There will be a new radio station to listen to for those spinning their dial in Newmarket and area as the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRT) has approved Pickering College’s application for a community broadcasting licence.
The broadcasting licence will allow Pickering College to operate an English-language community FM radio station in Newmarket. The full conversion to a community station is expected by August 2025.
The school becomes the only junior kindergarten to Grade 12 school in Canada with a CRTC-licensed radio station and since its inception students have actively participated in creating content.
“Attaining a community licence is a transformative step forward for Pickering College and the communities of Newmarket and Aurora," said Jim Waters, Pickering College alumni parent and former owner of CHUM Limited. “The CRTC is very careful with regard to licence renewals and issuing new licences such as this one. It simply does not happen if the applicant has not done what they promised.
The new community radio station licence will replace the low-power English-language campus radio station licence currently held by CHOP FM Newmarket but will use the same frequency, 102.7 FM.
“Realizing this goal would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the members of the entire CHOP FM advisory committee,” said Dr. Cinde Lock, head of Pickering College. “Having a radio station so greatly enriches the programming we are able to offer our students. We are so thrilled to be able to grow our program over the next two years to be able to welcome in the entire community.”
This new licence will mean CHOP FM can increase its community programming and outreach, broadcasting 126 hours of volunteer-hosted programming per week, of which 100 per cent would be devoted to local programming that relates to social, economic, and community issues.
“I know that all of us look forward to the challenges and opportunities this new licence will present to the college and the community,” said Walters.
CHOP FM will continue to feature music in the alternative, rock, pop, jazz, and folk categories, along with airtime dedicated to special interest music and local talent.
