Chris Lowrey
PONTIAC Nov. 22, 2018
In a report on the state of rural internet in Canada, the Auditor General, Michael Ferguson, said the government hasn’t done enough when it comes to improving access to high-speed internet for Canadians.
One of the major criticisms was that Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada – the government department that launched the Connect to Innovate fund in 2016 – didn’t maximize the outcome for the money doled out.
The Auditor General said that the department did not mitigate the risk of government funds replacing private sector investment. In other words, Ferguson worries that Canadian taxpayers footed the bill for things private companies were going to spend money on regardless.

The government launched the Connecting Canadians program in 2014 which allocated $240 million over five years to install “last mile” connections to 280,000 households that did not have access to internet speeds of five megabits per second (Mbps).
“Last mile” connections refer to the parts of telecommunications networks that are hard to reach.
The government also launched the Connect to Innovate program in 2016. Also a five-year program, it focused on bringing high-speed-internet to rural and remote communities at a cost of $500 million.
However, the auditor notes that the department didn’t use a model that asked applicants to demonstrate that their projects weren’t feasible without public funding.
On top of that, the auditor said that the government has not clearly articulated a broadband internet strategy despite recommendations to do so.
“We found that [the department] did not have a strategy in place to improve access for almost 3.7 million Canadians,” the report said.
It noted that a clear strategy would give Canadians in rural and remote areas a better idea of the kind of internet they can expect and when they can expect it.
Additionally, the Auditor General said that the government needs to implement a detailed, publicly-available connectivity map that clearly shows the areas in Canada that are underserved and in need of infrastructure upgrades.
However, the department responded that it is difficult to come up with such a detailed map while at the same time “respecting the commercially sensitive nature of internet service providers’ network information.”
“This is a major challenge,” said Pontiac Liberal MP Will Amos.
He said the main issue is performing those “last mile” connections.
The Auditor General’s report says that it would cost $1.7 billion to connect 99 per cent of Canadian households with download speeds of at least 10 Mbps, of which $1.1 billion would be public funds.
“We’re already well into the 90s [percentage-wise],” Amos said. “It’s getting to the last two per cent that’s the hardest and most expensive.”
He said that with population density being so low in the Pontiac, it’s not cost efficient for private companies to connect those far-flung households.
Amos said that even though the Pontiac is in close proximity to an urban centre like Ottawa, there are still many households in the Pontiac that are underserved.
“I think where the cost lies is not from the distance from major urban centres,” Amos said. “It’s the last mile. The Pontiac is very spread out.”
As part of the Connect to Innovate and Connecting Canadians programs, the Pontiac has received more than $13 million from the government to improve internet access in the region.
But while that funding will help over 3,000 households upgrade their internet connection, Amos recognizes it’s not enough.
“Is that funding going to get high-speed internet to every single home and cabin and cottage?” Amos asked rhetorically. “No, we need to do more.”
True to his word, Amos has exercised his limited legislative might to advance Motion 208, which asks the government to continue to improve rural connectivity and to examine the possibility of further investments.
“I’m sure our government would rather me simply say that we’re doing well with our investments and we need to continue to work harder,” Amos said. “But I’m pushing the agenda on this.”
Amos says the rural internet file is one of the priorities that he’s put front and centre.
“I’ve been mounting an all-out lobbying offensive to push for more investment,” he said. “That’s what my motion is all about, too: ramping up the pressure.”