High-speed internet access critical for building prosperous rural communities, MPs say
Rural communities are key to Canada's prosperity and high-speed internet access is critical for economic growth
Means & Ways photo
Panellists on the Putting Rural Canada on the National Agenda: Moderator Kathleen Harris, Means & Ways Managing Editor; Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Francis Drouin; Conservative Shadow Minister for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Eastern, Central and Southern Ontario Lianne Rood; and NDP Transport Critic Taylor Bachrach.
Canada must close the digital divide and provide high-speed internet access to attract more people to live and work in rural communities, MPs said during a recent event focused on building a prosperous rural Canada.
Rural Economic Development Minister Gudie Hutchings called connectivity an “equalizer” that enables long-distance learning and virtual medical care, and lowers travel costs for businesses. While much progress has been made in the last decade to improve access, there remains a connectivity “gap” in rural areas, she said.
“It equals the playing field and gives families a sense of security,” she said.
The need to boost broadband access was a recurring theme at the Recognizing Rural Canada event hosted by Means & Ways and held on Parliament Hill April 10.
Pointing to the wheat fields of the prairies and the oilsands of Alberta, Dan Mazier, the Shadow Minister of Rural Economic Development and Connectivity, said rural Canada has the abundant resources the world needs. But to harness the full potential we must address the “pressing need” for high-speed internet and cellular connectivity, he said.
“In today’s digital age, access to reliable connectivity is a necessity for economic involvement. Failing to connect rural Canadians is failing Canada,” he said.
Millions of Canadians remain “stranded” in the digital divide, unable to fully engage in today’s economy; Mazier said it’s imperative to bridge the gap through more competition and more innovation.
According to recent statistics from the CRTC, 91.4 per cent of Canada has access to unlimited high-speed internet, but that figure is just 62 per cent in rural communities.
A report from Auditor General Karen Hogan released last year flagged the need to close the connectivity gap. She found that the availability of internet access at target speeds of 50/10 Mbps was high in urban areas but lower in rural and remote areas. Just 42.9 per cent of households on First Nations reserves had access to high-speed internet.
Lianne Rood, the Shadow Minister for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Eastern, Central and Southern Ontario, said costs can be high to supply service to what is called “the last mile.” She said greater investment is needed to improve access, including for First Nations communities, to allow more people to work from home.
“We need to make sure they have access so they’re not sitting in parking lots of restaurants using free wifi, or at a library,” she said.
Francis Drouin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food, said his riding offers huge potential for public service employees who can commute to Ottawa but also work remotely from home.
“Access to the internet is extremely important – we certainly felt it during the pandemic, given the amount of public servants, the amount of businesses that relied more on the need for access to the internet,” he said.
The federal government has a goal of connecting 98 per cent of Canadians to high-speed internet by 2026 and 100 per cent of Canadians by 2030. In 2020, it launched a $3.2 billion Universal Broadband Fund to support projects to improve high-speed internet access.
NDP MP and Transport critic Taylor Bachrach said affordable, accessible internet access could help diversify rural economies beyond the traditional core industries.
“The reality now is that with connectivity, people can move their employment from anywhere in the world. If we’re able to deliver those services that they need and that quality of life they expect, all of a sudden diversifying our economy can mean much more than it used to mean,” he said.
Speaking on a business panel at the event, Robert Ghiz, President and CEO of the Canadian Telecommunications Association, said there must be a regulatory regime and government policies to encourage investment in internet access. But he said costs can be prohibitive in some rural and remote areas and that’s where governments need to step up
“Where it does not make economic sense, that’s where governments have a role to play,” he said.
Opening the Means & Ways event, former Conservative Party leader Candice Bergen said rural communities hold incredible value for Canada's economy but face many unique challenges.
"Many of those challenges can only be addressed through a very focused effort, sector by sector," she said.
Bergen announced the formation of the Rural Prosperity Group, a collaborative initiative which will bring together sectors such as telecommunications, agriculture, health care, education, mining, energy, forestry, fisheries, tourism and finance to ensure the competitive advantage of Canada's rural communities is realized.
