Canada: Proposed legislation to toughen penalties for buying illegal satellite services

CBC ^ | 02/26/04 | CBC

[Pikamax]

Proposed legislation to toughen penalties for buying illegal satellite services Last Updated Thu, 26 Feb 2004 15:33:18 OTTAWA - People caught illegally buying foreign satellite television service could face stiffer penalties if proposed legislation is passed.

Bill C-2, an amendment to the Radiocommunication Act, would increase penalties on individuals from maximum fines of $10,000 and six months in prison to $25,000 and a year in prison.

Fines on corporations would increase from $25,000 to $200,000.

"If we have a law that does not have prohibitive penalties that will discourage people from engaging in illegal activity, the criminal activity will continue and flourish," Glen O'Farrell, the president of the CAB said.

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters estimates it loses $400 million a year from people buying services from American satellite TV providers.

Critics of the legislation say the bill makes no distinction between people who take Canadian satellite signals without paying and those who pay U.S. providers for channels the Canadian industry isn't willing to offer.

Most of the channels involved offer programming in foreign languages such as Russian, Arabic or Spanish. Canadian providers say the Canadian market is too small to make it worth their while to offer a wide selection of these channels.

Paul Fitzgerald of the IberoAmerican Congress of Canada said he has a dish and pays a monthly subscription fee to Bell ExpressVu.

But the company won't carry his favourite show on Mexican channel Telemundo, even though it is licensed for broadcast in Canada. Fitzgerald pays an additional fee to a U.S. provider.

"This is the equivalent of somebody going into Chapters and trying to find a book and Chapters says 'we don't actually sell that book.' So you buy it from Amazon.com. If Chapters then turned around and complained, you'd have to say 'well, look, you had the choice of selling me the book but you chose not to do that.'"

Fitzgerald says the government is selling out Canadians' freedom of choice and freedom of expression, in order to please an industry lobby that has recently donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Liberal Party of Canada.

Written by CBC News Online staff

[Mitchell]

Ping.

This is Canada, not Iran or China.

[JoeFromSidney]

this explains why, even though I could receive Sirius satellite radio broadcasts on my car receiver in Canada, Sirius is not actually allowed to sell subscriptions there.

[dinok]

Back in 1967 when my family lived under the Greek dictatorship, my father used to listen to foreign news at the penalty of arrest and disappearance in to the political prison camps.

Lets face it...this is to stop the Canadian people from listening to Conservative American News.

No FOX for you...The TV Nazis.

[Bogey78O]

Canada needs to protect it's rackets.

[FormerACLUmember]

Socialist Canada has very weak civil rights and a very corrupt government.

[Gorzaloon]

Lets face it...this is to stop the Canadian people from listening to Conservative American News.

I think they need an ASSAULT DISH REGISTRY, Eh?

That ought to be a howling success.

Always remember these words by the Mad Cow of the North:

"Americans-I hate those bastards".

Remember.

[dinok]

"Always remember these words by the Mad Cow of the North:
"Americans-I hate those bastards".
Remember."

I will never forget. Not how the both the Canadians and Mexicans voted against the freeing of the Iraqi people, or betraying the USA.

[Mitchell]

I know, but I still find it amazing that one can get prison time in Canada for purchasing access to non-approved television broadcasts.

[FormerACLUmember]

Maximum fines of $10,000 and six months in prison to $25,000 and a year in prison.

Recognize what these truly evil people and tyrants are doing: massive oppression of the free flow of ideas and free speech of the Canadian people by their socialist rulers.

No wonder Hillary and her rat party worships Canada.

[GeronL]

Well, this will help them make sure no anti-gay, anti-french or pro-christian views make it into TV.

[FormerACLUmember]

Stalinism lives in the ever darkening land of Canada!

[GeronL]

What if someone found a way to offer several channels for free?? How would they go about banning that?? I am sure they will try.

[doc30]

I'm from Canada and have been living in Florida now for almost 10 years. I'm also a Fox News junkie. Told friends about the O'Reilly Factor and that they should check it out. I was told that, even though cable and Canadian satellite broadcasters could carry it, the show and the network were considered by the government to be too contoversial to be shown in Canada. Too many opinions expressed on Fox would be considered offensive and potentially in violation of Canadian Hate Speech laws. Also, canadian TV suppliers (cable, satellite, and broadcasters) are required to provide a fixed % of Canadian content).

[Allan]

Interesting to note that the CBC neglected to mention
that one of the illegal channels is FOX.

[Calvin Locke]

Nah, It's protecting the local dish franchises AND restricting the content.

Dish Registry? What are you prosposing? To bankrupt the country?

They have a national gun registry that was supposed to cost a few million C$. Last I heard, it's over a billion C$ and isn't doing what is was legislated to do.

Hey, maybe they do need a dish registry...

[okie01]

I was told that, even though cable and Canadian satellite broadcasters could carry it, the show and the network were considered by the government to be too contoversial to be shown in Canada. Too many opinions expressed on Fox would be considered offensive and potentially in violation of Canadian Hate Speech laws.

A stunning admission. Worth repeating.

I was told that, even though cable and Canadian satellite broadcasters could carry it, the show and the network were considered by the government to be too contoversial to be shown in Canada. Too many opinions expressed on Fox would be considered offensive and potentially in violation of Canadian Hate Speech laws.

Thank God I live in the U.S. of A.

[Allan]

On a slightly more humorous note
Canada's leading sports announcer
Don Cherry
recently said that amongst hockey goalies
the French had a greater tendency to wear face guards
than the English players.

This comment on the CBC was considered highly inflammatory
bordering on hate speech
and he now is being investigated by the Official Languages Commissioner.

(Yes. In Canada, there is such a person, with considerable power)

Meanwhile, the CBC has put his hockey commentaries under a delayed time response
so that such an offence can not be repeated.

[Persephone Kore]

"... would increase penalties on individuals from maximum fines of $10,000 and six months in prison to $25,000 and a year in prison."

a year in prison.
for spending your money to watch foreign-made tv shows.

this is the true face of protectionism.

take care what you ask for in life. you might get it.

[68skylark]

Suppose I get a Canadian TV dish and install it at my house in Indiana. Does anyone know what penalties I'd face from the U.S.? Probably nothing, I'm guessing.