The CRTC brought out its big stick Friday by revoking the license of CKLN-FM, a campus radio station in Toronto.

“Holding a broadcasting licence is a privilege that comes with responsibilities and regulatory obligations,” CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein said in a statement that accompanied the regulatory ruling.

Following December 2010 hearings, the CRTC said CKLN Radio Inc. will go silent on February 12 after failing to reinstate sound governance of the Ryerson University radio station in Toronto.

“CKLN Radio was given several warnings and opportunities to come into compliance. Each time, it demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to address our concerns. Taking away its licence is the only appropriate course of action in this case,” the regulator said.

The student-run radio station first came to the notice of the CRTC in 2008 with allegations of ongoing instability inside CKLN, leading to airwave disruptions.

“At the time, the station experienced significant infighting and the volunteers, staff and management were locked out of the studio premises by the building manager,” the CRTC recounted in its ruling.

“During the seven-month lockout, CKLN-FM broadcast an intermittent loop of programming without any ongoing community involvement or oversight by the licensee,” the regulator added.

The CRTC rarely yanks broadcast licenses, with Quebec radio station CHOI-FM losing its license in 2005 being one occasion.