UPDATE: September 16, 2008

"CHLT-FM a go regardless" from The Sherbrooke Record.

Letter from VPR President & General Manager

August 13, 2008

Friends,

Vermont Public Radio has been informed that the CRTC, the Canadian broadcasting regulatory body, has approved the application for a new FM radio signal in Sherbrooke, Quebec, over the objection of hundreds of Canadian citizens.

Corus Entertainment’s application for 107.7 FM CHLT, Sherbrooke was approved earlier this month. This new signal will likely cause significant interference to VPR's signal at 107.9 FM in a large portion of the Eastern Townships of Quebec, including Hatley, Magog, Knowlton, and Stanstead, as well as neighboring towns in Northern Vermont.

VPR filed a formal objection to this application and more than 200 of our dedicated listeners in Quebec wrote to the CRTC to oppose the application. VPR’s objections to the application were denied by the CRTC and the commission noted that "because VPR is a U.S. station, it was not considered in the examination of this application."

Not only is this extremely disappointing for all of us at Vermont Public Radio, but especially so for the thousands of 107.9 fm listeners in the Eastern townships of Quebec. Vermont Public Radio is exploring the options available, and Corus has pledged to help Canadian listeners who do experience interference. We will continue to keep you updated as we learn more.

We are so humbled and grateful to all of you who responded so quickly and wrote passionate letters about the importance of VPR in your lives.

With sincere gratitude,

Mark Vogelzang
VPR President & General Manager

The CRTC’s decision can be reviewed online here.

Background:

April 23, 2008: New Signal Threatens VPR in Eastern Townships

April 30, 2008: Eastern Townships Update