Chris Lowrey
OTTAWA May 8, 2019
A private members bill presented by Pontiac Liberal MP Will Amos was supported unanimously in the House of Commons on May 8.
Amos’ motion 208, which calls on the government to expand rural Canada’s cell and internet network for public safety reasons.
While a motion doesn’t carry the same weight as a bill, Amos said it shows a clear commitment from parliament to rural Canada.
Amos used the recent local examples from the 2018 tornadoes and 2017 floods when the regions cell network was unresponsive.
“It is unacceptable that, in 2019, rural Canadians still struggle to call for assistance during natural disasters because of gaps in our digital infrastructure,” he said in a press release.
Amos also argued that rural Canadians are becoming more and more dependant on access to high speed internet for economic reasons. Amos pointed to the governments commitment to spend $5 billion on rural broadband internet access over the next 10 years.
“In 2019, having reliable access to the internet is not a luxury,” Amos said. “But is instead necessary to conduct business.”
The motion also calls for the government to conduct a comprehensive study on rural wireless infrastructure.
