gunsmoke2
December 5th, 2001, 01:11 PM
Ruling sought to pull plug on U.S. TV signals
One million viewers: Future of Canadian broadcasting at stake: Bell ExpressVu says
Janice Tibbetts
Southam News
OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada will be asked today to pull the plug on an estimated one million Canadian TV viewers who tap into foreign satellite signals.
Satellite giant Bell ExpressVu, asserting that the case is about the future of Canadian broadcasting, is challenging Can-Am Satellites, a small B.C. company that sells direct-to-home satellite decoders that receive U.S. signals.
"This appeal is about the future of broadcasting in Canada, who regulates broadcasting or whether there even be any future," ExpressVu's lawyer, William McKenzie, says in a written court submission.
But Can-Am, based in Maple Ridge, B.C., dismisses that argument, declaring that the case is really about using "coercive means" to force viewers to subscribe to stations approved in Canada rather than letting people choose.
"It is the contemporary equivalent of having to hide one's radio receiver in the attic to avoid arrest for having listened to illegal foreign broadcasts," the distributor's lawyer, Alan Gold, says in a written legal brief.
It's estimated there may be as many as one million "grey-market" satellite subscribers in Canada, which is about the same number of people who have signed up for Bell ExpressVu or Star Choice, the two Canadian servers licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
The verdict will determine whether it is legal for the dealers to enable Canadian consumers to set up a U.S. mailing address so they can buy a wider variety of programming from satellite providers south of the border.
Can-Am's submission lists numerous channels that Canadians can access with their so-called "black boxes," including religious programming, music shows and even the popular Home Box Office, which are not always available through ExpressVu.
Police have raided dozens of stores in Canada in recent years because of the federal government's crackdown on these subscribers.
Can-Am reaches the high court armed with two high-level victories, one in the British Columbia Court of Appeal and another in the Ontario Court of Appeal.
Both courts concluded it does not violate the federal Radiocommunication Act to sell decoders in Canada.
ExpressVu notes it is bound by CRTC rules to set aside a portion of the money it collects from subscribers to develop Canadian programming and compensate Canadian copyright holders.
"If the purpose of the fridge is to keep the meat and vegetables and dairy fresh for the family, and neighbours are allowed to come by and keep the door open all the time and blow hot air in, very shortly the bottom line is there's nothing for dinner, nothing that's edible to eat," the company warns by way of analogy.
"A family that cannot eat cannot be a family for long."
Without CRTC controls, Canadians can also access programs that might not meet national standards, cautioned ExpressVu.
Earlier this year, for instance, the company pulled two hardcore --- channels -- True Blue and Extasy -- that it had bought from the United States, fearing that they would violate broadcast standards.
The intervening Canadian Alliance of Freedom of Information and Ideas, however, warns the court against controlling information available to Canadians through public airspace, saying that it is a "profound" violation of freedom of expression.
GS2
One million viewers: Future of Canadian broadcasting at stake: Bell ExpressVu says
Janice Tibbetts
Southam News
OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada will be asked today to pull the plug on an estimated one million Canadian TV viewers who tap into foreign satellite signals.
Satellite giant Bell ExpressVu, asserting that the case is about the future of Canadian broadcasting, is challenging Can-Am Satellites, a small B.C. company that sells direct-to-home satellite decoders that receive U.S. signals.
"This appeal is about the future of broadcasting in Canada, who regulates broadcasting or whether there even be any future," ExpressVu's lawyer, William McKenzie, says in a written court submission.
But Can-Am, based in Maple Ridge, B.C., dismisses that argument, declaring that the case is really about using "coercive means" to force viewers to subscribe to stations approved in Canada rather than letting people choose.
"It is the contemporary equivalent of having to hide one's radio receiver in the attic to avoid arrest for having listened to illegal foreign broadcasts," the distributor's lawyer, Alan Gold, says in a written legal brief.
It's estimated there may be as many as one million "grey-market" satellite subscribers in Canada, which is about the same number of people who have signed up for Bell ExpressVu or Star Choice, the two Canadian servers licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
The verdict will determine whether it is legal for the dealers to enable Canadian consumers to set up a U.S. mailing address so they can buy a wider variety of programming from satellite providers south of the border.
Can-Am's submission lists numerous channels that Canadians can access with their so-called "black boxes," including religious programming, music shows and even the popular Home Box Office, which are not always available through ExpressVu.
Police have raided dozens of stores in Canada in recent years because of the federal government's crackdown on these subscribers.
Can-Am reaches the high court armed with two high-level victories, one in the British Columbia Court of Appeal and another in the Ontario Court of Appeal.
Both courts concluded it does not violate the federal Radiocommunication Act to sell decoders in Canada.
ExpressVu notes it is bound by CRTC rules to set aside a portion of the money it collects from subscribers to develop Canadian programming and compensate Canadian copyright holders.
"If the purpose of the fridge is to keep the meat and vegetables and dairy fresh for the family, and neighbours are allowed to come by and keep the door open all the time and blow hot air in, very shortly the bottom line is there's nothing for dinner, nothing that's edible to eat," the company warns by way of analogy.
"A family that cannot eat cannot be a family for long."
Without CRTC controls, Canadians can also access programs that might not meet national standards, cautioned ExpressVu.
Earlier this year, for instance, the company pulled two hardcore --- channels -- True Blue and Extasy -- that it had bought from the United States, fearing that they would violate broadcast standards.
The intervening Canadian Alliance of Freedom of Information and Ideas, however, warns the court against controlling information available to Canadians through public airspace, saying that it is a "profound" violation of freedom of expression.
GS2