KUUJJUAQ, QC – All of Nunavik's 14 Inuit communities as well as 28 institutions in Quebec will soon receive access to high-speed or faster Internet through a $125.2 million investment led by Federal Government’s rural broadband program Connect to Innovate.
The Federal Government, through the Connect to Innovate program, and the Government of Quebec, through the Ministry of economy, science and innovation, which mandated the Société du Plan Nord to carry out this project, will each invest $62.6 million in the project. The Kativik Regional Government will contribute $500,000, says Wednesday’s announcement made by Stéphane Lauzon, Parliamentary Secretary for Sport and Persons with Disabilities, on behalf of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains.
The government funding will be allocated over three years to the Kativik Regional Government, the territorial government for Nunavik, to build subsea fibre optic backbone infrastructure along the eastern coast of Hudson Bay, reaching as far north as Puvirnituq, which would be one of the most northerly fibre optic connections in all of Canada.
The fibre optic infrastructure will initially connect four Nunavik communities, enabling residents to have access to high-speed Internet service packages on par with those available to Canadians in major cities by 2020. The funding will also go toward building a backbone network to serve Kuujjuaq, the territory's capital, while also deploying state-of-the-art fibre-to-the-home infrastructure in 10 communities.
"For northern Quebec communities, digital investment through the Connect to Innovate program enhances opportunities for residents of all ages”, said Minster Lauzon, in the announcement. “This important investment will support students and youth in learning and residents in day-to-day life with connected devices. It will also support businesses and institutions by giving them the technological tools they need to succeed in the digital economy. It's all part of our government's plan to help create opportunity in all communities, including remote communities in the North.”
To date, the Feds have invested over $160 million to bring high-speed Internet to Quebec's rural and remote communities under Connect to Innovate.
"The Tamaani Internet phase 5 project, associated with the Connect to Innovate program, will lead to faster and greater Internet services for residential, business and government users, allowing for increased education, skills development and job opportunities”, added Kativik Regional Government chair Jennifer Munick. “It will also improve videoconferencing, bringing us closer together. The Government of Canada, through the Connect to Innovate program, and the Government of Quebec, through the Société du Plan Nord, are helping us to reduce the gap between the north and the south in terms of Internet services and to further develop Nunavik's economy and human capital."
Photo from Wednesday’s announcement via Minister Lauzon's Twitter account
