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Dear Secretary General: 1 This e-mail is to inform the you and the CRTC of my displeasure as a citizen of this country as to the manner in which the Commission has handled the matter of "Low Power TV" with regards to Jan Pachul. The CRTC, in my opinion has been negligent in expediently clarifying the "Low Power TV" situation and has lost creditability in calling "Star Ray TV" to task for broadcasting to the local community in violation of the Broadcasting Act. The fact it would appear would be there is no provision for this operation in the act so how could "Star Ray TV" be in violation of it? Star Ray TV has been struggling to remain broadcasting and serving the community for well over 18 months and action by the CRTC should have taken place much before this date. Because this has not happened until now legitimizes Star Ray TV's existance and right to broadcast as a "point of British Common law". 2 It appears to me that the Commission has been concentrating its time in regulating the "for-profit mega commercial broadcasters", as they carve up the dial with their new technology. This feeding frenzy will ultimately not be accepted by the public as the public are more concerned by what is going on in the community. The local public is what Star Ray TV and other low power TV stations will serve. By not recognizing Star Ray TV or the Low Power TV situation the CRTC is in violation of its own mandate to serve the Canadians. By not setting a policy for Low Power TV and legitimizing Star Ray in its efforts to serve the local community, the CRTC is setting a dangerous precedent by making free speech a criminal offence. 3. In my opinion the Secretary General should: (a) advise the CRTC board that, before this hearing in September, they should consider discussions on "Low Power TV" and ask for proposals so that this hearing can be productive for the Canadian taxpayer and not be a "witch-hunt" to punish Jan Pachul for serving his community. (b) allow Star Ray TV to continue broadcasting within its range with a temporary Industry Canada & CRTC licence until such a time as the "Low Power Policy" is established and Star RayTV can apply formally. 4. The Commission can no longer ignore the "Low Power TV" broadcasting question. The matter will continue to be a problem until these matters are addressed. The low power TV situation has been handled very well in the US where there may be a greater measure of democracy in this matter. It is time that Canadians are afforded the same rights. Respectfully, Ray Neilson 211-9 Crown Hill Place Toronto, ON M8Y 4C5"End of document" |