TORONTO -- The Canadian government has proposed strengthening domestic laws to help crack down on the illegal piracy of U.S. satellite signals north of the border. Federal Industry Minister Allan Rock and Minister of Canadian Heritage Sheila Copps, responsible for broadcasting, jointly issued a statement Friday indicating that they will shortly propose amendments to the federal Radiocommunication Act to help combat piracy of U.S. direct-broadcast satellite TV services. They said the amendments would increase penalties for Canadians convicted of satellite piracy and strengthen the hand of domestic broadcasters taking civil action against retailers of illegal U.S. satellite equipment and reception software. "Satellite piracy is an illegal activity that strikes directly at the integrity and competitiveness of the Canadian broadcasting system and the industry's ability to offer new, innovative services to Canadians," Rock said. Currently, Canadians that receive U.S. satellite signals by establishing a fake U.S. mailing address for billing are liable for as much as a year in jail or a CAN$5,000 ($3,653) fine. Until now, Canadian authorities and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have been reluctant to target individual homeowners. Instead, they have taken limited action against domestic retailers of U.S. satellite equipment who face a CAN$25,000 ($18,263) fine if taken to court and convicted.
TORONTO -- Canadian producers came out Monday against the federal government's possible loosening of telecom ownership restrictions, which could lead to U.S. media rivals taking first-time majority stakes in Canadian cablecasters and other domestic content distributors. Elizabeth McDonald, president and CEO of the Canadian Film and Television Production Assn., urged federal Industry Minister Allan Rock not to relax foreign ownership restrictions on Canadian phone giants, as is being considered. "He's wrong; we have to be careful to guard against that," McDonald said. Rock is expected to announce this week a long-awaited review of rules against foreign -- chiefly U.S. -- players owning majority stakes in phone, cable or satellite firms. After a speech to the Canadian Club in Toronto on preserving Canadian content in a globalized industry, McDonald said that any review of foreign investment in culturally sensitive media companies would lead to changes in content ownership.
- 11/19/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
OTTAWA -- The Canadian government Friday said it would invest CAN$105 million ($68 million) to begin rolling out high-speed Internet access to rural, mainly northern communities in Canada. The funding, part of Ottawa's Broadband for Rural and Northern Development Pilot Program, falls short of the CAN$1.5 billion ($980 million) that Ottawa originally proposed to ensure all Canadians had access to high-speed Internet services by 2004. Last year, the federal government back-tracked on its broadband spending plans amid falling tax revenues in a soft economy, while also extending the target date for connecting all Canadians from 2004 to 2005. Industry Minister Allan Rock said the CAN$105 million was meant to reaffirm his government's commitment to broadband.
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