Question Period Note: Canada Infrastructure Bank's Broadband Investments

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About

Reference number:
INFC-072022-INFC-0002
Date received:
Feb 1, 2022
Organization:
Department of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities
Name of Minister:
LeBlanc, Dominic (Hon.)
Title of Minister:
Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities

Issue/Question:

Canadians living in rural and remote communities have experienced slow and unreliable broadband connections as traffic has increased on local networks.

Suggested Response:

  • The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) announced it plans to invest $2 billion to finance broadband projects to connect approximately 750,000 homes and small businesses in underserved communities.

  • The CIB will partner with the private sector and communities and is working in collaboration with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada through the Universal Broadband Fund.

  • For example, in March 2021 the CIB announced the Manitoba Fibre project that will provide broadband access for 49,000 households and businesses in that province, and in November 2021 the Ontario rural broadband project was announced to improve connectivity for almost 200,000 under-served households in Ontario.

Background:

  • Budget 2019 confirmed the Government’s commitment to bring high-speed internet to 100% of Canadians by 2030.

  • The federal landscape for funding connectivity/broadband involves Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), Infrastructure Canada (INFC), the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Indigenous Services Canada, and the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB).

  • Budget 2021 increased the size of ISED’s Universal Broadband Fund (UBF) fund by $1 billion to $2.75 billion. Both ISED and the CIB have programming to address this policy issue.

  • A significant portion of the CIB’s investments in the broadband sector will occur through its partnership with ISED’s UBF. [redacted]

  • The UBF, which closed for applications on March 15, 2021, encourages and positively assesses projects that leverage additional funding to ensure that as many Canadians as possible get access to high-speed Internet.

  • There is a time constraint for the CIB to invest a total of $2 billion in broadband projects through 2023. As such, the CIB is also working with service providers to advance projects outside of the UBF.

Additional Information:

None