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Is it OK for Canadian members to get Conference illegally?

Found on Banner, Sword and Shield.

In Southern Alberta a number of Mormons have gotten subscriptions to Dish Network and Directv.  They got them in the early 20oo with the help of people who could cross the border easily and pick up a subscription in Utah and wham bam they were up and running.

The main reason for this is that many want access to conference though KSL and BYUTV, both of which are only seen in the USA. These people usually live out in the country where they would not see conference normally.

. . .

Now here is where the morality of the situation comes in.   Directv and Dish Network are illegal in Canada.  You must by law use a Canadian owned company for your television provider.   Even though you may not like what is offered you must watch it the way our CRTC (Canadian Radio and Television Commission) wants you.

Is it OK for Canadian members to get Conference illegally?

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Kim Siever

Queer Mormon poet with radical political views. I have been married 27 years, and we have 6 children. Sunday school president. Served in the Utah Provo Mission.

8 thoughts on “Is it OK for Canadian members to get Conference illegally?”

  2. I suppose it depends on what you mean by “ok”. Is it ok for church members to engage in civil disobedience? If so, under what circumstances?

    It seems to me that this is a free speech issue. I’m not an expert on Canadian law, so I don’t know how expansive the legal right is, but I’m a strong proponent for an expansive moral right.

    On the other hand, it’s not like the choice is to illegally get conference through dish or not get it at all. Conference is available at stake centers and on the internet. If neither of these options are doable, there’s always the Ensign or the DVDs, though that requires waiting.

    I would say that there are circumstances where civil disobedience is appropriate, but I’m not sure that this is one of those circumstances, given that there are alternatives. That said, if I lived in Canada, I would press for the repeal of this law.

  3. While I completely agree that the CRTC has far too much control over what media is available in Canada, I have a hard time feeling like there is any reason good enough to live outside the law.

    That being said I also have moral issue with downloading music from peer to peer sites even though according to Canadian Law there is no restriction. I do admit that I download TV shows that are broadcast over network television as I do not subscribe to any Cable or Satelitte services. I am sure there is some sort of moral ambiguity there, since I don’t watch commercials and therefore am not “paying” for the privilage to watch the show.

    I have always understood that this is a “grey market” not a “black market” issue.

  4. I don’t download TV shows, but I do watch them online, spoofing the sites with US IP addresses, and I watch only shows available on broadcast channels here.

  5. It is a silly law but it is wrong for Canadians to illegally view Conference on TV especially when they can watch it online for free.

  6. We like to watch it on TV because having everyone crowd around the desk top just doesn’t work in our house. :0)

  7. We move our laptop and monitor to the living room, hook them up to each other, and watch conference via our wireless network. Our monitor is bigger than our TV.

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