Arabic-language radio would be first for the Maritimes

The president of an Arabic-language radio station in Montreal has filed an application with the CRTC to set up a similar station in Nova Scotia.

If the request is approved, it would be the first Arabic-language station in the Maritimes.

Tony Karam, president of CHOU Radio Middle-East in Montreal, said there's a growing audience waiting to tune in.

"The main project of this station is to establish a good connection between the ethnic groups living in the great Halifax area, he said.

Karam said the core audience would be Halifax's growing Lebanese community.It will also cater to Chinese, Greek and German people with shows in those languages.

"The whole program will be a mixture of news, talk, music, entertainment, social programs, meeting with doctors, meeting with social workers, he said.

Karam said the station would help immigrants integrate into society and feel at home.

It's a station with a waiting audience, says Father Maximos Saikali.

His largely Lebanese-Canadian Saint Antonios Antiochian Orthodox Church is overflowing and is soon moving across the street to a new building with room for newcomers.

"The Arabic-speaking community is bigger, too. Now I hear that there are many reports say the second language in the city is Arabic," said Saikali.

If his application is approved and everything goes smoothly, Karam hopes to be on air by the end of the year.