On December 15, 2016, the Government of Canada announced the Connect to Innovate (CTI)program, which provides up to $500 million in funding by 2021 for enhancing rural broadband infrastructure across Canada. For detailed program parameters, please see this member bulletin from December 2016.
The AAMDC would like to provide an update to members related to changes that the Government of Canada has made to the CTI program in recent weeks:
- The deadline for interested parties to submit applications has been extended to April 20, 2017.
- The Government of Canada has indicated that they will exercise “flexibility” related to the requirement that in order to be eligible for funding, a community must be located more than two kilometres from existing backbone infrastructure that provides at least 1 Gbps of connectivity. The Government of Canada will consider flexibility if the proponent is able to demonstrate why the existing infrastructure cannot reasonably be accessed.
- If any municipality or ISP has questions about project eligibility or concerns that a potential project will not be eligible under the parameters, they are encouraged to contact Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada for further discussion. Specifically, for inquiries about program eligibility and funding parameters, please contact:
Susan Hart
Director General for Science, Innovation and Economic Development Canada
susan.hart2@canada.ca
For technical information related to applications, please contact:
Luc Delorme
Senior Engineer, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
luc.delorme@canada.ca
The AAMDC appreciates the changes that ISED has made to the program, but is still concerned that program parameters may make it difficult for projects serving certain rural areas to be eligible for funding.
For more information on the CTI program, see the FAQs provided by the Government of Canada.
Enquiries may be directed to:
Wyatt Skovron
Policy Analyst
780.955.4096
Kim Heyman
Director, Advocacy & Communications
780.955.4079