Broadband commitment good for the North

PRINCE GEORGE – You don’t have to go too far afield in this region to have no internet at all, never mind high-speed internet. But the federal government recently announced $1.75 billion to get 98% of Canadians on to high speed internet by 2026. Music to the ears of those in economic development.

“It’s fantastic that we’re seeing this level of commitment from the federal government,” says Joel McKay, CEO of the Northern Development Initiative Trust. “We knew for a while that there was going to be something. We didn’t expect it to be this large.”

Now the question is around the criteria set out to access the pot of money. McKay says many opportunities have been missed because of that lack of connectivity. And he compares this plan to another ambitious endeavour years ago to open up the country.