Path: utzoo!yunexus!davecb
From: davecb@yunexus.UUCP (David Collier-Brown)
Newsgroups: ont.general
Subject: Re: Radio Reception Laws (was Re: Radar Detectors)
Summary: reception (and "interception") is permitted
Message-ID: <1912@yunexus.UUCP>
Date: 13 May 89 02:08:41 GMT
Article-I.D.: yunexus.1912
References: <852@mv03.ecf.toronto.edu> <9556@watcgl.waterloo.edu> <1989May8.152034.14415@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca> <1989May12.222759.17490@tmsoft.uucp>
Reply-To: davecb@yunexus.UUCP (David Collier-Brown)
Distribution: ont
Organization: York U. Computing Services
Lines: 28


| In article <1989May8.152034.14415@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca> sarathy@gpu.utcs.UUCP (Rajiv Sarathy) writes:
| Relevant laws?  The Radio Act (I think that's what it's called) says that all
| frequencies are the Queen's property, and she grants you free access to certain
| (radio, television, wireless telephone) frequencies only.  You must apply to
| receive ANY other frequency.  Thus ALL scanners (the ones which can receive
| police, ambulance, etc.) signals are illegal, as are radar detectors.  You must
| also apply for transmitting at ANY frequency (including radio and television).
In article <1989May12.222759.17490@tmsoft.uucp> mason@tmsoft.UUCP (Dave Mason) writes:
| I'm not a HAM operator (and I may be suffering from confusion between
| US & Canadian law), but my understanding was that one is perfectly
| within their rights to RECEIVE *any* radio transmission, as long as they
| don't use it for personal or commercial gain (however THAT's defined :-),
| or for criminal purposes (which would include speeding I presume).
| All the government controls is the right to TRANSMIT radio frequencies.

  We'll probably have to check with a real lawyer (david, are you
listening?), but in my ham radio days we were taught that radio
frequencies could be listened to by anyone, but that transmission was
controlled by treaty between national governments.  I hazily remember
that someone was unsucessfully prosecuted in Hamilton for listening to
the **new, high-tech** police radios, on the grounds that they were
"intercepting" police communications.  The court ruled that they could
listen as long as they did not transmit, thereby breaking the treaty
on use of frequencies as well as the law on interception.

--dave