CRARR SUPPORTS APTN'S APPLICATION FOR LICENSE RENEWAL AND 15¢ FEE INCREASE

Montreal, February 20, 2013 --- In a letter submitted to the federal broadcast regulator today, CRARR strongly supported the Aboriginal Peoples' Television Network (APTN) in its application to renew its license and fee increase of 15¢ per Canadian cable or satellite subscriber per month.

Praising APTN as a “significant National Bridge for discussion, mediation and reconciliation among Canada’s constituency groups” and “the principal and leading media tool for First Peoples’ empowerment and contribution to the Canadian body politic and social fabric”, CRARR also called on the CRTC to grant the national media network the 15 ¢ increase as a way to increase budget opportunities for quality Aboriginal television programming and other productions.

”For 1/5 of the price of a cup of coffee, APTN brings to each and every Canadian a national narrative that is the envy and the object of fascination of many countries around the world,” wrote Dr. Lorna Roth, an expert on Aboriginal broadcasting and long-standing CRARR advisor.

Since its inception in 1983, CRARR has consistently supported Aboriginal media, because “a strong, vibrant and innovative Aboriginal communications and cultural infrastructure, made in Canada by Canada’s First Peoples and their supporters, will reinforce and promote Canadian culture across the entire country.” CRARR also appeared, through one of key advisors, the late Dr. Gail Valaskakis, at the CRTC's public hearings in the 1990s to support APTN's license application and has been a strong ally of the network since.