Last June, the CRTC awarded a licence to First Peoples Radio to replace Aboriginal Voices, which once occupied 106.5 FM in Toronto. The latter outfit was found guilty of an endless number of infractions, leading the Commission to yank its licence and offer it up to another Indigenous group. 

The new owner of the valuable frequency has vowed to be up and running by National Indigenous Peoples Day, which takes place on June 21st. I have no idea how far along they are, although they announced they were hiring staff at the beginning of the year. There's certainly been no test signal at the vacated spot on the dial, and with May beginning this week, that doesn't leave them much time to get testing and then get on the air. 

If they can do it in just about a year from the day their licence was awarded, it should be a lesson to my favourite non-radio station, CKNT 960 in Mississauga, which has been trying to sign on since they were given the go ahead by the CRTC way back in 2011 - now seven years and counting! Their latest extension says they have to be on air by July 31st. That's not that long from now either, and there's no word if they've got their transmitter issues fixed, hired a single employee or even have a physical studio location. 

It's worth keeping an ear on both frequencies over the next few weeks/months to see if either one actually makes it on at their promised time.