Canada Supreme Court ruling casts more doubt on Quebec’s IP-blocking plans

Canada’s Supreme Court has handed down a telecommunications ruling that throws further doubt on Quebec’s plans to block the domains of online gambling sites the province doesn’t like.

On Thursday, the Court unanimously ruled that a Quebec municipality couldn’t block telecom provider Rogers Communications from installing a new cell tower at a particular address.

Rogers had sought and received permission from a federal department to put a cell tower on land it was leasing in Châteauguay, a suburb of Montreal. Rogers said the tower was necessary to improve the quality of its local service.

Châteauguay had expressed opposition to Rogers’ plan due to (a) the tower being “visually disagreeable” and (b) alleged fears regarding potential threats the tower posed to local residents’ health and safety. When that gambit failed, the city rezoned the property as a “land reserve” that put the kibosh on Rogers’ plans.