Technically, it isn't illegal since DirecTV has no license to beam the signal into Canada.

I heard that DirecTV is finally going to "fix" this. The main problem is that it's legal to make those hacked cards in Canada and oh so easy to get them to the USA where they are illegal. So, even if DirecTV doesn't mind losing potential revenue in Canada, it is hurting from Canadians selling the hacked cards to people in the US.

The "fix" might be to make the cards illegal in Canada rather than getting a license to broadcast there.