Canada plans to change its Radiocommunication Act to make it hard...

include controlling the import of illegal decoders into Canada, raising penalties for satellite piracy and giving the country’s broadcasters more latitude to take civil action against people who sell illegal equipment and services. The govt. also sent a strong message to consumers of pirated equipment, saying they could face “a substantial financial loss” since their service might be terminated without notice and consumer protection laws didn’t apply to illegal goods. They also said pirated receiver cards created interference with police and search-and-rescue radiocommunication systems. The announcement followed an April 2002 Supreme Court ruling (Bell ExpressVu v. Richard Rex) that the country’s broadcasting law protected Canadian and foreign signals from unauthorized decoding by any providers other than the only 2 lawful Canadian distributors -- Bell ExpressVu and Star Choice. Canadian broadcasters applauded the proposed changes and called for quick passage of the amendments. Canadian Assn. of Bcstrs. (CAB) Pres. Glenn O'Farrell said: “We call on the government to rapidly pass the amendments before the end of this parliamentary session and to continue to aggressively enforce the Act… Over 750,000 Canadians may be illegally accessing satellite services to obtain U.S. satellite services, which translates into over $400 million (Cdn.) per year of lost revenue to the industry.”