Stéphanie Paquette to les Jours de la radio 2025

Quebec, Quebec
November 7, 2025

Stéphanie Paquette, Commissioner, Québec
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)

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Introduction

Hello, and thank you to the Association des radiodiffuseurs communautaires du Québec for welcoming me to Les Jours de la radio. It’s a real pleasure to be with you for the second year in a row. I’ll let you in on a little secret: I found last year’s conference so interesting that I signed up again this year even before I knew the CRTC would be invited to speak. I appreciate this opportunity to meet the players in community radio and to better understand your realities.

Before we dive in, I want to acknowledge that we are gathered today on the unceded traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat First Nation. I thank them for being the guardians of these lands and waters since time immemorial.

Understanding the CRTC

As you probably know, the CRTC is an independent quasi-judicial tribunal that regulates Canada’s communications sector in the public interest. The Commission has nine members, including a chairperson, two vice-chairpersons (one for broadcasting and one for telecommunications) and six regional commissioners across the country.

I represent Quebec on the Commission.

We hold public consultations on telecommunications and broadcasting matters and make decisions based on the public record. The ARCQ is a regular participant in our proceedings, and we thank you for that. Your perspective is essential to making fair and informed decisions that affect you.

I should also mention that we’re supported in our work by a team of experienced analysts and specialists who provide us with critical data and insights to inform our decisions. I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge Emmanuel Bonnerot and Isabelle Jacques from the CRTC’s broadcasting team, who are here with us today.

Update on the overhaul of the regulatory framework for broadcasting

Some of you were here last year and may remember my speech.

I talked about the challenges facing the industry, particularly with regard to young people—which was the theme of the 2024 conference. At that time, of course, I made the observation that our broadcasting ecosystem is out of balance. This reality has been highlighted by the industry itself during CRTC processes. We have heard that with the emergence of international online competition, the multiplication of content available on demand and, above all, the exodus of advertising revenues to digital platforms, broadcasters are finding it increasingly difficult to invest in their programming. This reality affects every area of our ecosystem, from community radio to commercial radio to broadcasters.

In that speech, I told you that our priority was to restore this balance, in particular by integrating online streamers into our ecosystem and ensuring that they contribute financially. This is a colossal project on which we have been working tirelessly since the adoption of the Online Streaming Act in April 2023. I also mentioned our first major decision in this area, published in June 2024, which established the basic contributions of online services in support of Canadian broadcasting. This includes the contribution of 0.5% of the revenues of audio services to the Community Radio Fund of Canada.

I also announced four upcoming consultations.

• The first is on the modernization of radio processes, which I’ll tell you about in a few moments.
• The second is on the definition of Canadian content for the audiovisual sector.
• The third is on market dynamics in the industry.
• Finally, the fourth consultation—undoubtedly the most directly relevant to you here today—is on audio policy in Canada. This process highlighted the main issues facing radio stations, particularly those that are in a minority language.

Here’s where we are one year later.

Decisions on contributions

As you know, the decision on contributions has been appealed by some online companies. In November 2024, the Federal Court of Appeal suspended its application pending a decision on the merits of this issue. Arguments took place in June 2025, and we’re awaiting the decision.

Supporting the vitality and diversity of the sector

We also held all the public hearings we had announced.

As I mentioned earlier, consultations are an essential step in building the public record on which our decisions and regulations will be based. Since May, we have held 24 days of hearings, during which nearly 200 participants testified.

All in all, as part of the implementation of the modernized Act, the CRTC has issued eight decisions to date—with more to come in the coming weeks. This work represents a major turning point for the entire Canadian audio landscape. This is a considerable effort, not only for the Commission, but for the entire industry, which has collaborated in the process in an exemplary way, with a view to advancing the public interest. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the ARCQ for its essential participation in these hearings.

The CRTC recently took a further step in this modernization process by updating the rules governing radio stations.

In concrete terms, that means this work to lighten the administrative burden includes the simplification of certain requirements and obligations. This simplification is intended to enable stations to devote more resources to local programming and other activities related to promotion and outreach for on-air content.

At the heart of our decision was the introduction of open-ended licenses with no expiry dates, allowing participating broadcasters to avoid the process of renewing a broadcast license.

This new framework will be accompanied by a monitoring and verification system to ensure overall system compliance and will be phased in as existing station licenses are renewed.

As I mentioned earlier, this regulatory policy focuses primarily on streamlining processes for broadcasters in order to make the radio ecosystem more flexible and competitive.

It’s a start. As mentioned, we just completed a major hearing on audio policy in September. Discussions at the hearing highlighted a number of shared priorities. For example:

• the need to adapt regulations to a rapidly changing audio ecosystem, marked by the rise of digital technology and streaming platforms;
• the importance of better recognition and promotion of Canadian and Indigenous content by boosting its discoverability;
• the desire to simplify processes so that broadcasters can concentrate their efforts on creating and building ties with their audience;
• the need for a more transparent and efficient data collection framework to better understand listening behaviour; and
• above all, the conviction that regional diversity and local relevance remain at the heart of radio’s mission.

Other decisions are on the way, with the aim of continuing to make progress on the enormous task of overhauling Canada’s broadcasting regulatory framework.

I would also like to highlight another positive change that occurred during the year: the first benefits of the so-called “Google deal.”

As you know, in November 2023, Canadian Heritage announced that Google would be providing $100 million in annual financial support to a wide range of news businesses across the country, including community radio. The Canadian Journalism Collective, which administers the agreement, began distributing the funds in March 2025. By July 21, 2025, 338 new businesses had received their initial payment for the first year of funding. In total, $55.2 million in funding had been disbursed. According to the latest information, the Canadian Journalism Collective planned to distribute the remaining contributions in the fall.

I’d also like to mention one final decision we’ve made, which affects private radio — if there’s anyone in private radio here today This summer, we approved the plan filed by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters to administer a new temporary fund created to support commercial radio news in smaller markets, the Commercial Radio News Fund. This new fund will help Canadians gain even greater access to local news.

I know that needs and challenges remain despite all that’s already been done, but we are making progress. The first milestones set this year are key steps towards achieving the objectives set by the CRTC, namely:

• actively supporting Canadian and Indigenous content while recognizing the distinct nature of Canada’s two linguistic markets;
• ensuring that content reaches audiences and is discoverable; and
• ensuring access to reliable news and information at the local, regional and national levels, in both of the country’s official languages.

We know that to achieve these goals, we need to keep what has worked in the past, while also adopting new approaches. And let’s not forget French-language content, which faces its own challenges that call for solutions adapted to its cultural, social and economic reality.

I invite the ARCQ and its members to continue expressing their views during our upcoming consultations in 2026, as these are an essential step in the regulatory process.

Conclusion

As Les Jours de la radio gets underway, I’m looking forward to the discussions ahead. This year’s theme, local issues and expertise (Enjeux et expertise – 100% local), is perfectly aligned with the CRTC’s ongoing work to support the evolution of the radio sector.

In a world where listening habits are changing rapidly, the CRTC will continue to listen to, consult with, and support stakeholders to ensure that radio remains what it has always been: a vibrant and essential space at the heart of our communities.