CJIL-TV
Encyclopedia
CJIL-DT is a Canadian English-language
Christian
-based television station
licensed to and based in Lethbridge
, Alberta
. CJIL-DT uses the on-air name The Miracle Channel. It was the first over-the-air religious TV station in Canada
.
, after Canada's sixty-year ban on religious broadcasting
was lifted. It expanded nationally on September 11, 2000. CJIL is the Canadian partner of the Trinity Broadcasting Network
, and shares their Canadian-produced programming with that organization. (The Dewerts had set up a pirate translator
for TBN in 1986, which was shut down by the CRTC before CJIL's license was granted.) The station is available globally via satellite and on the Internet.
On May 20, 2007, Dick and Joan Dewert resigned from the station due to an extra-marital relationship. Mervyn Mediwake was installed as the interim
CEO. On January 1st, 2010, after a series of interim leaders, the board of directors of the Miracle Channel Association hired Leon Fontaine as permanent CEO.
.
As part of spectrum re-allocation, full-power over-the-air transmitters on channels 52-69 must vacate those channels, but may move to a channel below 52. CJIL's Burmis transmitter is affected by this change. In filings to the CRTC, CJIL has stated that it plans on shutting down this transmitter.
.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
-based television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
licensed to and based in Lethbridge
Lethbridge
Lethbridge is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada, and the largest city in southern Alberta. It is Alberta's fourth-largest city by population after Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer, and the third-largest by area after Calgary and Edmonton. The nearby Canadian Rockies contribute to the city's...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. CJIL-DT uses the on-air name The Miracle Channel. It was the first over-the-air religious TV station in Canada
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...
.
History
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) granted CJIL-TV's broadcasting licence to founders Dick and Joan Dewert (also known as Dick and Joan Deweert) on April 4, 1995. It debuted on January 14, 1996 broadcasting in southern AlbertaAlberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, after Canada's sixty-year ban on religious broadcasting
Religious broadcasting
Religious broadcasting refers to broadcasting by religious organizations, usually with a religious message. Many religious organizations have long recorded content such as sermons and lectures, and have moved into distributing content on their Internet websites.While this article emphasises...
was lifted. It expanded nationally on September 11, 2000. CJIL is the Canadian partner of the Trinity Broadcasting Network
Trinity Broadcasting Network
The Trinity Broadcasting Network is a major American Christian television network. TBN is based in Costa Mesa, California, with auxiliary studio facilities in Irving, Texas; Hendersonville, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; Decatur, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and New...
, and shares their Canadian-produced programming with that organization. (The Dewerts had set up a pirate translator
Pirate television
A pirate television station is a broadcast television station that operates without a broadcast license. Like its counterpart pirate radio, the term pirate TV lacks a specific universal interpretation...
for TBN in 1986, which was shut down by the CRTC before CJIL's license was granted.) The station is available globally via satellite and on the Internet.
On May 20, 2007, Dick and Joan Dewert resigned from the station due to an extra-marital relationship. Mervyn Mediwake was installed as the interim
Interim
Interim is an album by British rock band The Fall, compiled from live and studio material and released in 2004. It features the first officially released versions of "Clasp Hands", "Blindness" and "What About Us?" — all of which were later included on the band's next studio album Fall Heads Roll —...
CEO. On January 1st, 2010, after a series of interim leaders, the board of directors of the Miracle Channel Association hired Leon Fontaine as permanent CEO.
Over-the-air in Alberta
In 2007, CJIL filed an application with the CRTC for a licence to operate English-language transitional digital television programming undertakings in Calgary (Channel 15) and Edmonton (Channel 21). If approved, these transmitters would have simply rebroadcast the original CJIL schedule in its entirety. The applications were denied, however, in favour of a competing application from the Crossroads Television SystemCrossroads Television System
Crossroads Television System, or CTS, is a privately held Canadian television system.CTS airs predominantly Christian-based religious programming, most notably 100 Huntley Street, The Michael Coren Show and LIFE Today with James & Betty Robison, as well as other religious and faith based...
.
As part of spectrum re-allocation, full-power over-the-air transmitters on channels 52-69 must vacate those channels, but may move to a channel below 52. CJIL's Burmis transmitter is affected by this change. In filings to the CRTC, CJIL has stated that it plans on shutting down this transmitter.
Criticism
The Miracle Channel Review, a Christian-run website unaffiliated with the network, has been critical of the Dewerts and other personalities over the prosperity gospel message they have preached during CJIL's fundraising telethons. The Miracle Channel Review 's webmaster, Tim Thibault, issued formal complaints with the CRTC over improper statements made during CJIL's telethons; the CRTC ruled in 2006 that the fundraising cited by Thibault violated federal guidelines. CJIL has since claimed to have revised its fundraising policies. Thibault's criticism of CJIL became the subject of an investigative report about the station's financial practices on CBC News at SixCBC News at Six
CBC News produces a variety of local newscasts for CBC Television's owned-and-operated stations throughout Canada. On most stations, the local news operation is currently titled CBC News: [city/province name], such that the 6:00 p.m. newscast on CBLT is named CBC News: Toronto at 6...
.
Transmitters
| Station | City of licence City of license A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator.... |
Channel Channel (broadcasting) In broadcasting, a channel is a range of frequencies assigned by a government for the operation of a particular radio station, television station or television channel. In common usage, the term also may be used to refer to the station operating on a particular frequency.-See also:*Broadcast... |
ERP Effective radiated power In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains... |
HAAT Height above average terrain Height above average terrain is used extensively in FM radio and television, as it is actually much more important than effective radiated power in determining the range of broadcasts... |
Transmitter Coordinates |
| CJIL-TV-1 | Bow Island | 39 (UHF Ultra high frequency Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres... ) |
13.86 kW | 112 m | 49°47′8"N 111°19′29"W |
| CJIL-TV-2 | Burmis Burmis, Alberta Burmis is an unincorporated community in southern Alberta in Pincher Creek MD, located on Highway 3, southwest of Lethbridge.... |
55 (UHF Ultra high frequency Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres... ) |
1.9 kW | 163.3 m | 49°33′14"N 114°10′41"W |