Clegg holds a Kirpan presented to him by the Gurudwara authorities during his visit to a Gurudwara in New Delhi
Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg holds a 'Kirpan', a Sikh religious sword presented to him by the Gurudwara authorities during his visit to a Gurudwara (Sikh temple) in New Delhi August 25, 2014. Clegg is on a three-day visit to India. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Three Punjabi radio stations may be banned by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

According to the CRTC, those radio station which air programmes primarily in Punjabi language do not have the proper licenses to operate in the country. Punjabi, spoken by people from the Punjabi community in India and also in Pakistan, is widely used in Canada because of the large Punjabi and Pakistani population in the country. The CRTC pointed out at three radio stations: Sher-E-Punjab, Radio Punjab and Radio India. It said that those radio stations operated from out of the country. The radio stations, which operated from Washington, broadcast from British Columbia.

According to a CRTC notice, the Punjabi radio stations "may be" broadcasting in the country "without licenses." "There is reason to believe that Sher-E-Punjab, Radio India and Radio Punjab may be carrying on broadcasting undertakings in whole or in part in Canada without licences in contravention of the Broadcasting Act," the notice said. It also said that it would issue a show cause notice to the radio stations, asking them why the commission should not cease the stations.

According to CRTC Media Relations Manager Patricia Valladao, those Punjabi radio stations are quite popular in Canada. "The fact that they are broadcasting into Canada and getting Canadian business and not complying to regulations in terms of Canadian content and all that, they are infringing the law," she said, "So in this hearing, they really have to come to us and explain themselves."

It was Canadian Industry Minister James Moore who gave a hint in October 2013 that Canadian consumers might have more choices. In addition to making the radio stations more regulated, Canada looks to renovate the TV distribution as well. There is going to be a "pick-and-pay" service for Canadian television viewers, according to a proposed change.

The deadline given to the three Punjabi radio stations was over on Aug 28. They were asked to submit necessary documents in advance as there will be a hearing in Quebec on Oct 15. However, none of them submitted any document or comments. Valladao said that the CRTC had already got in touch with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission regarding the issue.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au