I've put a call into SONY Canada, to ask about this again, and I will try to get the whole answer about why we can't join. The Australians are just as miffed that they are barred from the prize, too.
I've also requested about the disconnects, a few times, but they seem to have gotten much better lately. I don't think we had any trouble at all during the special MNR event, on Monday, for 4+ hours.