The
Canadian Radio and
Telecommunications Commission is a
federal agency tasked with
regulation of the use of the
public airwaves and the
telecommunications industry (in terms of services, not necessarily equipment). The
Canadian equivalent of the
FCC. It gives
licences to broadcasters, cable companies, telephone companies, cell phone companies, and just about everybody who doesn't use a
truck to move information (that would be
couriers,
newspapers, and
Canada Post, roughly).
Most broadcasting licences in Canada include requirements for Canadian content, but the CRTC licence will also specify the sort of programming allowed under the licence. You apply to run a certain type of radio station, for example, and if your audience (or others) complain that you are not meeting the commitments you made in your licence application, it may be revoked. (Licences must be renewed regularly, and the CRTC holds hearings.) This is one reason Canadian radio stations don't tend to go from techno to country overnight.