7.3 Study of French-language community radio stations in Ontario
Community Radio Stations
| Year | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Issue | Precarious situation of community radio stations in Ontario |
| Impact following FLSC’s intervention | The Ontario government commissioned a study of the media habits of Francophones in the province |
| Current status | Study completed and follow-up on the precarious situations of community radio stations |
In the Commissioner’s view, Ontario’s six French-language community radio stations70 play an important role in engaging the public. They also help to combat assimilation by bolstering culture and identity in the localities they serve.
Unfortunately, their precarious situation is nothing new. In 1988, a study commissioned by the Ontario government acknowledged that “(…) the current difficulties are due primarily to the absence of coherent, integrated policy and planning at the federal and provincial levels.”71
At present, the federal government’s Official Languages Support Programs provide grants to community radio stations only during their start-up phases. At the provincial level, there are no policies or programs specifically for this sector because of the government’s disengagement, which dates back to 1995, when the only support program for community radio stations was cancelled. It was never replaced.
In 2011, the Commissioner’s Office responded to an appeal by the Mouvement des intervenants et des intervenantes en communication radio de l’Ontario (MICRO) and published a study on the situation.
Effectiveness of the intervention
The study of French-language community radio stations in Ontario72 conducted by the Commissioner’s Office documented the real absence of government support in this area since 1995. It also highlighted the community radio stations’ contribution, role and impact in Francophone communities in view of the current media landscape and demographic realities.
The Commissioner recommended that the government undertake a new study of community radio stations. The goal was to paint an accurate picture of their status and suggest concrete, permanent solutions to meet the specific needs of Francophones.
Very little in the way of concrete action was taken in response to the study by the Commissioner’s Office, except for a study commissioned by the Office of Francophone Affairs and carried out by Groupe Média TFO on Franco-Ontarians’ media habits with regard to community radio stations, newspapers, television, the Internet and social media. No action was ever taken on that study.
70. The stations broadcast from Hearst, Kapuskasing, Penetanguishene, Toronto, Cornwall and Ottawa.
71. Kealy Wilkinson and Associates, Community Radio in Ontario: A Dynamic Resource – An Uncertain Future, Ministry of Culture and Communications, Ontario, 1988, p. 62.
72. Office of the French Language Services Commissioner, A Study of Ontario’s French-Language Community Radio Stations: Key components of the vitality of Francophone communities, Toronto, 2011.