Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Industry announced yesterday that our government was about to invest, in partnership with the private sector, some $15 million in order to connect all Canadian schools to the Internet.
This official announcement merely fulfils the commitments we clearly outlined in the throne speech and the last budget. By the end of 1997, this federal government project will allow students from across the country to communicate with one another and give them access to the vast pool of information known as the Internet.
The implementation of SchoolNet in all Canadian schools will be done as indicated in the budget speech, in co-operation with provincial and territorial governments. Through this announcement, our government confirms its intention to give Canada an information infrastructure that will enable it to assume real leadership at the global level.