TORONTO — It was first suggested by Canada’s equivalent of the FCC right around the Thanksgiving holiday of October 2025, with the launch of a public consultation process to review radio processes. The reason, said the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), was “to reduce the regulatory burden on radio stations, while continuing to support Canadian and Indigenous creators.”
Now, 10 1/2 months after the plan was floated, the introduction of indefinite broadcasting licenses for Canadian AM and FM radio stations — erasing the need for a renewal application — has come to fruition.