FORT FRANCES—A decision by Shaw Cable to axe direct community programming from Fort Frances and Atikokan, and instead see coverage here conducted out of Kenora and Dryden, has prompted town council to write a letter to the company and encourage local residents to start a petition.
News of the company’s decision, which also has meant the termination of local community programming manager Randy Thoms, prompted Fort Frances Clerk Glenn Treftlin to find out more from Shaw, which had not forewarned the town about the changes.
Treftlin said he managed to contact Shelly Wiseman, a Shaw spokesperson based in Winnipeg, who informed him the local retail office would remain open and local technicians would continue to service Fort Frances.
There also are provisions to continue offering public announcements on TV.
Treftlin also was told the reason for the change was to “improve programming and coverage of local events by cable television” and “it would take a little while to get past the initial hiccups in the implementation of the change.”
Treftlin added he was told programming would continue through Shaw’s office in Kenora, similar to what the Shaw office in Winnipeg does for rural Manitoba.
He also was informed Shaw plans to continue coverage of Fort Frances town council meetings and special events.
“The assurances I have from Shaw . . . is that the plan is not to change drastically,” explained Treftlin. “The programming that is going on currently will be done in a different manner.
“Rather than have a local program manager on site, the management of programming will be conducted either through Kenora or Dryden.
“And it’s not supposed to be a reduction in service,” he added.
Treftlin stressed he’ll remain in contact with Shaw to “make sure they’re on the same track they’ve led me to believe they’re going to pursue.”
“Certainly we have a vested interest in the continuation of Shaw’s services within our municipality, and I think by keeping in touch with the programmer out of Kenora or Dryden, whichever the case is, we can make sure their programing schedule commencing in the fall will definitely include coverage of our regular meetings such they’ve done in the past,” he said.
He added the town also must find out what’s required to get Shaw to cover other special events.
“If an organization in our municipality or the area is proposing to have a special event that should be covered, and would normally have been covered by Shaw, we would ensure that those organizations have the contact information that they require to make sure that Shaw’s aware of the program and is capable of giving it air time,” Treftlin remarked.
He also was given contact names and numbers for the town to find out more from other members of the company.
Treftlin said he also contacted the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to see if Shaw is required to provide a minimum level of community programming.
He discovered that back in 2004, the CRTC had made it an option for cable companies to elect to have a community channel—not a requirement.
While he’s currently in the process of confirming it, Treftlin said the CRTC alluded to him that if a cable company elects to have a community channel, as Shaw has elected to have a community channel, they will be required to fill 60 percent of the programming on it with local content.
In the meantime, town council and administration have been given no indication as to when, or if, coverage of the semi-monthly council meetings will resume, giving some cause for alarm.
“Given the way we set up the agenda and everything—with no disrespect towards the print media, because I think they do an excellent job—we’re going to lose a tremendous dimension to our meetings,” Fort Frances CAO Mark McCaig.
“The whole aspect of accountability and transparency, getting the message out.
“I hope we can continue the conversation with the folks at Shaw, and tell them how well this service has been received, because we always joke that Monday night council does better in the Neilsen [ratings] than Monday Night Football. . . .
“But you know what, tonight we were going through the agenda and we have all kinds of projects, and there’s a lot of concerns and inconvenience [the public would want to know about],” McCaig added, noting a great deal is lost when the public can’t watch council meetings live.
“People in the community rely upon it, especially in the winter months,” he stressed. “I think it’s critical . . . we solidify this relationship with Shaw in the long-term. I think it’s critical to the way we do business.
“I don’t know,” added McCaig. “We were doing the council meeting here tonight—and maybe I’m being philosophical here—but something seemed lost while we doing it . . . .
“To think that we may potentially not have it on a regular basis is pretty disappointing and it’s alarming, and we’ll really have to rethink our focus on how we do a lot of things.”
“I think it’s another nail in the coffin,” said Mayor Roy Avis, referring to the loss of bus service to Winnipeg and near loss of busing to Thunder Bay as just two examples of increased isolation and loss of services for Fort Frances.
“We’re losing business after business,” lamented Coun. Ken Perry, adding he learned Manitoulin Transport closed down Friday.
Coun. Rick Wiedenhoeft said he can’t “buy” Shaw’s statement that coverage will be “improved” considering Thoms’ excellent coverage of everything from town council to high school sports here.
“I don’t know if there’s anything we can do, but we should make the effort to strengthen the case for Randy remaining in Fort Frances,” Coun. Wiedenhoeft added.
“It breaks my heart. Kenora, Dryden—what’s wrong with Fort Frances?” wondered Coun. John Albanese. “I think we should step up, start a petition now, and let Shaw know how we feel about it.
“Guys, let’s get behind [Thoms].”
Coun. Albanese said Thoms has been a “big plus” not only to Fort Frances, but Rainy River District, with his coverage of community events.
McCaig noted a “groundswell” of public support is needed to speak out against the changes and ensure the same level of community coverage continues on Shaw.
“We’ve been pretty happy with the service that we’ve gotten from Randy and we certainly want to see that continue. It helps make us a full-service community,” McCaig said.
Mayor Avis said the town will write a letter to Shaw, and encouraged the public to do everything they can through letters and petitions to let the company know how they feel.
“This is a very serious matter for the community,” said Mayor Avis.
“We can’t lay down and be kicked,” he noted later.
(Fort Frances Times)
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
