CRTC approves network

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On a Saturday morning, a young Aboriginal child wakes up, remembers his favorite cartoons are on and turns on the television. The characters that play out the animated programs are Aboriginal and they speak an Aboriginal language.

Beginning September, this scenario could happen in homes across Canada because of a new channel that will offer programming that will be about Aboriginal people and their culture.

The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network application for the world's first-ever national public Aboriginal television network was approved Feb. 22 by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

Abraham Tagalik, chairman of Television Northern Canada, from which the CRTC application originally sprang, responded to the approval of APTN's application in a teleconference in which he voiced his satisfaction with the decision.

"The Aboriginal community needed to get a good message. This was the good message," said Tagalik about the approval of APTN.

The chairman of TVNC indicated the favorable CRTC decision is humbling, yet very exciting for everyone involved with the Aboriginal network. The support from across Canada that APTN received for their application compelled the CRTC to approve it, he said.

APTN will begin by offering 120 hours of programming, 30 hours of which will be programs in a variety of Aboriginal languages, with 20 hours in French, and 70 hours in English. As the network is established, the content of Aboriginal language-based programs will increase and producers will gladly take as much of those programs from the Aboriginal community as it can, said Tagalik.

"We have $6 million to acquire the Aboriginal content and programs of all categories, including live events and sports, that will be needed," said Tagalik. The southern up-link centre will most likely be located in Winnipeg for southern news and production. At least 40 staff people will be hired for the Winnipeg centre. There will be a spin-off of jobs across the country, said Tagalik.

The opportunity for training and apprenticeships will become available through APTN, said Tagalik. The network will be big supporters of training, he promised.

"We will raise the awareness in education, drama, create jobs and opportunity and put a sense of self satisfaction into one's culture," said Tagalik. It's part of the healing process, he said. Aboriginal young people will be provided a positive opportunity to learn about themselves, he said.

The biggest challenge now for APTN is to get the interim board of directors in place and get everything working in the short time they have until the launch, said Tagalik. The board will consist of 21 members with 10 members representing the North and the rest representing southern Canada.

The CRTC heard interventions from several major cable companies that opposed the mandatory carriage licence claiming that significant costs would result for cable operators. In response, the CRTC considered the costs associated with changes in channel lineups a part of a distributor's normal cost of doing business. APTN will charge a monthly fee of 15 cents per cable subscriber for the new channel.

Programs for APTN will be determined by a program selection committee, said Tagalik. The main idea will be to have Aboriginal programs and, if those programs are by non-Aboriginal producers, the selection committee will still consider them, he said.

"We won't be checking blood types, but there will be standards. It has to be about Aboriginal people," said Tagalik. Aboriginal producers will be given priority, he indicated.

Tagalik is confident viewers will be won over by programming being offered and that people may have never had access to before.

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