Radio Amateurs in Canada — primarily in the Province of Quebec — have mounted a petition drive demanding that members of the House of Commons prompt decisive regulatory action against a Quebec resident who has been causing deliberate interference. The petition does not spell out the particulars of the allegations but says the alleged offender — apparently unlicensed — is already known to authorities. Petitioners claim that the individual’s “malicious intentions” have been “threatening the security of emergency radio communication in the province,” and they called upon Parliamentary lawmakers “to ensure the security” of HF radio communication.

“For 2 years, a Nicolet resident, near Trois-Rivières [Quebec], illegally set up a transmitting radio station and is generating interference on purpose,” the petition recounts. “Amateur Radio operators in Quebec have identified the illegal radio station and brought it to the attention of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada, and its inspectors seized the individual’s radio equipment.” One of ISED’s functions is telecommunications regulation.

According to the petition, the alleged offender “acquired new equipment right away and returned to jamming the airwaves.” The petition identifies the alleged offender as a male who is “known to police in Nicolet and Trois-Rivières” and “has regular encounters with the law.”

“We are calling on the government to provide more support to the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, so that it can intervene more decisively in this matter,” the petition declared.

Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) — the country’s national Amateur Radio organization — was noncommittal. “While we have not had a chance to investigate the specific details of the incidents [that] the petition refers to, we agree with the importance of acting to support the security of high frequency communications,” RAC said this week.

As of June 12, the online petition had gathered more than 625 signatures, primarily from Quebec and Ontario. Canada has more than 50,000 Amateur Radio licensees.