The Pelmorex Radio Network was a system of Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 radio stations in Northern Ontario

Northern Ontario

Northern Ontario is a region of the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron , the French River and Lake Nipissing. The region has a land area of 802,000 km2 and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it contains only about 6% of the population...

, owned and operated by Pelmorex

Pelmorex

Pelmorex Media Inc. is a Canadian broadcast group. The company operates the broadcasting licence for The Weather Network and its French sister station, MétéoMédia. The Weather Network and MétéoMédia are Canada’s only 24-hour national specialty television networks devoted to weather reporting...

.

History

In 1989, Pierre Morrissette founded his own communications company, Pelmorex Media Inc., and acquired several french and english-language radio stations that were serving various small and medium-size markets in northern Ontario. Pelmorex acquired the first stations from Mid-Canada Radio in 1990.

In 1992, Pelmorex also entered into one of Canada's first local management agreements, taking over day-to-day management, but not formal ownership, of Telemedia's CHAS-FM

CHAS-FM

CHAS-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts an adult contemporary format in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. The station, owned by Rogers Radio, uses the on-air brand EZ Rock...

 in Sault Ste. Marie.

Pelmorex became controversial as one of the first radio broadcast groups in Canada to centralize its operations as a cost-saving measure. Almost all local programming on the stations was discontinued, with only local morning shows remaining. This process began slowly in 1991 with a mid-day program after a satellite uplink was installed at the CHNO

CHNO-FM

CHNO-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at 103.9 on the FM dial in Sudbury, Ontario. Airing a classic hits format, the station is branded as Rewind 103.9.-History of CHNO:The station began broadcasting on June 24, 1947 on AM 1440...

-CJMX

CJMX-FM

CJMX-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts an adult contemporary format at 105.3 FM in Sudbury, Ontario. The station uses the on-air brand EZ Rock. The station is owned by Rogers Media.-History:...

 studios in Sudbury. By 1994, most of the stations' programming was delivered by satellite from a facility in Mississauga, and the stations were reduced to storefronts with just a few staff members.

The controversy came to a head in 1995, when Environment Canada

Environment Canada

Environment Canada , legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment Canada (EC) (French: Environnement Canada), legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment...

 issued a severe weather warning in Sudbury during the Heat Wave of 1995 Derecho Series

Heat Wave of 1995 Derecho Series

The heat wave of 1995 derecho series are a series of derechos that occurred from July 11 through July 15, 1995 in the U.S. and Ontario, Canada. This weather event is among one of the least known about but still notable weather events that occurred during the 20th century.- Synopsis :A tremendously...

. The warning, issued barely ten minutes after the stations had switched to the central programming feed, was never broadcast on any of Pelmorex's three stations in the city. Pelmorex, ironically, also owned Canada's Weather Network

The Weather Network

The Weather Network is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that broadcasts weather-related news and information 24 hours a day....

.

Scott Jackson, a former program director with the company, has written on his website that Pelmorex often neglected necessary equipment and technology upgrades at the stations, and that the company had him simultaneously serve as program director of both the Sudbury and North Bay clusters, spending half of his working week in each city.

Pelmorex subsequently sold CKNR, CJNR and CKNS to North Channel Broadcasting in 1996. All three stations were merged by North Channel into a new FM station on 94.1 MHz in 1997, known as CKNR

CKNR-FM

CKNR-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts an adult contemporary format at FM 94.1 in Elliot Lake, Ontario. The station uses the on-air brand Moose FM.-History:...

.

Pelmorex also converted CHVR Pembroke, CHVR-1 Renfrew and CHVR-2 Arnprior to the FM band in 1996. All three stations were merged into a new single FM station on 96.7 MHz, known as CHVR-FM

CHVR-FM

CHVR-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 96.7 FM in Pembroke, Ontario. The station airs a country music format branded as Star 96....

. Pelmorex converted CHUR North Bay to the FM band in 1997. In 1998, after a change in CRTC ownership rules, Pelmorex sold CHUR, CHVR, CJMX in Sudbury and CJQM in Sault Ste. Marie to Telemedia

Telemedia

Telemedia was a Canadian media company, which had holdings in radio, television and magazine publishing.The company was launched in 1968 by Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien.Telemedia was held privately until it became publicly traded in the late 1980s....

. (Telemedia had previously been limited to one station on each of the AM and FM bands in each market; with the change, it could acquire two in one band and one in the other, so it added second FMs to its existing AM/FM combos in each city.)

