Thank you for allotting me an additional 30 seconds, Mr. Chair.
Mr. d'Entremont, you mentioned the matter of the Community Access Program, the CAP. You used the term “community access centre” a number of times. Let's look at the actual situation. In the past few weeks, we've discussed certain budget cuts that have been announced and that were easier to identify.
We currently have a situation where funding for community access centres won't be renewed by the present federal government. This program should be terminated on March 31. However, based on information I've received, it has been requested that the program be terminated on December 31 so that we can finalize the funding that has been allocated, so that March 31 will really be the end. That indicates that it's really the end of this program.
We could also talk about literacy and many other things, but this community access centre program enabled people in isolated rural areas to get training and to use computers and other services to prepare their CVs and job search documents. These things existed, but few people were aware of them, except those who used the services of the community access centres.
Federal government funding is expiring, and no renewal is in sight, no plan for the future. That means that we're leaving these community access centres to their own devices, or virtually so, because the federal portion of their funding will be stopping. I'd like to have your opinion. I think this is a contradiction. The federal government is investing in a partnership with Aliant Telecom and the provinces to make broadband available in virtually all the regions of our provinces, so that all citizens, regardless of the region where they live, can use high speed. But what will broadband be used for when the community access centres no longer exist in their present form to provide these people with training and the necessary tools to help them develop?
I'd like to hear what you have to say on this point because I know that the budget cuts will have a dramatic impact on the community access centres. Some people may not realize that right now, but when the centres have ceased to exist in a few months, it will be too late to stand up and say it's a mistake for the federal government to stop funding the Community Access Program.
I'd like to hear what you have to say on that subject.