OTTAWA — The governments of Canada and Quebec announced today a joint investment of more than $536,000 to bring high-speed Internet access to 855 households in the municipality of Venise-en-Québec, in the Montérégie region.
Non-profit company IHR Télécom will receive the funding to complete the connectivity work by September 2022. The funding is being provided as part of the federal government’s Universal Broadband Fund (UBF) Rapid Response Stream and the Quebec broadband program (Stream 1), according to a press release issued by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.
“IHR Télécom is also investing to ensure coverage for the entire municipality, bringing the total number of households that will have high-speed Internet access to 1,200,” reads the release, which did not disclose the amount of IHR Télécom’s investment in the project.
“We are proud to finally be able to respond to the call of Venise-en-Québec residents, who regularly ask us when we will be deploying service to their home,” said Benoit Lanciault, CEO of IHR Télécom, in the release.
“We know that the residents of Venise-en-Québec have been waiting a long time for this announcement,” said Gilles Bélanger, parliamentary assistant to the premier of Quebec (high-speed Internet) and member of the National Assembly for Orford. “Thanks to investments from the two levels of government and IHR, a well-established service provider in the Haut-Richelieu region, residents will be able to benefit from reliable, effective service in the coming months.”
“High-speed Internet service is essential for everyone living in rural and remote communities,” said Gudie Hutchings, federal minister of rural economic development.
“Broadband infrastructure will help create jobs, improve access to health care and online learning services, and keep people connected to their family and friends. Since 2015, the government has committed more than $688 million for high-speed Internet projects in Quebec. We will continue to make investments like these to help connect every Canadian to the high-speed Internet they need.”
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