When the CRTC denied a 'mainstream Black radio station' for Toronto

Milestone Communications had been preparing to launchwhat CBC reporter Justin Smallbridge described as its "mainstream Black radio station" for two years.

But in August 1990, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission denied the company'slicence application.

"My initial reaction was one of shock, and then dismay," Milestone's DenhamJolly told Smallbridgeafter the decision was announced. "It was quite perplexing, because no one expected a country station to receive the licence in Toronto."

The city had "witnessed the demise" of acountry-music station just four weeks earlier, Jollyadded.

Widespread support

Smallbridge said the "mainstream Black station" would offer "all kinds of Black music and culture."

Jollywas surprised by the decision, given the amount of support he knew existed for Milestone's proposed station.

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"We had 6,500 letters of intervention on our behalf from the broad community," he said. They included support from politicians, labour unions, doctors, lawyers and "from all walks of life."

"And of course, from our own Black community," he added.

Smallbridge said three of the CRTC commissioners had filed "strongly worded dissenting opinions" disagreeing with the awarding of the licence to RawlcoCommunications.

According to theGlobe and Mail, CRTC chairman Keith Spicer was one of the dissenters who argued that Toronto was already served by country-music radio and that "the allocation of scarce FM radio frequencies for an audience already served can only deprive groups who already feel alienated from the mainstream of Canadian society."

Two weeks later, the newspaper reported that several groups had filed appeals to the federal cabinet over the CRTC decision. Milestone was among them.

Buffalo competition

Thanks to WBLK-FM, a Buffalo, N.Y.,station that broadcast its signal north,Toronto radio listeners could already tune into a station "that plays nothing but Black music," said Smallbridge.

"It boasts a regular audience, just in this city alone, of some 400,000 people," he said.

Thatpotential competition for listeners and advertisers was very much on the mind of Milestone's Carl Redhead.

[WBLK] must be jumping up and down with joy right now," said Redhead. "They are wooing this business community here in Toronto more and more ... they are working the market, and this just enhances their position, which is a sad thing for Canada."

According to the Globe and Mail, a subsequentapplication by Milestone Communications for an "urban dance and ethnic" station in a "coveted FM spot" in 1997 was also rejected by the CRTC.

Instead, the federal regulatorruled in favour of an application by the CBC to move its "flagship news station" in Toronto from 740 AM to the FM frequency.

Milestone's third effort succeeded in June 2000 when it was granted the 93.5 FM frequency for a radio station it called FLOW.