The silence of Radio Canada International

 

For a country that once regarded itself as one of the world’s leading middle powers, Canada’s voice on the international scene is a strikingly quiet one these days. It reminds me of the line from that famous “dead parrot” sketch in Monty Python: “bereft of life, it rests in peace.”

The latest sign of this is the decision by CBC/Radio-Canada to implement changes that have effectively smothered Radio Canada International (RCI), its fabled global audio and online service that has helped serve as “Canada’s Voice to the World” for more than a half century.

In a December announcement replete with CBC doublespeak, the CBC unveiled a “major transformation” of RCI that, it claimed, would ensure RCI remains “a strong and relevant voice” in this century’s media landscape. Not surprisingly, the practical impact of these changes is precisely the opposite.

Flipping RCI’s historic mission on its head, the service will now focus more on ethnic minorities within Canada rather than on continuing to produce programs tailored uniquely for international audiences. More than half of RCI’s beleaguered staff have been laid off.

Additional story at: https://opencanada.org/the-silence-of-radio-canada-international/

The Internet’s Impact on International Radio

Many broadcasters saved money by moving from high-power shortwave transmissions to the web. But at what cost?

James Careless

OTTAWA — During the height of the Cold War (1947–1991), the shortwave radio bands were alive with international state-run broadcasters; transmitting their respective views in multiple languages to listeners around the globe.

The western bloc’s advocates were led by the BBC World Service, and included Voice of America, Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe, Radio Canada International and a host of influential European broadcasters. The eastern bloc’s de facto team captain was the USSR’s Radio Moscow (with its unique hollow, echoing sound), supplemented by broadcasters in Soviet satellite countries (like East Germany’s Radio Berlin International) and allies like Fidel Castro’s Radio Havana Cuba

Additional text at Radio World:
https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/the-internets-impact-on-international-radio?utm_source=Selligent&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=6230&utm_content=RWI_Newsbytes_August%2C+1%2C+2019+&utm_term=&m_i=PnkrB6x_gjmyP866n6OfPASLAA_VCFq8vwLGsawVw_4lhMcdrevZ2W5E5gnYr7F%2BHFLH6qQlP7kXPNfjtWUo_LUA9nBviG%2BPPt&M_BT=1063852520706

The Northern Quebec Shortwave Service from RCI Shortwave in Sackville

RCI Sackville (Wikipedia)

It was in the Summer of the year 1923 that the Westinghouse radio complex in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania launched its earliest programming that was beamed on shortwave to the frigid areas of the far north in Canada.  This early programming grew into what became the KDKA-8XS Far Northern Service, and it was on the air from 1923 - 1940, a total of 18 years.

            Out of the KDKA-8XS Far Northern Service grew the equally famous Canadian Northern Messenger Service, a program that was originally produced by CRBC, the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission, in its Toronto studios at mediumwave CRCT in 1933.  This radio program,  the Canadian Northern Messenger, was taken over by CBC the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation nearly four years later towards the end of the year 1936.

            However, radio coverage of the far northern areas of Arctic Canada grew from this single weekly program on mediumwave and shortwave into a multi-station network of programming services, again on mediumwave and shortwave.  Here’s Ray Robinson with what happened.

            Back in 1938, CBC established a 50 kW mediumwave station, CBA, on the edge of the huge Tantramar Marshes near Sackville in the province of New Brunswick.  The Tantramar Marshes, one of the largest tidal salt water marshes in the world, cover an area of nearly 80 square miles.  They are located on the edge of the Bay of Fundy, which claims the highest tidal movement in the world, a rise and fall of 55 feet twice each day.  The maximum tidal rise there of 71 feet occurred in 1869.

            At the same location, they later installed an RCA 50 kW shortwave unit, and the first test broadcast on shortwave took place on December 16, 1944.  A few days later, on Christmas Day, CBC made a special broadcast for the benefit of Canadian personnel on duty in Great Britain and continental Europe.  A second shortwave transmitter was then added, and a regular daily international shortwave service via the two RCA 50 kW transmitters began exactly two months later, on February 25, 1945.

