Question Period Note: BROADBAND AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES

What is the Government of Canada doing to connect underserved Indigenous communities to high-speed broadband networks?

• No matter where they live, Canadians—including Indigenous Peoples—need access to reliable and affordable high-speed Internet.

• The Government of Canada is committed to addressing the diverse needs of Indigenous Peoples during the planning, design and implementation of federally funded high-speed Internet and mobile service programs.

• The government is working with Indigenous partners and provincial and territorial counterparts to bring better connectivity to every Indigenous household.

• Since 2015, the government has announced projects that will improve connectivity for approximately 100,000 Indigenous households.

According to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) 2022 Communications Monitoring Report, only 51% of First Nations reserves have access to high-speed Internet at speeds of 50/10 Megabits per second (Mbps), compared with 99% of urban households and 68% of rural households.

Leading up to the launch of the Universal Broadband Fund (UBF) in November 2020, the government met with Indigenous organizations and companies to ensure that it was designed to address their unique needs. Additionally, the program established a Pathfinder service during the application intake which helped smaller applicants and Indigenous communities navigate the UBF application process.

In addition to the UBF, across the federal government, significant broadband investments are being made in Indigenous communities:

• The First Nation Infrastructure Fund (FNIF) addresses long-standing infrastructure gaps on reserves in 8 project categories, including connectivity.

• The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) has a $750 million Broadband Fund and dedicates 10% of its funding to satellite-dependent communities, which are mostly Indigenous.

• The $2 billion Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) - Rural & Northern Communities Infrastructure Stream includes high-speed Internet and mobile infrastructure projects. Indigenous projects on-reserve could receive federal funding of up to 75% for eligible project costs. Off-reserve projects could receive funding of up to 100% for eligible project costs (75% federal; 25% provincial).

• The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) provides $2 billion in financing for large, high-impact broadband projects brought forward by Internet Service Providers, including Indigenous ones.

The $3.225 billion UBF includes up to $50 million for mobile Internet projects that primarily benefit Indigenous Peoples, including an investment to provide 100% mobile coverage along BC’s “Highway of Tears,” fulfilling a critical recommendation in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls report. To date, mobile funding has been announced that will improve connectivity along more than 852 km of road in Quebec, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan, and more announcements are forthcoming.

• Indigenous communities have had meaningful success with government high-speed Internet programs and are making advances on their projects. To date, 59% of announced projects are led by Indigenous, municipal and small Internet Service Providers.

• So far, over 39,000 Indigenous households are on track to gain high-speed Internet access under the Universal Broadband Fund.

• The government has entered into a $600 million agreement to secure Internet capacity for hard-to-reach communities, including in the far North.