Question Period Note: BROADBAND AND INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES

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

• High-speed Internet is a necessity for all Canadians, including Indigenous Peoples, and the Government of Canada is investing accordingly.

• The Universal Broadband Fund (UBF) is providing $2.75 billion to contribute to connecting 98% of Canadians by 2026.

• Through several programs since 2015, the government has announced broadband projects that will connect 128,000 Indigenous households across the country.

• The UBF’s Rapid Response Stream (RRS) has announced 131 projects benefitting nearly 15,000 Indigenous households.

• The UBF also allocated $50 million for mobile projects benefitting Indigenous Peoples, including an investment to connect the “Highway of Tears” in British Columbia.

• Canada’s Connectivity Strategy recognized that Indigenous communities face unique connectivity challenges and committed to consider the needs of Indigenous Peoples during planning, program design, and project selection of federal broadband programs.

• To support applicants, including smaller and Indigenous applicants, the government created a pathfinder service to help identify available funding and provide advice on how to apply to the UBF.

• Indigenous communities have had meaningful success with government broadband programs, and are making important advances on their projects.
• The investments along Highway 16 in British Columbia, also known as the Highway of Tears, fulfills a critical recommendation in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls report.

• The Government of Canada is working with provincial and territorial governments and Indigenous partners to bring better connectivity to every Indigenous household.

According to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) 2020 Communications Monitoring Report, only 35% 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 46% of rural households.

Leading up to the launch of the UBF in November 2020, the government met with Indigenous organizations and companies to ensure that the UBF responds to the unique needs of Indigenous Peoples.

The $2.75 billion UBF includes up to $50 million for mobile Internet projects that primarily benefit Indigenous Peoples, including an investment to provide 100 percent mobile coverage along BC’s Highway of Tears.

Project implementation is already underway for successful projects under the UBF’s RRS. As of January 19, 2022, the government has announced over $111 million in funding for 131 UBF RRS projects to connect nearly 75,000 households across Canada, including 14,500 Indigenous households. Announcements can be viewed on the selected projects website.

In addition to the UBF, across the federal government, significant investments are being made in broadband, including in Indigenous communities:
o The First Nation Infrastructure Fund (FNIF) addresses long-standing infrastructure gaps on reserves in 8 project categories, including connectivity.
o 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.
o The $2 billion Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) - Rural & Northern Communities Infrastructure Stream includes broadband infrastructure projects; Indigenous projects could receive the upper level of federal cost share as well as up to 100%.
o 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.

On November 23, 2021, the government’s Speech from the Throne stated “…the Government will accelerate work with Indigenous partners to address the national tragedy of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People.”