Gatineau, Quebec, July 6, 2010 — The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that seven projects in Quebec have been conditionally approved for funding through the Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians program. These projects will bring broadband Internet access to an estimated 29 000 households in the province.
“Broadband Internet will mean boundless opportunities for these communities,” said Minister Cannon. “These latest announcements, together with those from round one announced in May, mean that these Quebec households will soon be online at modern, multimedia-capable speeds.”
Canada’s Economic Action Plan provided $225 million for the development and implementation of a strategy to extend broadband coverage. By far the biggest component of this strategy is Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians, an initiative that targets Canadians living in unserved and underserved areas. This is the second funding announcement under Broadband Canada; others will follow until all available funds have been allocated.
For the individuals, families and businesses in Quebec that will soon have access to broadband Internet, important economic and social benefits including telehealth, business opportunities and distance learning will become available. More broadly, it will encourage economic development, spur innovation and improve the quality of life in hundreds of communities across the province.
The attached backgrounder provides more information on this round of announcements. More details, including the areas covered by these projects, are available on the Broadband Canada website.
For further information (media only), please contact:
Lynn Meahan
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Tony Clement
Minister of Industry
613-995-9001
Media Relations
Industry Canada
613-943-2502
On July 6, 2010, the Government of Canada announced the second round of projects in Quebec to receive conditional funding approval through the Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians program. Projects conditionally approved in this round reflect a total investment of $17.6 million in Quebec. Collectively, they will offer broadband Internet access to more than 29 000 households.
The following companies are conditionally approved for funding in Quebec as part of today’s announcement:
- Barrett Xplore Inc.
- Kativik Regional Government
- Michaud Technologies Inc.
- Télécommunications Xittel Inc.
- Vidéotron Ltée
More details on today’s announcement, including the areas covered by these projects, are available on the Broadband Canada website.
Combined with those projects announced in round one on May 9, 2010, Broadband Canada will soon bring high-speed broadband Internet connectivity to more than 111 000 households in Quebec. Announcements of additional investments involving more geographic areas, regions, provinces and companies will be made in the near future, until all program funds are allocated.
As part of Budget 2009 — Canada’s Economic Action Plan, the Government of Canada provided $225 million over three years, beginning in 2009–10, for Industry Canada to develop and implement a strategy to extend broadband coverage. By far the biggest component of this strategy is Broadband Canada: Connecting RuralCanadians.
The program aims to extend broadband service to as many unserved and underserved Canadian households as possible. As communities vary greatly in size, this program focuses on connecting households. This method provides a clearer understanding of service availability for Canadians: the fact that a community has broadband access does not always mean that service is available to individual households.
