OTTAWA — The federal cabinet has told Canada One it doesn’t have the authority to re-examine the CRTC’s rejection of the proposed digichannel, but the matter still isn’t closed.

The team behind the would-be digichannel were denied a licence during the summer and recently appealed to cabinet, but were turned down because the government only has the power to look at decisions to issue, amend or renew a broadcast licence, and not rulings on applications for ‘mandatory distribution.’

Canada One, which was intended to feature visible minorities and homegrown drama, sought basic digital coverage, meaning it would have been a must-carry for distributors, and would have to be taken by all digital TV subscribers. The same decision granted a licence and must-carry status to the descriptive video service The Accessible Channel.

In a Sept. 20 letter, Canada One was informed that appeals have been received regarding the licensing of The Accessible Channel as must-carry. The cabinet will look into those appeals since it involves the issuing of a licence.

Canada One also appealed the CRTC’s July decision directly to the regulator on the grounds that it misunderstood the proposal. There has been no word from the CRTC on what it plans to do.

‘We want the CRTC to re-examine the application because we don’t feel they understood it properly. They erred in two main areas,’ says principal Paul de Silva.

De Silva says the CRTC decision notes Canada One didn’t commit to airing original Canadian drama in primetime until year five of the licence, but de Silva says that it proposed to produce original productions every year of its licence — starting with 63.5 hours and a $20-million investment in year one.

The CRTC also said, if current efforts by broadcasters continue, the on- and off-screen presence of visible minorities will improve, undercutting the need for Canada One, a point countered, says de Silva, by research submitted with the application.

He also argues that Canada One fulfills the Broadcasting Act objective of reflecting the multicultural and multiracial nature of Canadian society.

‘Our major opposition came from the cable giants. But show us another way to get visible minorities portrayed on the air,’ says de Silva. ‘Putting American shows in primetime to fund Canadian drama is not the way to go. The other way is to get government money, but that’s for the CBC. There is no better way than what we proposed — 50 cents coming from each TV subscriber.’