            A year or two later again, CBC began special programming that was beamed to the frozen north, and the two shortwave transmitters carried the same programming in parallel on 6090 and 9620 kHz.  At this stage, the northern programming was presented under the title CBC North West & Arctic Settlements.  During the winter, the Northern Messenger program was included in this shortwave scheduling.

            In 1958, the CBC announced plans to install a 50 kW shortwave transmitter in Vancouver, British Colombia, for coverage into the western areas of the Canadian Arctic, that is the Yukon and the North West Territories.  However, that project was never implemented, and instead the CBC augmented its daily Northern Service on shortwave from RCI Sackville and gave it a new name, The CBC Northern Canada Service.

            At this stage, the CBC also took over a small community medium wave station in Yellowknife, station CFYK on 1450 kHz, which had been established by the Royal Canadian Signal Corps in 1948.

            Nearly 40 years later, the Northern Canada Service became the Northern Quebec Shortwave Service, though it was still on the air from the same transmitter site at Sackville.  However, over the intervening years, the older 50 kW transmitters (by this time now three RCA units on air) were retired in favor of newer transmitters rated at 100 kW and ultimately 250 kW.

            In the 1960’s, a total of eight northern medium wave transmitters were carrying a relay of the CBC northern service, generally as an off-air relay from shortwave RCI Sackville.  In 1968, the CBA mediumwave transmitter and one 460 foot high antenna tower were removed from the Sackville shortwave station and re-installed near Moncton, New Brunswick, on Dover Road at Fox Creek.

             During the 1970’s, the specialized program service, the Northern Messenger, was phased out as no longer being necessary, due to other more modern forms of communication, though the Northern Quebec Shortwave Service itself continued as usual.

            The international shortwave service from CBC-RCI Sackville, with its official callsign CKCX, ended on June 23, 2012; though the Northern Quebec Shortwave Service was continued for several more months, coming to a final end on November 30 in the same year 2012.  The northern Canadian programming was now available via satellite, and a total of five new low power FM relay transmitters took over this programming for the benefit of small local communities.

            For much of the lifetime of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s northern programming, CBC issued a special QSL card for the verification of their shortwave programming from Sackville.  At least half a dozen of these very attractive QSL cards are known over the years.

            Interestingly, after the CBC-RCI shortwave station at Sackville was closed, the entire property was sold off.  In February 2017, a First Nations group, MTI, bought the entire property, including the 2½ storey building with its bevy of transmitters and additional electronic equipment.

            Included in the sale, was the on-site original RCA transmitter from 1944, Model MI733A, no longer in working condition, but preserved as a museum piece.  In an endeavor to save this historic transmitter from destruction and sale as metallic scrap, MTI offered it to any interested buyers for $5,000.

            And just a couple of months ago, in February this year, William Steele purchased the historic old unit and announced plans to install it as a museum piece in an old and equally historic prison that he procured a few years ago.  The prison is located in nearby Dorchester, New Brunswick.  The building is now in use as a guest house, and the old transmitter will occupy pride of place in a former prisoner cell.

(AWR Wavescan/NWS 477)

Radio Canada International nears final days on shortwave

On April 4, 2012 an approximate 80% budget cut to the International service from $12.3 million a year to $2.3 million a year was announced by RCI Director Hélène Parent. In the 2012 federal budget, a 10% funding reduction was announced for the domestic broadcaster, CBC/Radio-Canada. Radio-Canada subsequently translated this to an 80% reduction to the International service under its financial and managerial control.

These changes will effectively end broadcasting by RCI via shortwave and satellite. RCI News service (as a separate news service from the CBC-SCR derived news) will end, and the Brazilian and Russian sections will be cut.

All shortwave transmissions (including those from the Sackville Relay station), satellite, and all broadcast programming will end on June 24.

China Radio International, an important user of RCI Sackville will have to find a new shortwave relay site.

A skeleton remainder will provide some limited online services in five languages, including Spanish, Arabic, French, English, and Mandarin.

