The Coalition Against Satellite Signal Theft (CASST) recently commended the Canadian two government ministers, Allan Rock and Sheila Copps, for the duo's efforts to fight piracy of Canadian DBS satellite services.

In Canada, there are two primary means by which satellite pirates operate: hacking into Canadian DBS services or purchasing U.S.-standard equipment and paying for services from U.S. DBS providers. Both are illegal in Canada.

CASST claims that more than 750,000 Canadian households are illegally acquiring DBS signals and that this costs the country more than $400 million per year in lost revenue to Canadian actors, directors, writers, broadcasters and technicians. Ministers Rock and Copps were recently thanked by CASST for their work on legislation to tighten piracy laws and for their enforcement work.