OTTAWA — The governments of Canada and Quebec announced today $8.2 million in combined funding to bring high-speed Internet to 25 communities in rural Quebec.
According to a press release from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), the funding will be allocated as follows:
- $1,208,522 to Bell Canada for projects benefiting the communities of Fatima, Innue Essipit, Lac-Légaré, Les Escoumins, Pointe-à-Boisvert, Rivière-Sainte-Marguerite and Sacré-Cœur
- $181,244 to the Coopérative de câblodistribution de l’arrière-pays (CCAP) for a project benefiting the community of Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury
- $98,758 to the Coopérative de télécommunication SJM for a project benefiting the community of Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur-de-Wolfestown
- $6,788,876 to Sogetel for projects benefiting the communities of Aston-Jonction, Baie-du-Febvre, Breault, La Visitation, Nicolet, Notre-Dame-de-Pierreville, Pierreville, Saint-Célestin-Station, Sainte-Eulalie, Saint-Elphège, Sainte-Monique, Sainte-Perpétue, Saint-François-du-Lac, Saint-Léonard-d’Aston, Saint-Wenceslas and Saint-Zéphirin
“Each government is contributing an equal amount of $4.1 million, and is contributing equally to each project,” an ISED spokesperson told Cartt.ca via email. The federal government’s funding is being provided through the Connect to Innovate program, while the province’s contribution is being provided through the Québec Branché program, the spokesperson said.
“This investment will bring reliable high-speed Internet access to 25 communities in rural Quebec, improving access to health care and online learning services and keeping people connected,” said Gudie Hutchings, federal minister of rural economic development, in the press release.
“Since 2015, the Government of Canada has committed $7.2 billion to connect rural Canadians, including many in Indigenous communities, to better, faster Internet. We will continue making investments like these in rural and remote communities to help connect every single Canadian to high-speed Internet.”
The investment announced today “builds on the Government of Canada’s progress toward making sure that 98% of Canadians have access to high-speed Internet by 2026,” the release explains. The federal government has set a national target of 100% connectivity by 2030.
Representatives of each of the service providers have expressed excitement and pride in undertaking the projects announced today.
“In addition to our own fully funded capital investments, we are proud to invest an additional $1,788,000 to partner with the governments of Canada and Quebec to provide more residents in Les Escoumins, Innue Essipit, Sacré-Cœur, Rivière-Sainte-Marguerite, Lac Légaré and Fatima with access to the fastest fibre home Internet speeds available,” said Karine Moses, Quebec vice-chair of Bell, in the release.
“As a co-operative, we’re pleased to be able to participate in this collective effort to connect all Canadian households to high-speed Internet,” said Stéphane Arseneau, general manager of Coopérative de câblodistribution de l’arrière-pays.
“We appreciate the involvement of both governments in this project, giving us the means and support needed to finally serve the residents in our area. They too deserve to take full advantage of this advanced and efficient means of communication. We had wanted to offer them this service for a long time, but its deployment was inconceivable without this financial support.”
“Some background: Saint-Jacques-Le-Majeur is the smallest municipality in Les Appalaches RCM (regional county municipality), with barely 200 inhabitants. This small group of residents decided to form a co-operative,” explains Marc-André Grenier, president of the Coopérative de télécommunication SJM, and Steven Laprise, mayor of Saint-Jacques-Le-Majeur-de-Wolfestown.
“After six years of effort and with financial support from the federal and provincial governments, the municipality was the first to offer fibre-to-the-home Internet service in the summer of 2021. Just because we’re small doesn’t mean we can’t have big plans! Our motto is keep moving forward!” they said.
Sogetel is “especially proud to have been given the mandate to ensure that the Nicolet-Yamaska RCM has high-speed Internet connectivity because it’s our company’s birthplace,” said Richard Biron, Sogetel’s vice-president of business development.
“Since its founding in 1892, Sogetel has expanded its sector footprint through the best technologies of the time. Today’s announcement will enable us to finish what we’ve already started, but with fibre optic — and that’s great news for all our customers. We’re very happy about this new project,” Biron said.
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