Pelmorex sold the remaining stations to Haliburton Broadcasting Group

Haliburton Broadcasting Group

The Haliburton Broadcasting Group is a Canadian group of FM radio stations, located primarily in smaller markets in Ontario.-History:The company is named for the Haliburton region in Central Ontario, where majority owner and president Christopher Grossman, a longtime radio sales manager, trainer...

 in 1999. The company had received CRTC approval to convert CHNO, CHYC, CKOY, CHYK, CHOH and CKAP to the FM band as well, although the conversions were still in progress when the stations were sold to Haliburton.

Stations

Community	Call Sign	Old Frequency	Current Frequency	Notes
Blind River Blind River, Ontario Population trend:* Population in 2006: 3780* Population in 2001: 3969* Population in 1996: 3152 * Population in 1991: 3355-Economy:Its main businesses are tourism, fishing, logging, and uranium refining....	CJNR CJNR (AM) "CJNR" redirects here: Canadian Journal of Nursing Research.CJNR was a former radio station which operated at AM 730 kHz in Blind River, Ontario, Canada.-History:...	AM 730	FM 94.1	Sold to North Channel Broadcasting in 1996.
Elliot Lake	CKNR CKNR-FM CKNR-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts an adult contemporary format at FM 94.1 in Elliot Lake, Ontario. The station uses the on-air brand Moose FM.-History:...	AM 1340	FM 94.1	Sold to North Channel Broadcasting in 1996.
Espanola Espanola, Ontario Espanola is a town in Northern Ontario, Canada, and is the seat of Sudbury District. It is situated on the Spanish River, approximately 70 kilometres west of downtown Sudbury, and just south of the junction of Highway 6 and Highway 17.- History :The name "Espanola" has been attributed to a story...	CKNS CKNS (AM) CKNS was a former radio station which operated on AM 930 kHz in Espanola, Ontario, Canada.-History:On February 6, 1976, Algonquin Radio-TV Co. Ltd. was given approval to operate a new AM station at Espanola. It would broadcast on 930 kHz with a power of 10,000 watts. CKNS began broadcasting at...	AM 930	FM 94.1	Sold to North Channel Broadcasting in 1996.
Hearst Hearst, Ontario Hearst is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is located in Northern Ontario, approximately west of Kapuskasing, approximately north of Toronto and east of Thunder Bay on Highway 11...	CHOH CHYK-FM CHYK-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at FM 104.1 in Timmins, Ontario. It broadcasts a francophone hot adult contemporary format for the city's Franco-Ontarian community. It is owned by Le5 Communications, and branded as Le Loup 104.1....	AM 1340	FM 92.9	Sold to Haliburton Broadcasting Group Haliburton Broadcasting Group The Haliburton Broadcasting Group is a Canadian group of FM radio stations, located primarily in smaller markets in Ontario.-History:The company is named for the Haliburton region in Central Ontario, where majority owner and president Christopher Grossman, a longtime radio sales manager, trainer...  in 1999.
Kapuskasing	CKAP CKAP-FM CKAP-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at 100.9 FM in Kapuskasing, Ontario. The station airs an adult contemporary format branded as Moose FM. CKAP also has a rebroadcaster in Hearst, CKHT, at 94.5 FM....	AM 580	FM 100.9	Sold to Haliburton Broadcasting Group Haliburton Broadcasting Group The Haliburton Broadcasting Group is a Canadian group of FM radio stations, located primarily in smaller markets in Ontario.-History:The company is named for the Haliburton region in Central Ontario, where majority owner and president Christopher Grossman, a longtime radio sales manager, trainer...  in 1999.
Kapuskasing	CHYK CHYK-FM CHYK-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at FM 104.1 in Timmins, Ontario. It broadcasts a francophone hot adult contemporary format for the city's Franco-Ontarian community. It is owned by Le5 Communications, and branded as Le Loup 104.1....	AM 1230	FM 93.7	Sold to Haliburton Broadcasting Group Haliburton Broadcasting Group The Haliburton Broadcasting Group is a Canadian group of FM radio stations, located primarily in smaller markets in Ontario.-History:The company is named for the Haliburton region in Central Ontario, where majority owner and president Christopher Grossman, a longtime radio sales manager, trainer...  in 1999.
North Bay North Bay, Ontario North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing.-History:...	CHUR CHUR-FM CHUR-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts an adult contemporary format at 100.5 FM in North Bay, Ontario. The station uses the on-air brand EZ Rock.-History:...	AM 840	FM 100.5	Moved to FM in 1997, sold to Telemedia Telemedia Telemedia was a Canadian media company, which had holdings in radio, television and magazine publishing.The company was launched in 1968 by Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien.Telemedia was held privately until it became publicly traded in the late 1980s....  in 1998.
