Industry Minister Tony Clement must assure rural and remote Canadians that they will still get promised funding for broadband internet after deciding to pay for the Community Access Program (CAP) out of the Rural Broadband fund, Liberal MPs said today.
“In our digital age, CAP and Rural Broadband must be ramped up in a parallel fashion so that all of Canada is able to compete globally,” said Liberal Industry Critic Marc Garneau. “These programs allow rural and remote Canadians to access the online employment, education, training, markets, economic development and government services that they need to succeed.”
CAP sites – established by the Liberal government in 1995 to bring Internet connections to rural and remote schools, libraries and community centres – received letters from Industry Canada advising them that the majority of their funding is coming to an end as of April 1.
When the news hit the media and outrage ensued, Minister Clement yesterday claimed it was all a mistake – that it was never his intention to cut CAP, and that funding will continue through the Rural Broadband Strategy fund.
“After sending out letters informing schools, libraries and community centres that they wouldn’t get internet funding, Minister Clement has now cut rural broadband in his desperate attempt at political damage control,” said Mr. Garneau. “He has yet to explain why organizations received the letters in the first place, and what will become of the Rural Broadband Strategy if it is robbed of its funds to cover CAP.”
Zero funding from the Rural Broadband Strategy from Budget 2009 has been spent. The fund is scheduled to run out in two years, raising the question of whether or not CAP will be cut off in two years time.
“Minister Clement must now clear up the confusion he has created and reassure rural Canadians that he is not robbing Peter to pay Paul,” said New Brunswick MP Jean-Claude D’Amours, speaking on behalf of constituents who have been upset by this fiasco. “Taking money from the Rural Broadband Strategy to pay for CAP amounts to punishing my residents for the government’s fiscal incompetence.”
Here are lists (in Excel format) of CAP sites active in each province and territory as of December 31, 2007:
