Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2025-92
Gatineau, 7 May 2025
Public record: 1011-NOC2025-0092
Notice of hearing
10 July 2025
National Capital Region
Deadline for submission of interventions/comments/answers: 6 June 2025
[Submit an intervention/comment/answer or view related documents]
The Commission will hold a virtual hearing on 10 July 2025 at 11:00 a.m. in the National Capital Region. The Commission intends to consider the following application, subject to interventions, without the appearance of the parties:
Applicant/Licensee and Locality
Vista Radio Ltd.
Grande Prairie, Alberta, and Fort St. John and Dawson Creek, British Columbia
Application 2025-0073-5
The Commission received an application from Vista Radio Ltd. (Vista), on behalf of Golden West Broadcasting Ltd. (Golden West), for authority to change the ownership and effective control of the English-language commercial radio station CJGY-FM Grande Prairie, Alberta, and its transmitters CJGY-FM-1 Fort St. John and CJGY-FM-2 Dawson Creek, British Columbia. Through this transaction, Vista will acquire from Golden West the assets necessary to operate the station and its transmitters. Following the closing of the transaction, Vista would become the licensee of CJGY-FM and its transmitters CJGY-FM-1 and CJGY-FM-2.
Vista also requested a new broadcasting licence to continue the operation of the station and its transmitters under the same terms and conditions as those currently in effect.
Vista is a privately owned Canadian radio broadcasting company controlled by Westerkirk Capital Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of SEB Investments Corp., which is majority held by Thomson Investments Limited.
Pursuant to the Asset Purchase Agreement, Vista would purchase the assets of the station for $1,250,000 and would assume certain liabilities. The applicant proposes a total value of the transaction of $1,531,576, which includes the leases to be assumed by the purchaser.
Vista proposed a tangible benefits package of $98,000, which represents 6.4% of the stated value of transaction, to be directed exclusively to the British Columbia Institute of Technology’s Diploma in Radio Arts and Entertainment. This would be an exception to the allocation set out in Simplified approach to tangible benefits and determining the value of the transaction, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2014-459, 5 September 2014 (the Tangible Benefits Policy), and Revised Commercial Radio Policy, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2022-332, 7 December 2022 (the Revised Commercial Radio Policy). Should the Commission deny this exception, Vista proposed a tangible benefits package of 6% of the stated value of transaction, the minimum percentage established by the Tangible Benefits Policy, to be allocated as prescribed in the Revised Commercial Radio Policy.
For CJGY-FM and its transmitters, Golden West is currently subject to the conditions of service set out in the appendix to CJGY-FM Grande Prairie and its transmitters CJGY-FM-1 Fort St. John and CJGY-FM-2 Dawson Creek – Licence amendment, Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2024-14, 17 January 2024. These include the requirement to adhere to the conditions set out in Revised conditions of licence for commercial AM and FM radio stations, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2022-334, 7 December 2022. The Commission notes that all licensees of commercial radio stations are subject to that regulatory policy. Should the Commission approve the transaction, it proposes to order the new licensee to adhere to the above-noted requirements.
Furthermore, the Commission proposes to order the new licensee to adhere to requirements relating to the implementation of the National Public Alerting System (NPAS) and to advise the Commission of the implementation of the NPAS, within 14 days after the installation of the alerting equipment.
Should the Commission approve the transaction, it proposes to impose conditions of service regarding the above pursuant to subsection 9.1(1) of the Broadcasting Act (the Act).
In addition, the Commission proposes to order the new licensee to make expenditures pursuant to subsection 11.1(2) of the Act in the form of tangible benefits. Consistent with the application, under the proposed orders, the new licensee would either allocate funds in a manner consistent with the Tangible Benefits Policy and the Revised Commercial Radio Policy or direct funds to the British Columbia Institute of Technology’s Diploma in Radio Arts and Entertainment program. The Commission would also propose to order the new licensee to submit proof of payment and eligibility regarding these contributions each year in a form deemed acceptable by the Commission.
Consistent with subsections 9.1(4) and 11.1(7) of the Act, interested persons may, as part of this process, make representations to the Commission with respect to the proposed orders.
Further obligations that reflect issues raised on the record of this proceeding may also be imposed by way of orders. This proceeding will provide the opportunity for the applicant and the public to comment on these issues and any orders that may arise as a result.
Applicant’s address:
101–910 Fitzgerald Avenue
Courtenay, British Columbia
V9N 2R5
Email: regulatory@vistaradio.ca
Email to request electronic version of application: regulatory@vistaradio.ca
Procedure
Deadline for interventions, comments or answers
6 June 2025
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Rules of Practice and Procedure (the Rules of Procedure) apply to the present proceeding. The Rules of Procedure set out, among other things, the rules for content, format, filing and service of interventions, answers, replies and requests for information; the procedure for filing confidential information and requesting its disclosure; and the conduct of public hearings. Accordingly, the procedure set out below must be read in conjunction with the Rules of Procedure and related documents, which can be found on the Commission’s website under “Statutes and Regulations”. Guidelines on the CRTC Rules of Practice and Procedure, Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin CRTC 2010-959, 23 December 2010, provides information to help interested persons and parties understand the Rules of Procedure so that they can more effectively participate in Commission proceedings.