Pembroke Pembroke, Ontario Pembroke is a city in the province of Ontario, Canada, at the confluence of the Muskrat River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley...	CHVR CHVR-FM CHVR-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 96.7 FM in Pembroke, Ontario. The station airs a country music format branded as Star 96....	AM 1350	FM 96.7	Moved to FM in 1996, sold to Telemedia Telemedia Telemedia was a Canadian media company, which had holdings in radio, television and magazine publishing.The company was launched in 1968 by Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien.Telemedia was held privately until it became publicly traded in the late 1980s....  in 1998.
Sault Ste. Marie Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Sault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. The community was founded as a French religious mission: Sault either means "jump" or "rapids" in...	CKCY CKCY (AM) CKCY was a Canadian radio station, which signed on May 25, 1955 and broadcast until August 30, 1992 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.The station was originally launched by Algonquin Radio, a local business consortium led by Carmen Greco, with a 250 watt signal at 1400 on the AM dial...	AM 920	defunct	Ceased broadcasting in 1992.
Sault Ste. Marie Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Sault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. The community was founded as a French religious mission: Sault either means "jump" or "rapids" in...	CJQM CJQM-FM CJQM-FM is a Canadian radio station at 104.3 FM in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The station broadcasts a country music format under the slogan and branding, "Today's Country, Q104." Despite the "Today's Country" branding, the format is actually a mix of current and classic country hits, with the...	FM 104.3	FM 104.3	Sold to Telemedia Telemedia Telemedia was a Canadian media company, which had holdings in radio, television and magazine publishing.The company was launched in 1968 by Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien.Telemedia was held privately until it became publicly traded in the late 1980s....  in 1998.
Sudbury	CHNO CHNO-FM CHNO-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at 103.9 on the FM dial in Sudbury, Ontario. Airing a classic hits format, the station is branded as Rewind 103.9.-History of CHNO:The station began broadcasting on June 24, 1947 on AM 1440...	AM 550	FM 103.9	Sold to Haliburton Broadcasting Group Haliburton Broadcasting Group The Haliburton Broadcasting Group is a Canadian group of FM radio stations, located primarily in smaller markets in Ontario.-History:The company is named for the Haliburton region in Central Ontario, where majority owner and president Christopher Grossman, a longtime radio sales manager, trainer...  in 1999.
Sudbury	CHYC CHYC-FM CHYC-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at FM 98.9 in Sudbury, Ontario. It broadcasts a francophone hot adult contemporary format for the city's franco-ontarian community. It is owned by Le5 Communications, and branded as Le Loup 98.9....	AM 900	FM 98.9	Sold to Haliburton Broadcasting Group Haliburton Broadcasting Group The Haliburton Broadcasting Group is a Canadian group of FM radio stations, located primarily in smaller markets in Ontario.-History:The company is named for the Haliburton region in Central Ontario, where majority owner and president Christopher Grossman, a longtime radio sales manager, trainer...  in 1999.
Sudbury	CJMX CJMX-FM CJMX-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts an adult contemporary format at 105.3 FM in Sudbury, Ontario. The station uses the on-air brand EZ Rock. The station is owned by Rogers Media.-History:...	FM 105.3	FM 105.3	Sold to Telemedia Telemedia Telemedia was a Canadian media company, which had holdings in radio, television and magazine publishing.The company was launched in 1968 by Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien.Telemedia was held privately until it became publicly traded in the late 1980s....  in 1998.
Timmins Timmins Timmins is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada on the Mattagami River. At the time of the Canada 2006 Census, Timmins' population was 42,997...	CKOY CHYK-FM CHYK-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at FM 104.1 in Timmins, Ontario. It broadcasts a francophone hot adult contemporary format for the city's Franco-Ontarian community. It is owned by Le5 Communications, and branded as Le Loup 104.1....	AM 620	FM 104.1	Sold to Haliburton Broadcasting Group Haliburton Broadcasting Group The Haliburton Broadcasting Group is a Canadian group of FM radio stations, located primarily in smaller markets in Ontario.-History:The company is named for the Haliburton region in Central Ontario, where majority owner and president Christopher Grossman, a longtime radio sales manager, trainer...  in 1999.
Wawa Wawa, Ontario Wawa is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within the Algoma District. Formerly known as the township of Michipicoten, the township was officially renamed for its largest and best-known community in 2009....	CJWA CJWA-FM CJWA-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 107.1 FM in Wawa, Ontario. The station broadcasts an adult contemporary format under the on-air brand JJAM or JJAM FM....	AM 1240	FM 107.1	Ceased broadcasting in 1996. Subsequently relaunched by new owners in 1998.