Will Al Jazeera air in Canada?

Federal broadcast regulators have cleared the way -- in theory at least -- for Canadian viewers to gain access to the Arabic Al Jazeera television network via cable.

But the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, in a ruling released Thursday, set stringent rules designed to keep anti-Semitic or other abusive comments off the air.

The result may be that most cable TV firms will pass up the chance to carry the 24-hour news channel often described as the CNN of the Arabic world.

The effect of the commission decision is to turn distributors into censors, said Michael Hennessy, president of the Canadian Cable Television Assn.

“Cable companies do not want to be forced into the position of having to decide what is appropriate for Canadians to watch,” Hennessy said. “This sets a frightening precedent and virtually ensures that no distributor will ever carry the service in Canada.”