CJRM-FM

On September 21st, the CRTC approved an application for a broadcasting licence for a French language FM community radio station at Labrador City. The station would broadcast on 97.3 MHz, with an effective radiated power of 456 watts, and the licence would be held by L’Association Francophone du Labrador, and was for a four year term, to expire on August 31st 1995. The call letters would be CJRM-FM (which had been used briefly by an FM station in Montreal between 1964 and 1968).

The licence was for community radio, Type A, and the station initially undertook to provide 42 hours of programming weekly. The Commission noted that the station would be owned and controlled by a non-profit organization whose structure would involve the substantial involvement of members of the community at large.

On February 28th, at which time CJRM-FM was not yet in operation, the CRTC issued a “special broadcasting licence” for a 20-day period to Radio Communautaire du Labrador Inc. for a 50-watts station to operate on 97.3 MHz “…..to cover Labrador’s community events and encourage community interest in the establishment of the French-language community radio station……. authorized on September 21st 1990…..” . The term of the special licence ran from March 10th to 30th.

On March 31st, having earlier granted an extension of the time limit on L’Association Francophone du Labrador’s licence to launch an FM station in Labrador City, the CRTC granted a further extension of the time limit, requiring that “…construction be completed and the undertaking be in operation on or before 21 September 1992.”

In May the Commission announced that it had received an application from Radio Communautaire du Labrador Inc. (RCL) for approval to acquire the assets and the broadcasting licence for CJRM-FM Labrador City from L’Association Francophone du Labrador. In addition, the new entity asked for permission to rebroadcast a maximum of twelve hours programming a week to be supplied by CFMF-FM Fermont, Quebec.

On September 4th, the CRTC approved RCL’s application, and undertook to issue a licence for CJRM-FM to expire on August 31st 1995. The Commission noted that no dollar value was attributed to this transaction, which merely spun off the station’s assets to another non-profit society. It was noted that CJRM-FM would also be supplying twelve hours of programming per week to CFMF-FM Fermont in exchange for the similar number of hours they would be receiving from that station.

CJRM-FM received approval on October 29th for the station to devote 5% of its broadcast time to English-language programming.

In a CRTC decision dated July 6th, CJRM-FM received a five-year licence renewal, to run from September 1st 1995 to August 31st 2000. The Commission also approved the licensee’s proposal to expand its broadcast week from 42 hours to 126 hours, and noted that the station would no longer be rebroadcasting programming originating with CFMF-FM Fermont.

In renewing the station’s licence on February 14th, the CRTC denied CJRM-FM’s proposal to reduce its spoken word programming from 15% to 4%, saying they saw no convincing evidence why there should be an exception to the Commission’s Community Radio Policy in respect of spoken word content. The Commission also expected the station to honour its commitment to devote 42% of its news programming time each broadcast week to local and regional news. The new licence would run from March 1st 2001 to August 31st 2007.

The Commission noted that of CJRM-FM’s 126 hours of programming weekly, 50 hours 30 minutes would be produced by the station.

On May 22nd, CJRM-FM received a seven year licence renewal, to run from September 1st 2007 to August 31st 2014. 

On September 14 the CRTC approved an application by CJRM to operate transmitters in La Grand’Terre and St. John’s. The La Grand’Terre transmitter would operate on a frequency of 96.1 MHz with an average effective radiated power of 42 watts (maximum ERP of 250 watts with an effective height of antenna above average terrain of -17.6 metres). The St. John’s transmitter would operate on 95.7 MHz with an average ERP of 232 watts (non-directional antenna with effective height above average terrain of 29.4 metres). Both transmitters would broadcast the programming of CJRM-FM in order to better serve the Fracophone population of these communities. 

CKIJ 95.7 St. John’s began broadcasting. It simulcast the programming of CJRM.

On November 22, the CRTC approved an application by Radio communautaire du Labrador inc. to change the technical parameters of the transmitter CKIP-FM La Grand’Terre, a transmitter for the French-language community radio programming undertaking CJRM-FM Labrador City. The licensee proposed to increase the transmitter’s average effective radiated power from 42 to 142 watts (maximum ERP of 250 to 632 watts) and to decrease the effective height of antenna above average terrain from -17.6 to -37.6 metres. According to the licensee, the technical amendment was necessary to prioritize the replacement of a number of pieces of defective or obsolete equipment of CJRM-FM following evaluations conducted by engineers. As a result of those unforeseen expenditures, the licensee had to review the installation initially planned for the La Grand’Terre transmitter, which was not yet in operation. The licensee submitted that the installation of this transmitter under the modified parameters would reduce installation costs. The licensee noted that despite the proposed amendment, the contours would remain substantially unchanged.

In June, Radio Communautaire du Labrador Inc. voluntarily surrendered the licence for CJRM 97.3 Labrador City, and rebroadcasters CKIP 96.1 La Grand Terre and CKIJ 95.7 St. John’s. According to CJRM, the station had been silent since July of 2018 but the CBC had reported that the station had not produced any local programming since some time in 2015. The CBC also reported that while off the air, the station allegedly continued to collect advertising dollars.