The last Radio Canada International shortwave transmission, will be on Sunday, June 24 at 2329 UTC, RCI Portuguese 13760 and RCI Spanish 11990 15455 kHz. {CEST Monday June 25 at 0129 hrs}

2300-2329 SAC 13760 250 163 HR 4/4/1.0 12,13 NW,13S,14,15W PORTUGESE
2300-2329 SAC 11990 250 176 HR 4/4/1.0 12SE,13NW,13S,14,15W,16NE SPANISH
2300-2329 SAC 15455 250 176 HR 4/4/1.0 12NE,12S,13NW,13S,14,15 W SPANISH

9625 kHz CBC North Quebec shortwave:
Small low-power FM transmitters are planned for selected communities
affected by the cessation of SW transmissions.
(Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany/BC-DX Top News & Jacques Bouliane/RCI)

Radio Canada International to leave shortwave

RCI News
April 4, 2012

Spending cuts announced last week in Canada's latest federal budget have reached Radio Canada International. Speaking to employees at RCI's headquarters in Montreal on Wednesday, RCI director Helene Parent declared that two out of three RCI employees---about 40 people---will lose their jobs by the end of July. RCI's Russian and Portugueuse sections will be closed along with the English and French-language newsrooms. All shortwave broadcasts will cease as well. RCI will continue to exist solely on the Internet in five languages---English, French, Arabic, Spanish and Mandarin.

http://www.rcinet.ca/english/news/15_56_27_2012-04-04-rci-slashed/

Following this decision, CBC/Radio-Canada will be closing its shortwave transmission site in Sackville, New Brunswick.
(Mike Terry/Cumbre DX)

Radio Canada International Summer Schedule

Effective: 25 March - 28 October 2012

All times UTC

Target Areas: af (Africa) as (Asia) ca (Central America) me (Middle East) sa (South America)

Broadcast daily unless otherwise indicated

Arabic
0200-0229 5950af 7230me
0300-0329 5990me 7230me
1900-1929 15235af 15180me

English
0000-0057 11700as
1500-1529 DRM 17815as
1500-1557 11675as 15125as
1800-1859 9530af 11765af 17810af
2000-2100 15235af 15330af 17735af

French
1900-1959 11765af 13730af 15320af 17735af
2100-2159 9525af 15235af 17735af
2300-2329 9525af

Mandarin
0000-0059 9690as 12015as
1100-1159 9490as 9570as
1500-1529 11730as
1500-1559 6110as
2200-2259 9525as 9870as

Portuguese
2100-2129 Fri/Sat/Sun 15455ca 17860sa
2200-2229 Fri/Sat/Sun 17860sa
2300-2329 Fri/Sat/Sun 13760sa

Russian
1500-1529 15325eu
1600-1629 15325eu

Spanish
0000-0029 11990sa 13760ca
0100-0129 11990ca
2200-2229 11990sa 15455sa
2300-2329 11990sa 15455sa
(RCI-Bill Westenhaver via Jaisakthivel, Tirunelveli, India & Alokesh Gupta, New Dehi, India. Reformatted by Gayle Van Horn, Frequency Manager-Monitoring Times)

Canada on Shortwave: VOA and RCI relays

Back during the 1930s, when shortwave broadcasting was becoming quite popular in many countries throughout the world, it was a common practice for one station in one country to relay the programming from another distant station in another country. Thus for example, the programming from shortwave KDKA in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania was heard at times on relay via shortwave stations located in England, and Holland, and Germany and Australia.
Conversely, the programming from shortwave VK2ME in Australia was heard at times via shortwave stations in the United States, and Canada, and England. Quite frequently, programming from radio stations in the United States was also heard on relay via radio stations in Canada.
In February 1941, the CBC in Canada inaugurated a low power shortwave station located at Vercheres, along the St Lawrence estuary on the northern edge of suburban Montreal in Province Quebec. This station contained three shortwave transmitters, two at 7½ kW and one at 200 watts. The purpose for this station was to provide radio coverage for French speaking people in country areas who were unable to receive the programming from existing mediumwave transmitters.
A report in an Australian radio magazine published in July 1941, just a few months after the station was inaugurated, states that the 7½ kW transmitter under the callsign CBFY was noted on 11705 kHz with a program of dance music from NBC in New York. Four years later, in October 1945, a report in an American radio magazine states that callsign CBFX on 9630 kHz at the same location was also noted with a regular daily relay of NBC programming from New York.
If all of the details were known, it is probable that Vercheres shortwave in Canada was taking a regular relay from NBC New York throughout all those years. This NBC programming, beginning on February 1, 1942, and extending well beyond the already mentioned 1945, was on the air in the United States under the control of the Voice of America. Thus, it would appear that CBC Vercheres in Canada operated as a part time relay station on behalf of the Voice of America for several years.
Back around the same era, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Montreal took out a relay from an American shortwave station for coverage into islandic and continental Europe. This was before the large Sackville shortwave station was established for Radio Canada International.
Documents in the office of Radio Australia in Melbourne state that the CBC in Canada took out a relay via the American shortwave station, WRUL near Boston in Massachusetts, beginning in March 1941. These shortwave broadcasts were on the air for the benefit of Canadian service personnel on duty in Europe, with messages from family members at home in Canada.

