jon wrote:Applying that to CIMM, CHMZ, and CKPM, none have racked up the number, severity and duration of license infractions that Wetaskiwin has, so it should not be a surprise to anyone that the CRTC renewed the licenses.
It doesn't say much for the commission when the worst case scenario is the industry standard for compliance.
Other than the year or so when Jamie Watson ran CHOO, we've been dealing with non-compliance issues since 1999. From the get-go, it's been a legacy of malfeasance and outright fraud. First the HRDC scandal (one fed fast tracked the application through another fed, in the absence of public hearings), then the AVR scandal, then the foreclosure of the station equipment from the licensee who never applied a dime toward the principle nor produced a minute of programming nor offered direction to anyone other than someone they met in the bar the night before to fill time slots. Then McBride comes along, jumps into bed with First Nations who disassociated themselves before the first renewal (without notifying the commission). Nary a word of traditional "spoken language" programming has been produced, no less presented. Other than claiming to be an employee himself, these stations sat empty for years, Tofino (1 year), Ucluelet (2 years) and Pemberton (3 years). THAT'S SIX YEARS of zero service in a total of nine years service for no reason other than the owner's own undoings.
Not one local staffer during those times other than a phone call to a friend of someone (untrained) who rebooted the computers when the power failed (or was cut off). One fellow rebooted the station computer, but was unaware of an open mike and admitted during an aircheck, he was untrained and used several f-bombs. Another told me they did it twice, but never got paid. The building owner (a proverbially promised 20% shareholder) mentioned doing it a few times, but refused to do it again until rent was current. To this day, McBride has not paid one cent of the rental agreed for the lobe space on the CBC tower at Barr's Mountain.
It seems to me an undertaking is supposed to be affirmation of commitment. Not just an empty promise to be excused by deliberate lies, bad debts and labour relations issues that can be dragged out for decades.
Surely our communities deserve better than that.