I am here to talk about a major problem which affects every community with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants and who live in areas which do not have access to an important tool today, namely the cellular phone.
To truly occupy the land, a country must really be everywhere and work with the tools of its time. Today, working with the tools of the time means having access to computers, amongst other things, cell phones, and means of communication for visitors, residents, workers and people who want to move to the area. But in our area, which is the Regional County Municipality of Montmagny, located close to the U.S. border, we cannot use cell phones, we cannot communicate that way.
We received funding from the federal and provincial governments under phase I of the Internet project. That was under phase I. So there is only one connection in the village. They did not connect people's homes, but only the municipalities and the schools. Perhaps you were told that everyone across the country would be connected, but that did not happen. Municipalities and schools are not citizens. That was under phase I, and we were happy with it, but it's not enough.
Today, I want to focus on cell phone communication. Small communities are making super human efforts to keep people, to get them to live there, which many people do, but professionals who want to create their own businesses and work from home are leaving, because of a lack of access to Internet and cell phone connections.
We created a regional park, and people come from everywhere to hike, canoe on the rivers and indulge in other sporting activities. There is one tool which would make these people feel more safe, but it is unavailable, and I'm referring to cell phones. Something might happen while you're out hunting, hiking in the woods or canoeing. Today, everybody carries a cell phone. But when you don't have a cell phone, it's too bad, but you won't get any clients. This situation did not exist in the past, but it does now, and it is preventing our municipality from growing.
We are asking the federal government to develop a program to help small communities attract businesses. We are not asking for cooperatives, or our own antennae, or for the government to change the world or to change technology. That's not what we want. We want to attract businesses to places where they would normally not come because it would not be profitable enough. But these places are not profitable right now and that is not about to change. There are not enough people and we need help. We believe that it is in the federal government's interest to make every part of its territory accessible. If it does not do so, people will leave these areas, which is quite understandable.
People are concerned about security. As you know, everyone wants to live in affordable housing, have access to health care services, to good roads and communication. If one of these things is missing, people will leave small communities. You need to provide a minimum of basic services. People need access to these services, otherwise they will leave our area. Politicians can work and give as many speeches as they like, but that won't help. We need these basic services, and the federal government must help us, otherwise people will leave. In the RCM, we can support each other, we can invest some money, but on our own we cannot really make a difference.
Today, strange as it may seem, I have done the federal government a favour. The government must make basic services available everywhere. It would cost less money than buying a large frigate for the Arctic, and it will allow people to stay in their communities.
Thank you very much.