In August of that same year, a new program in the French language was produced in the CBC studios in Montreal Canada and broadcast over the same 50 kW shortwave station WRUL at Boston in the United States. This programming was in the French language under the title “Canada Speaks to France” and it was was beamed towards continental France.
The new RCI shortwave station at Sackville was officially taken into regular service on February 25, 1945. Three months later, in May, this station was heard in New Zealand with a relay of the Voice of America programming in the German language. The broadcast began with the identification announcement in French, “Ici Radio Canada”, and then followed the German program from the VOA studios in New York City.
At the time, two programs in the German language were on the air daily from RCI Sackville,
corresponding to the two time periods in Germany, breakfast & lunch time. There were just two personnel making up the German Service at Radio Canada International during this early era. It is not known at this stage as to whether the RCI relay of VOA in German was an occasional event, perhaps a fill in when other programming was not available, or whether this was a regular daily relay during this era.
This VOA relay via RCI Sackville was monitored on approximately 11700 kHz. Subsequent monitoring reports show that callsign CKXA on 11705 kHz was often heard in Australia & New Zealand with German programming. Several international radio monitors received QSL cards verifying the reception of CKXA on 11705 kHz, and it is probable that these cards verified the VOA relay via RCI Sackville.
On a more recent occasion, Radio Canada International at Sackville carried another relay on behalf of the Voice of America. On Sunday November 26 in the year 2000, a planned maintenance of the power systems at the BBC Atlantic Relay Station on Ascension Island took place. During that time period the Voice of America was normally on the air for a half hour via two transmitters at 250 kW each.
As a fill in measure, VOA took out a relay via RCI Sackville, for just a half hour, on the same two channels, 15390 kHz & 17875 kHz, for programming in Spanish to Latin America. The half hour ended with the RCI Identification Signal, made up of the first four notes of their National Anthem, O Canada.
It is understood that the two transmitters in Sackville were also operating at full power, at 250 kW each. The signal was strong as heard in the target areas, and also as heard in many areas in the United States, as well as in Australia & New Zealand.
By special arrangement by Dan Ferguson at the VOA headquarters in Washington DC, all correct reports of the one time VOA transmissions via RCI Sackville were verified with the correct transmitter location, shown as Sackville in Canada, and not Ascension Island on that particular date.
Thus in this feature on “Shortwave in Canada”, we see that:-
* Canada took out a shortwave relay to Europe via WRUL in Boston in the middle of last century.
* The regional shortwave station at Vercheres in Canada acted as a part time relay for VOA programming during the era of World War 2.
* VOA was noted with a relay for their German programming via Sackville in Canada back in 1945.
* VOA took out a special one day relay for their programming in Spanish to Latin America in 2000.
* Recent relay from Radio Marti via RCI Sackville
(NWS 127 via Adrian Pterson)

Radio Canada summer schedule changes

Effective from: 27 June 2011

All times UTC

English
2100-2200 9800 SAC 070 kW 268 deg to NoAM in DRM, deleted

Portuguese Fri-Sun
2100-2130 15455 SAC 250 kW 163 deg to Brasil, x2100-2200
2100-2130 17860 SAC 250 kW 163 deg to Brasil, x2100-2200
2200-2230 17860 SAC 250 kW 163 deg to Brasil, x2200-2300
2300-2330 13760 SAC 250 kW 163 deg to Brasil, x2300-2400

