The province of B.C. has made $50 million in grant funding available to bring better internet access to rural communities.
Delta-North MLA Ravi Kahlon made the announcement from 100 Mile House, on behalf of Minister of Citizen Services Selina Robinson.
He says this is the largest funding commitment in B.C history for rural internet, and says this is the third funding stream to be made available through a program called Connecting British Columbia, created in 2015. Phase one offered $10 million and phase two offered $40 million.
“This investment will double the total funding made available by the province… To help rural and Indigenous communities get access to high-speed internet,” Kahlon says.
“Every community that I’ve been travelling to – Clearwater, the Village of Clinton – every community says ‘we need to get better WiFi access for our communities.’ We have so many opportunities to expand; business opportunities, connecting with loved ones. And I think this fund is going to go a long way.”
The funding is available for local governments, Indigenous communities, internet service providers and non-profits.
“I can’t stress how important it is for high-speed internet to be within the rural areas,” Cariboo Regional District board chair Margo Wagner says, who governs an area near 100 Mile including Canim Lake and Forest Grove. “It’s not just an extra in life now, it’s become a necessity. We don’t have a lot of cell service either, and when you don’t have either-or it makes really really tough to do… all of the things that people in large communities take for granted.”
Kahlon says the $50 million dollars will complement $750 million dollars the feds have made available for rural internet access.
The grant money will be awarded in two intakes, with deadlines to apply of Feb. 15, 2020 and June 15, 2020.
(Photo: Twitter: Ravi Kahlon)