For the second week, we asked them to take a look at local communications networks.
By Caleb Nickerson
The Pontiac is a riding with many remote, rural communities that have limited options for communication. What are the shortcomings of our current internet, cell and land-line coverage and what would you do to improve them?

André Fortin
Quebec Liberal Party
Quality high speed internet and a reliable cell phone network have become necessary services in this day and age. Internet and cell phone service are now among the key factors when a family decides where to live and when a business decides where to set up shop. Residents, visitors and businesses in many parts of the Pontiac, as in many other parts of rural Canada, expect and deserve better services. It is why we recently announced, jointly with the federal government, a series of projects to extend proper internet services to many Pontiac communities, from Swisha to Luskville. These projects are significant and will improve the lives of many Pontiacers, but we can and must go further by speeding up these projects and adding new investments.
In this election, we are proposing the most ambitious plan yet. We are committed to making high speed internet available to every household within two years, and to deploy proper cell phone service coverage everywhere across the province in the same timeframe.
To do so, we are proposing to invest $500 million over the next two years, and to have a Minister dedicated to Regions. One of his/her main tasks would be to ensure coordination and deployment of internet and cell phone services by working with community groups, MRCs, the federal government and the private sector providers.
Politics is about choices. We are choosing to invest more and deploy these services now. By doing so, we are choosing to bolster our economic development and to improve quality of life in rural Pontiac.