Budget 2009: Hundreds of millions for TV, broadband

OTTAWA – The Federal government today reconfirmed funding for the Canadian Television Fund, the Canadian New Media Fund and committed to $225 million in new spending to bring broadband connectivity to unserved communities. The initiatives, tiny among the billions being spent in total, were all a part of Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s 2009 budget announced today in Ottawa. “The Government is committed to closing the broadband gap in Canada by encouraging the private development of rural broadband infrastructure. Budget 2009 provides $225 million over three years to Industry Canada to develop and implement a strategy on extending broadband coverage to...