Indigenous non-profit takes over Quebec station after 3 year radio silence

Mohawk Multi Media Inc. was given the green light by the CRTC to acquire the assets of CKHQ-FM, a low-power English and Mohawk language Indigenous radio station broadcasting in Kanesatake and Oka, QC. The commission released the application approval on Tuesday which also allows Mohawk Multi Media -- a non-profit corporation controlled by a board of directors -- to obtain a new broadcasting licence to continue the operation of the station. The organization filed an application to acquire the assets from CKHQ United Voices Radio and requested a new broadcasting licence that would allow it to continue to operate under the same terms and conditions as United Voices, according to the CRTC decision. In 2014, the CRTC approved an application by James Nelson, on behalf of United Voice, to operate the Indigenous radio station. “In July 2017 a flood destroyed the station’s studio and most of its transmitting equipment. As a result, CKHQ-FM went off air,” according to the CRTC’s written decision. It then “faced a number of hurdles, including financial difficulties and a lack of operational experience, that prevented it from relaunching the station.” The commission renewed its licence in 2019 “for administrative purposes” and in April 2020, United Voice, Mohawk Multi Media and the Mohawk Council managed to relaunch the station. As a result, “United Voices donated the assets of CKHQ-FM to and, in a letter dated 17 September 2020, submitted that the assets are of minimal value and that, therefore, a formal purchase agreement was not required,” according to the CRTC decision which also noted that there were no interventions submitted in regards to the acquisition. The CRTC determined that Mohawk Multi Media satisfies its conditions to hold a broadcasting licence: it is Canadian owned as its board of directors is composed of five Canadian Mohawk individuals -- which also makes it eligible to operate the Indigenous undertaking. It is also in the public interest for the community according to the CRTC which wrote that “an Indigenous undertaking... has a distinct role in fostering the development of Indigenous cultures and, where possible, the preservation of ancestral languages. The commission recognizes that, as the sole station dedicated to the Kanesatake community, CKHQ-FM plays an important role in the community and that the community was deprived of CKHQ-FM’s signal for nearly three years before relaunched it.” The CRTC will determine in a separate decision whether to change CKHQ-FM’s status from a low-power (which allows up to 50W of effective radiated power) unprotected service to a regular power FM service.

Indigenous non-profit takes over Quebec station after 3 year radio silence

Brief | May 11, 2021

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Indigenous non-profit takes over Quebec station after 3 year radio silence

Brief | May 11, 2021

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