An intervention or answer from a respondent must be filed with the Commission and served on the applicant on or before the above-mentioned date. An answer from a respondent must also be served on any other respondent.
Interventions and answers must clearly identify the application referred to and indicate whether parties support or oppose the application, or, if they propose changes to it, include the facts and grounds for their proposal.
Interested persons are permitted to coordinate, organize, and file, in a single submission, interventions by other interested persons who share their position. Information on how to file this type of submission, known as a joint supporting intervention, as well as a template for the covering letter to be filed by the parties, can be found in Changes to certain practices for filing interventions – Expansion of filing practices to include the filing of joint supporting comments for broadcasting policy proceedings, Broadcasting Information Bulletin CRTC 2010-28-1, 10 December 2010.
The Commission encourages interested persons and parties to monitor the record of the proceeding, available on the Commission’s website, for additional information that they may find useful when preparing their submissions.
Submissions longer than five pages should include a summary. Each paragraph of all submissions should be numbered, and the line ***End of document*** should follow the last paragraph. This will help the Commission verify that the document has not been damaged during electronic transmission.
Pursuant to Filing submissions for Commission proceedings in accessible formats, Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin CRTC 2015-242, 8 June 2015, the Commission expects incorporated entities and associations, and encourages all Canadians, to file submissions for Commission proceedings in accessible formats (for example, text-based file formats that allow text to be enlarged or modified, or read by screen readers). To provide assistance in this regard, the Commission has posted on its website guidelines for preparing documents in accessible formats.
Submissions must be filed by sending them to the Secretary General of the Commission using only one of the following means:
by completing the
[Intervention/comment/answer form]
or
by mail to
CRTC, Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0N2
or
by fax at
819-994-0218
A true copy of each intervention or answer from a respondent must be sent to the applicant and, in the case of a respondent to an application, to any other respondent.
Parties who send documents electronically must ensure that they will be able to prove, upon Commission request, that filing, or where required, service of a particular document was completed. Accordingly, parties must keep proof of the sending and receipt of each document for 180 days after the date on which the document is filed or served. The Commission advises parties who file or serve documents by electronic means to exercise caution when using email for the service of documents, as it may be difficult to establish that service has occurred.
In accordance with the Rules of Procedure, a document must be received by the Commission and all relevant parties by 5 p.m. Vancouver time (8 p.m. Gatineau time) on the date it is due. Parties are responsible for ensuring the timely delivery of their submissions and will not be notified if their submissions are received after the deadline. Late submissions, including those due to postal delays, will not be considered by the Commission and will not be made part of the public record.
The Commission will not formally acknowledge submissions. It will, however, fully consider all submissions, which will form part of the public record of the proceeding, provided that the procedure for filing set out above has been followed.
In the event that an application to be considered during the non-appearing phase of the hearing is brought to an oral phase of the hearing, and if parties wish to appear, they must provide reasons why their written interventions or answers are not sufficient and why an appearance is necessary. Parties requiring communication support must state their request on the first page of their intervention. Only those parties whose requests to appear have been granted will be contacted by the Commission and invited to appear at the public hearing.
Important notice
All information that parties provide as part of this public process, except information designated confidential, whether sent by postal mail, fax, email or through the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca, becomes part of a publicly accessible file and will be posted on the Commission’s website. This information includes personal information, such as full names, email addresses, postal/street addresses, telephone and fax numbers, etc.
The personal information that parties provide will be used and may be disclosed for the purpose for which the information was obtained or compiled by the Commission, or for a use consistent with that purpose.
Documents received electronically or otherwise will be put on the Commission’s website in their entirety exactly as received, including any personal information contained therein, in the official language and format in which they are received. Documents not received electronically will be available in PDF format.
The information that parties provide to the Commission as part of this public process is entered into an unsearchable database dedicated to this specific public process. This database is accessible only from the web page of this particular public process. As a result, a general search of the Commission’s website with the help of either its own search engine or a third-party search engine will not provide access to the information that was provided as part of this public process.
Availability of documents
An electronic version of the application is available on the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca by selecting the application number within this notice. It is also available from the applicant, either on its website or upon request by contacting the applicant at its email address, provided above.
Links to interventions, replies and answers filed for this proceeding, as well as other documents referred to in this notice, are available on the Commission’s “Consultations and hearings: have your say” page.
Documents are available upon request during normal business hours by contacting:
Documentation Centre
Examinationroom@crtc.gc.ca
Tel.: 819-997-4389
Fax: 819-994-0218
Client Services
Toll-free telephone: 1-877-249-2782
Toll-free TTY: 1-877-909-2782
Secretary General
- Date modified: