Andrea Langlois et al - Islands of Resistance - Pirate Radio in Canada

16 • islands of resistance
fiscate equipment and levy fines. Finally, if the pirate station insists
on continuing to broadcast illegally, theoretically it may be subject to
criminal and/or civil charges. 20
It is difficult to ascertain how many pirate radio stations have been
shut down historically. In a 2009 phone interview, a representative of
Industry Canada stated that they did not have this information, and
suggested that this lack of data is related to the dearth of pirate radio
broadcasts occurring within the country. 21 Yet only a few months later,
Radio Free Cortes in British Columbia received an official letter that
threatened them with shutdown unless they applied for a licence. In a
subsequent phone interview, a representative from the CRTC argued
that because “Americans are more politicized” 22 in relation to radio
than are Canadians, there are fewer pirate practitioners north of the
border. In league with this stereotype of the apolitical Canadian who
is quite satisfied with legally available radio options, Carla Brown, a
journalist working for the CBC has stated, “Canada has an extensive
community radio network that allows almost all types of content on
the air. Canadian pirates tend to do it as a hobby rather than a political
statement.” 23 Despite a commonality of opinion between Industry
Canada, the CRTC and CBC reporters like Brown, it has become clear
to us in the course of compiling this volume that there are numerous
and varied pirate radio practitioners across Canada. They are not
merely hobbyists doing vanity broadcasting, but are choosing to take
over the airwaves for a multitude of reasons, including political motivations.
An interesting case in point that reveals the sometimes highly politicized
nature of Industry Canada’s enforcement practices, occurred
in February 2010 involving “Safe Assembly Radio,” an unlicensed
Vancouver low-watt station daring to broadcast views and opinions
critical of the corporate and patriotic spectacle known as the Winter
Olympics. While claiming to have immunity from the CRTC’s rules
and regulations on pirate radio because it was a temporary art-related
project, combining its on-air broadcasts (which had a 3km radius)
with internet streaming online from the artist-run VIVO Media Arts
Centre (one of the few Vancouver-based cultural groups which refused
to apply for Cultural Olympiad funding), after less than 24 hours of
broadcast time the station was shut down by Industry Canada officers,
who threatened VIVO as an organization with a fine of $25,000
a day and with fines of $5,000 per day for each individual involved