More money for rural high-speed Internet

Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Wednesday, June 3, announced an additional $150-million in funding to encourage private providers to bring high-speed Internet access to rural parts of the province and the North.

That’s on top of $315-million in similar funding announced last year, he said. “Reliable high-speed Internet is no longer a luxury.”

Twelve percent of Ontario communities had no Internet access for families and businesses, he stated.

Ontario Infrastructure Minister Laurie Scott, a rural resident, said “I lived this experience firsthand.”

She called on the federal government to partner with the province on this initiative.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce promised every high school in Ontario would have high-speed access by this September, and every elementary school by September of 2021.