MONTREAL: In April, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) published Independent Community Television’s not-for-profit application for TELE1, along with seven other applications by commercial entities. The application that wins the licence will receive mandatory distribution across all cable services and millions of dollars in public funding annually.

TELE1, a project by ICTV, is the only application by a non-profit organization that can guarantee transparency and accountability for the subscriber fees meant to sustain access and reflection for the linguistic and ethnic communities in the broadcasting system. Since 2013, ICTV has been the most prominent advocate of accountability for consumer fees and public funding mechanisms, at both the CRTC and the courts, with its precedent setting case against Videotron/Quebecour and their misuse of public funds in the community television sector.   

TELE1 is the only applicant that has a founding board that represents the largest number of cultural communities as well as Indigenous Nations, provides gender parity, and representation for disAbility communities. TELE1’s Board of Directors and Advisory Board members bring years of experience in multilingual and news broadcasting, non-profit financial management, and community organizing.

TELE1 is the only applicant that will air news in English and French from the perspectives of diverse communities to convey their opinions to the wider public. TELE1 is also the only applicant that will air daily news, and current affairs shows, in the eight largest “third-languages” in Canada: Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi, Tagalog, Spanish, Arabic, Italian, and German. TELE1 will broadcast more hours of original news and Canadian programming than any other applicant.

TELE1 will air programming in 45 languages, more languages than any other applicant, is the only applicant that will air programming in 5 Indigenous languages, and envisions cross-cultural programming to help introduce these communities to each other.

“We are seeking a CRTC license to end the corporate control of ethnic broadcasting in Canada.” – Jooneed Khan (Jeeroburkhan), renowned retired journalist and columnist reporting and advocating for human rights.

Thursday, June 7, 2018, is the deadline to send interventions and for the public’s opinion to be heard at the CRTC. Click (here) to download a template letter of support for TELE1.

Details on CRTC process and TELE1’s application – http://tele1.ca/index.php/en/component/content/article/9-en/16-timeline-at-the-crtc