Canada: Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission closed consultation on temporary Commercial Radio News Fund (CRNF)

On 4 December 2024, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) closed the public consultation, which had been open since 4 November 2024, on the proposed establishment of a temporary Commercial Radio News Fund (CRNF) aimed at supporting local news programming by commercial radio stations outside of Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa-Gatineau. The consultation gathered feedback on the plan submitted by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) regarding fund administration, including governance structures, operational mechanisms, and compliance with the Broadcasting Act’s statutory objectives on equity, diversity, and inclusion. The consultation formed part of the CRTC’s broader regulatory strategy to modernise Canada’s broadcasting framework, following the issuance of Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2024-121, CRTC 2024-121-1, and Broadcasting Order CRTC 2024-194, which addressed base contributions by online streaming services to Canadian and Indigenous content.