Spanish
2200-2230 11990 SAC 250 kW 176 deg to SoAM, x2200-2300
2200-2230 15455 SAC 250 kW 176 deg to SoAM, x2200-2300
2300-2330 11990 SAC 250 kW 176 deg to SoAM, x2300-2400
2300-2330 15455 SAC 250 kW 176 deg to SoAM, x2300-2400
0000-0030 11990 SAC 250 kW 176 deg to SoAM, x0000-0100
0000-0030 13760 SAC 250 kW 240 deg to CeAM, x0000-0100
0100-0130 11990 SAC 250 kW 189 deg to SoAM, x0100-0200
(R BULGARIA DX MIX News, Ivo Ivanov, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews July 3)
(DX Mix News 683 via Ivo Ivanov, Bulgaria & Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany)

CBC/Radio Canada outlines strategy for the future

CBC/Radio-Canada yesterday outlined its strategy for the future. Over the next five years, CBC/Radio-Canada will strengthen its commitment to original, innovative, high-quality Canadian content. It will also commit to airing at least 10 signature events per year in English and in French.

CBC will be looking to expand its regional footprint, launching new radio stations, introducing new local websites and services, and increasing regional news and programming. Radio-Canada will enhance its presence in regional life by producing engaging local programming that can then be used for broadcast nationally, by delivering more local and regional news, and by providing more local French-language content on regional websites, especially those outside of Quebec.

And, in an evolving digital and on-demand world, CBC/Radio-Canada will continue its leadership in new platforms and digital services, doubling its investment over the next five years. To evaluate progress, CBC/Radio-Canada has developed metrics to track and assess its performance by service and genre against the strategy twice a year.

(Source: CBC/Radio-Canada/R Netherlands Media Network)

Radio Canada International via your toaster ?

In an amusing piece, the website canadaeast.com tells us how residents in Tantramar marsh hear voices from their bathtubs, refrigerators, washing machines and toasters. These are apparently coming from the nearby Sackville transmitter site of Radio Canada International (RCI), though I am slightly puzzled at the sentence “Speaking in tinny, muffled tones, these voices ramble, sing and chat in Italian, Chinese, Portuguese and various other sing-song languages of the world” as RCI does not broadcast in Italian.
(R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Artist is, so far, unable to hear Radio Canada International shortwave on a kitchen sink
Victoria Handysides: "The people of the Tantramar marsh [New Brunswick] hear voices. ... Through the miracle of external rectification - aka: 'the rusty bolt effect' - folks around the region have been receiving misdirected radio waves for over half a century. They're unintentionally intercepting Radio Canada International broadcasts from CBC's shortwave broadcasting transmitter, built in the marshy wetlands to send radio waves across the globe. 'The plumbing acts as an antenna,' area artist and burgeoning historian Amanda Christie said. ... Christie, a 33-year-old Sackville resident, is attempting to record the area's buzzing and undocumented history; she's creating an audio/visual art project to tell the tale. ... The filmmaker/gallery worker has never heard the waves through her own appliances, so she's trying to fake it. Christie has constructed a homemade sink, with makeshift antenna copper piping. ... So far, nothing yet - but Christie's resolve is strong."
(CanadaEast Interactive, June 17/Kim Elliott)

Radio Canada International special transmissions

Special transmissions of RCI in various languages from Jan.16:
1200-2000 UTC on 15260 SAC 250 kW / 189 deg, maybe to Haiti
2000-2400 UTC on 9510 SAC 250 kW / 189 deg, maybe to Haiti
(DX Mix news # 608 via Alokesh Gupta, India & wb, Germany)

Canada's Opposition Leader Condemns Closure of RCI's Ukrainian Service

Thought you might want to know that Canada’s Opposition Leader, Michael Ignatief, met with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) on July 31, 2009.

In a press release the UCC wrote about his reaction to the closing of the Ukrainian Service at Radio Canada International:

“The Liberal Leader expressed dismay about funding cuts to Radio Canada International which resulted in the cancellation of broadcasting in the Ukrainian language. "It is unfortunate that Ukraine was singled out. This flies in the face of Canada's commitment to the democratic development of Ukraine. In a country where many parts of the population have access only to Russian media, this will deprive many Ukrainians who listened to this broadcast of a valuable source of independent information," said Michael Ignatieff.”

Rceei Ahkshin of Radio Canada International Action Committee (RCI Action
Committee) via Facebook
(Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi)