The Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC)

The concept of radio broadcasting was still quite new and was mostly dominated by private broadcasters. The private broadcasters used it for publicity and profit. Moreover, the radio was closely monitored by the federal government because they thought that wireless communication needed supervision for security reasons. In addition, and unlike the United States, all Canadian radio owners had to buy a receiving-set license each year. However, later private broadcasters started to suffer from rising costs and less people were tuning into their stations because a lot of Canadians started to listen to American programs instead. The government felt it was necessary for them to step in to create a national system of radio broadcasting to promote …show more content…
At first the Commission was not acted upon due to the stock market crashing and a few provinces mostly Quebec challenged the federal government’s power to establish a public network. The challenge was then taken to court and was resolved in favour of the federal government. Finally, with this power confirmed by the courts, the government created the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act in 1932 which resulted in the making of the CRBC (Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission). The CRBC had more than 80 stations! Even though, the CRBC was an amazing accomplishment for Canada it was short-lived because of underfunding and organizational difficulties. Nevertheless, the federal government was still committed to the idea of a public network and it passed a new Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act which provided a replacement for the CRBC which made the CBC. The CBC was created with the authority to make new stations and purchase private stations. It was constructed better than the CRBC in all possible ways, for example it had a greater independence from political interference and it had secure