A Right to Media? Lorie M. Graham - Columbia Law School

2010] A RIGHT TO MEDIA? 485
In 2002, Aboriginal Voices Radio, a national Aboriginal radio
network, was launched with its initial station in Toronto. 215
In terms of legislative protection for First Nations
broadcasting, the Canadian government has been involved in
indigenous language broadcasting for several decades. The main
institution charged with supervising telecommunications is the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC). 216 The Communication Monitoring Report issued by the
CRTC in 2008 stated the Commission’s objective with regard to
diversity is to “ensure all broadcasters contribute to a system that
accurately reflects the presence in Canada of ethnocultural
minorities, Aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities.” 217 The
Report states that consistent with subsection 3(1)(d)(iii) of the
Broadcasting Act, the Canadian broadcasting system should “serve
the needs and interests, and reflect the circumstances and
aspirations of Canadian men, women and children . . . the special
place of Aboriginal peoples within that society.” 218
The Commission’s objectives are to ensure that broadcasting
presents an “accurate reflection of the presence (i.e., “who we see”
and “who we hear”) of ethnocultural minorities” as well as
“Aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities; and
the accurate, fair and non-stereotypical portrayal (i.e., “how we see”
and “how we hear”) of such groups.” 219 The Commission seeks to
215. Id. at 12.
216. The CRTC was established by the Canadian Parliament in 1968 and
is an independent public authority constituted under the Canadian Radiotelevision
and Telecommunications Commission Act. Canadian Radio-television
and Telecommunications Act. R.S.C., ch. C-22, (1985), amended by R.S.C., ch. 38,
§ 80 (1993). The CRTC is vested with the authority to regulate and supervise all
aspects of the Canadian broadcasting system, as well as to regulate
telecommunications common carriers and service providers that fall under
federal jurisdiction. Broadcasting Act, S.C. 1991, ch. 11, § 5(1) (Can.). The CRTC
derives its telecommunications regulatory powers from the Telecommunications
Act (S.C. 1993, ch. 3, § 9, amended by S.C. 1999, ch .31,, § 196(F) (Can.)), and the
Bell Canada Act (S.C. 1987, ch.19, §§ 6(2)(c), 11(2), 12, amended by S.C. 1993, ch.
38, § 80 (Can.)).
217. Can. Radio-television & Telecomm. Comm’n, Communications
Monitoring Report §2.3 (2008), available at http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/publications
/reports/PolicyMonitoring/2008/cmr2008.htm.
218. Id.
219. Id. § 2.3.