Canadians need affordable and reliable access to broadband now

NDP Critic for Telecommunications Brian Masse made the following statement:

It’s unfortunate that it took kids doing homework online in their school’s parking lots and small businesses suffering during a pandemic for the Liberals to realize that their failure to bring broadband prices down and boost access has real consequences. And unfortunately, this morning’s announcement is simply a repetition of a commitment the Liberals made in 2019, which still gives no clear plan of delivery or timeline.

In Canada, 63 percent of rural households do not have access to high speed broadband and 14 percent of highways and major transport roads in the country do not have access to LTE wireless services. Meaning people needing help on these roads are left unable to ask for help.

Yet, the Liberal government only plans to give all Canadians access to high-speed internet by 2030. Canadians have waited long enough for the affordable and reliable internet access they desperately need.

The government needs to act swiftly to resolve this issue now, so children don’t have to go another day not being able to join their remote schooling and small businesses can reach their customers virtually.