Canada has “a long way to go” to have reliable internet for 100% of the country, as an Auditor General report found only 60% of Canadians outside of major cities have affordable and reliable internet.. Internet Tech .“Being connected is no longer a luxury but a basic essential service for Canadians,” said the audit report Connectivity in Rural and Remote Areas..Even where service exists “the approach by both the department and the CRTC to measuring affordability focused only on price without considering income,” said the audit report..“Price alone does not indicate whether a Canadian household can afford internet or mobile cellular service.”.Cabinet in 2019 launched a High-Speed Access for All program promising universal coverage by 2030. Minimum service was set at download speeds of 50 megabits per second..The program was budgeted at $8 billion over 10 years, according to Blacklock’s Reporter..Currently, coverage is 99% in urban areas, 60% in the country, and 43% on First Nations reserves. “These figures demonstrate there was still a long way to go to close the connectivity gap,” said the audit report..In testimony at the Commons Public Accounts committee, Auditor Hogan said more than a million Canadians have no reliable, affordable internet service..“To put that into context for some people, that is like every single person who lives in the city of Montréal doesn’t have internet access,” said Hogan..“It’s a lot of people.”.Conservative MP Dan Mazier (Dauphin-Swan River, MB) said the figures were upsetting..“This report is pretty startling, especially if you live in rural Canada,” said Mazier..“It’s nothing we didn’t know before, but over a million households in rural Canada and over half of First Nations still don’t have access to high-speed internet? I think it’s quite startling.”. Calgary skyline .“I can’t get over the government keeps on saying they have Canadians backs and they are looking after rural Canada, but the facts outlined here, I mean, this is quite detrimental to keeping Canada together,” said Mazier..Rural Economic Development Minister Gudie Hutchings said the cabinet was “working on the harder parts” of internet access..“We have come a long way,” said Hutchings..Federal subsidies for nationwide internet hookups followed a 2013 federal report that concluded telecom companies alone would never serve all people..“Many remote communities have duplicate infrastructure providing adequate service rather than pooling resources to provide a superior service,” said the report Broadband and Connectivity Feasibility Study by PPP Canada, then a Crown agency.
