The CBC is being hauled before the CRTC to explain how rebranding Country Canada as bold did not violate its terms of licence. The regulator will hold a June 2 public hearing to determine if bold, which relaunched last March, airs programming that ‘provides information, interaction and entertainment from a rural perspective.’ Country Canada, initially called Land and Sea, was licensed in 2000 under these conditions.

The CRTC’s scrutiny of the rebranding dates back to October 2007 when commission staff met with the CBC to discuss the planned revamp. At that time, and in subsequent written correspondence, the public broadcaster contended the changes could be done without amending its nature of service.

Although the CBC has provided examples of specific programs that reflected rural interests, commission staff determined it had not provided ‘sufficient evidence.’ In setting the public hearing, the CRTC noted that CBC’s actions ‘appear to negatively impact the integrity of the licensing process.’