I’ve always wondered why the rules in Canadian contests always include “winner must answer a skill testing question”, but every time I think about it I forget to actually look it up. Well, just a few minutes ago the question popped up in my head again and I was working on the computer. Wikipedia to the rescue, just search for “skill testing question” and you get this:

The Canadian Competition Act bans games of chance, with the exception of provincial lotteries, and licensed casinos and charity events.
…
[Other organizations] take advantage of the fact that the law does allow prizes to be given for games of skill. In order to make the luck based contests legal the company thus adds a supposedly skill testing question.

It’s amazing what you can find on Wikipedia. A Google search reveals that Darren Barefoot wrote about this last year. I really should have figured this out a long time ago.