Shaw Opposes New CRTC Taxes on Canadians

CALGARY, ALBERTA, Jul 07 (MARKET WIRE) --
Shaw Communications Inc. (TSX: SJR.B) (NYSE: SJR) says the CRTC has
betrayed Canadians' trust with the announcement of two new taxes on
consumers. The Commission has stated that beginning in September they
will increase the Local Programming Improvement Fund from 1% to 1.5% in
addition to forcing cable and satellite companies to negotiate a value
for signal fee.

"After twice rejecting fee for carriage in public hearings and by
government members on the Heritage Committee, it is clear that the CRTC
has ignored their recommendations," said Peter Bissonnette, President of
Shaw Communications Inc. "It is difficult to believe the CRTC is
mandating these tax transfers - money from the pockets of ten million
Canadians to three Canadian broadcasters."

"We have been battling these fees on behalf of our customers for the past
three years and will continue to do so. With no flexibility to drop
signals, the CRTC is forcing Canadians to pay for content they already
receive for free today," said Bissonnette. "The CRTC has said it will cut
off our customers' access to U.S. network signals if cable operators
can't come to an agreement with broadcasters on a fee for carriage."

Shaw Communications Inc. noted that broadcasters have stated they will
not commit to spending more on local programming. "Our customers are
already heavily subsidizing the broadcasters with a CRTC ordered tax of
5% of revenues on cable and satellite services, which translates to
hundreds of millions of dollars. This new $100 million subsidy will not
bring any additional programming." said Bissonnette.

Shaw will continue to fight these new regulatory fees aggressively.

About Shaw

Shaw Communications Inc. is a diversified communications company whose
core business is providing broadband cable television, High-Speed
Internet, Digital Phone, telecommunications services (through Shaw
Business Solutions) and satellite direct-to-home services (through Shaw
Direct). The Company serves 3.4 million customers, including over 1.6
million Internet and 775,000 Digital Phone customers, through a reliable
and extensive network, which comprises 625,000 kilometres of fibre. Shaw
is traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges and is included in
the S&P/TSX 60 Index (TSX: SJR.B) (NYSE: SJR).

Contacts:
Shaw Communications Inc.
Investor Relations
Email: Investor.relations@sjrb.ca
Website: www.shaw.ca

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