I stumbled across this by accident and it stopped me in my tracks – a radio station that claimed to be on FM in both Toronto and Hamilton. And I’ve never heard of it. Now I’m wondering if it really ever existed here at all.
 
It started off as CHIM-FM (not CHYM or CHUM but CHIM) one of the first all-Christian formats outside of Newfoundland, when the CRTC approved the format for the rest of Canada in June 1993. The station was based in Timmins and it didn’t take long before it started to expand to other places.
 
There were CHIM rebroadcasters approved for Iroquois Falls, Kirkland Lake, New Liskeard and Sault Ste. Marie. Soon there were CHIM sticks in Chapleau, Elliott Lake, Kapuskasing, Elliott Lake and Wawa, even in Red Deer, Alberta.
 
The owner tried to get a licence for Vancouver but the CRTC said no. And then, in 2000, they made an attempt to bring CHIM to Toronto, applying for permission to use 106.3 here. But again, the Commission denied the request.
 
Eventually, the CRTC pulled the station’s licences because, despite a history of non-compliance, they never took the Commission's warnings seriously.
 
Here’s where it gets strange. CHIM is now back on the air in its original home of Timmins, this time at 1710 on the AM dial, although why it was allowed to return despite its previous violations isn’t clear. But its website clearly states that it has rebroadcasters in both Toronto (at 101.7 FM) and Hamilton (at 104.9 FM.)


 
I’ve never heard either of these stations and an attempt to tune in both of them results in nothing but static. They’ve now taken much of their programming to the Internet, because, as they phrase it, “This new method of delivery is not under CRTC jurisdiction so therefore we have a lot more freedom and are now able to offer a much bigger range of programming.” In other words, screw you, CRTC.
 
But where are those GTA FM signals? Unless it's carrier current and reaches the house next door or around the block, I’ve never heard of them.
 
(And by the way, the call letters C-HIM are pronounced “See Him,” referring to God.) Does anyone know anything about this odd radio station? God only knows.

CHIM Website

CHIM-FM, At The History Of Canadian Broadcasting