The news that a full-time homosexual radio station has taken to the airwaves in Toronto must be causing more than a little chagrin among social conservatives in Canada and not just because of the fact the homosexual lobby will get yet another outlet to propogate its views to a wider audience. The licence for the station was awarded by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission without any competition for the frequency — a most unusual occurence, given the fact that FM radio licences in major markets like Toronto are highly prized commodities, for which many significant and well-funded groups put up big stakes.
But now we have “Proud FM,” taking its place at 103.9 on the dial, while other, much larger communities in Toronto and area — most notably, the Christian and Catholic ones — go underserved or are not served at all.
Many Canadians can recall the hoops through which Crossroads Christian Communications had to jump in order to finally obtain a much-deserved television licence. Even now, CTS must air what the CRTC regards as “balanced” programming, meaning that, although CTS is officially a “Christian” station, it must give airtime to other faiths, some known to be even hostile to Christianity. Of course, similar conditions are not placed on other television stations — pornography channels are not mandated to run programming about the negative effects of pornography, for example.
Several years ago, in an open competition for a frequency, Catholics in Toronto were denied an FM station of their own by the CRTC. Yet, the homosexual community is now handed a frequency on a silver platter, without the requirement to go through the channels others were obligated to go through. Something indeed smells rotten in Denmark.
One hopes the reality of a Conservative government in Ottawa will lead to some much-needed reforms in the outlook, composition and integrity of the CRTC.
