OTTAWA – The Federal Government has tacked five more weeks on to the deadline to submit funding applications for its new Connect to Innovate rural broadband program.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development minister Navdeep Bains said Thursday that he has received feedback from communities asking for more time to prepare applications given the complexity of their projects and the number of partners involved.
"Our goal is to ensure that as many Canadians as possible benefit from high-quality broadband”, said Minister Bains, in a statement. “That's why we're extending the application deadline to ensure all applicants have ample time to develop their proposals. With this five-week extension, applicants will have a total of 18 weeks to prepare an application."
The new Connect to Innovate application deadline is April 20, 2017.
Announced in December, Connect to Innovate will invest $500 million by 2021 to bring high-speed Internet access to 300 rural and remote communities in Canada.
