay to the station’s startup and Industry Canada approved use of the call letters CKAV plus a numerical identifier for each market — CKAV-FM-2 for Vancouver.  In August AVR ran further interference tests to ensure the FCC in the U.S. and Industry Canada that the signal would not illegally interfere with the Lynden station on the U.S. side of the border.  At 2 p.m. on December 6, CKAV-FM-2 began NAVCOM testing with four-hour loops of music and announcements, after receiving clearance from both Industry Canada and the FCC.  Industry Canada records listed the effective radiated power as 9000 watts peak.

CKAV-FM-2 plugged into the AVR network originating from its CKAV-FM Toronto in early January.  The station identified as the “Aboriginal Radio Network”.  

On August 24, the CRTC renewed the licences for the Native Type B radio programming undertakings CKAV-FM Toronto, CKAV-FM-2 Vancouver, CKAV-FM-3 Calgary, CKAV-FM-4 Edmonton and CKAV-FM-9 Ottawa from 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2012. These short-term licence renewals would enable the Commission to review, at an earlier date, the licensee’s compliance with the Radio Regulations, 1986 and its conditions of licence. The Commission also imposed a mandatory order pursuant to section 12(2) of the Broadcasting Act requiring the licensee to comply at all times with the requirements contained in section 9(2) of the Radio Regulations, 1986, which deal with the filing of annual returns. 

CKAV-2 changed its name from AVR to Voices 106.3.

On June 22, the CRTC administratively renewed the licence for CKAV-FM-2 Vancouver, until November 30, 2012.

On November 29, the CRTC renewed the broadcasting licences for the Type B Native radio stations CKAV-FM Toronto, CKAV-FM-2 Vancouver, CKAV-FM-3 Calgary, CKAV-FM-4 Edmonton and CKAV-FM-9 Ottawa, to August 31, 2015. This short-term renewal would enable the Commission to assess at an earlier date the licensee’s compliance with the Radio Regulations, 1986 and its conditions of licence.

On June 25, the CRTC revoked the broadcasting licences for the Type B Native radio stations CKAV-FM Toronto, CKAV-FM-2 Vancouver, CKAV-FM-3 Calgary, CKAV-FM-4 Edmonton and CKAV-FM-9 Ottawa held by Aboriginal Voices Radio Inc., effective 25 July 2015. The licensee would have to cease broadcasting by no later than the end of the broadcast day on that date. The Commission’s decision to revoke was based on AVR’s repeated and serious non-compliance with its regulatory obligations over four consecutive licence terms, as well as the Commission’s complete lack of confidence in the licensee’s ability to broadcast in compliance with those obligations going forward and therefore meet the unique needs of Aboriginal people. For the most recent licence term, AVR admitted to the following instances of non-compliance at the 13 May 2015 public hearing: failure to file complete and accurate program logs and logger tapes, failure to file annual returns for the 2013-2014 broadcast year for its five stations, failure to broadcast regular daily local newscasts on each station that included at least five distinct local news stories of direct and particular relevance to the Aboriginal community within the market served, failure to file complete annual updates on the achievement of its business objectives, and failure to file audited financial statements for each of its stations.

The Federal Court of Appeal granted Aboriginal Voices Radio a reprieve to the CRTC’s order that it shut down its radio stations in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. The four stations would remain on the air until a final disposition of the matter.