Thank you so much, MP Jaczek.
Of Canadians who live in urban centres, 98% have access to high-speed Internet; 2% don't. Of those living in rural communities, 41% have access. That leaves 59% without. About two-thirds of indigenous communities don't have high-speed access either.
What we've heard with the work we did for connect to innovate, the work that Bernadette Jordan, my predecessor, did in developing Canada's first connectivity plan.... We spoke with service providers, community leaders and colleagues in the House of Commons, of course. The conclusion we arrived at was that the federal government could play the role of connecting the underserved and underconnected communities. Those communities where the business case for the private sector to do so...simply was not there for population density.
That's what the universal broadband fund is meant to do. The Government of Canada believes this is an essential service, critical to our health, safety and economic well-being. We are supporting projects that will connect those where the business case simply is not there.
For small communities like yours, MP Jaczek, I think this is an example of the kind of project we should probably speak about with our experts. If they don't have access to 50/10 right now and if the solution could be something as simple as putting antennas on roofs, for example, then that project—if it could be completed by next November—would qualify for the rapid response stream.