License for Scanning

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mr_scan

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Oct 13, 2008
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Toronto, Canada
Hi,
I'm new to scanning and haven't yet bought a scanner. Before I do, I was wondering whether any sort of license is required to own or operate a scanner in Canada (please be specific). I apologize if the answer is obvious, but I found the Industry Canada website to quite confusing and I couldn't seem to find the answer on this wiki.

Thanks
 

torontokris

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Feb 22, 2008
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Toronto Canada
Your fine.

Both Uniden and the local radio stores can scare you with this
(the Unidens even say on them you need a permit to operate)

Info from Mike_Oxlong's 2004 post.
That rumour was based on an Internal Policy Circular from Industry Canada.

They were issued years ago to protect the cellular industry. People are now trying to apply these laws to apco25 digital scanners.

People have tried to apply for a permit to own a digital scanner but so far nobody (including Industry Canada) have figured out which document you need.

As well, the IPC states that you need a digital scanner which has received a Type Acceptance Certificate (TAC) for digital scanners. Since no digital scanner manufacturer has applied for this TAC, there are currently no digital scanners which you could possess with this licence.

Radioworld in Toronto is currently asking purchasers of digital scanners to sign a statement saying they qualify to possess such a scanner under one of the exemptions. Most people are ticking off the "amateur radio operator" exemption whether they are an amateur or not. The IPC has a list of people who qualify for an exemption and amateur radio operators qualify.

Bottom line, bring your digital scanner to Canada and enjoy yourself. Don't go around advertising the fact that you have a digital scanner and you should be ok. Crank up the volume while standing beside a police officer and you might find yourself answering some difficult questions. As somebody already mentioned, turn it off and toss it in the glove compartment when crossing and you shouldn't have a problem.
 
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