High-speed internet is a basic service that all Canadians, no matter where they live, have a right to, Liberal Industry, Science and Technology Critic Marc Garneau said today.
Speaking at Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission hearings into internet expansion, Mr. Garneau stated the federal government and the CRTC must set a minimum standard for 100% internet coverage by 2014.
“Canada must establish a clear objective to achieve 100% high-speed internet for all Canadian communities,” said Mr. Garneau. “Canada needs both its Parliament and the Commission to speak, unambiguously, with one voice on the importance of high-speed internet to strengthen the social and economic fabric of Canada and its regions.
“Setting and achieving a minimum universal high-speed internet target of 1.5 Mbps, or higher, must be a joint undertaking by both the Commission and Parliament, since new legislation and new funding programs may be required. Canadians without adequate internet service will become second-class citizens.”
The Liberal Party has committed to achieving 100% high-speed internet coverage within three years of forming government to reach the 700,000 Canadians in rural and remote communities who currently have no high-speed internet access.
Mr. Garneau called for the federal government to set up a fund to enable Canadians to access high-speed internet service in areas where it is not provided.
“In rural areas where service is not being provided, the federal government should invest and the CRTC should extend the local service subsidy,” he said.
Liberal Rural Affairs Critic Mark Eyking said just as the railway and the TransCanada highway were the critical infrastructure that linked our communities in the 20th century, fibre-optics, wireless and satellites are the critical infrastructure that links our society in the 21st century.
“Core to the Liberal Party’s progressive beliefs is that all Canadians should have equal opportunity to succeed, no matter where they live,” Mr. Eyking said. “Without universal access to high-speed internet, this cannot be achieved.”
