Industry committee  Right.

Industry committee  I have to say that under Connecting Canadians and Connect to Innovate, from the applications we received, it's not just the big players that are benefiting. We have many applications from small ISPs, from municipalities, from first nations organizations. When I think of Connectin

Industry committee  For the Connect to Innovate program, the application period closed April 20 of this year. It would be too late to apply to our program. Maybe somebody did apply. I don't know.

Industry committee  Given that around $4.4 billion was applied for in a $500-million fund, I suspect that once all projects have been selected, the full $500 million will be used up, which is why planning to apply for the CRTC fund is probably the best bet for this community. It might have applied

Industry committee  As part of the Connect to Innovate program, open access was a key criterion. In applying, all applicants had to demonstrate a willingness for open access of technology that is subsidized by the federal government. In addition, as part of the application they had to tell us what t

Industry committee  I'm sorry. Can you repeat the question?

Industry committee  With regard to how the program will help indigenous communities, we are aware that indigenous communities are some of the communities that have the greatest needs, not just in British Columbia but everywhere in Canada. We are aware of that, and definitely, as we look to the appli

Industry committee  I can't speak about a coastal strategy for British Columbia. That's really the role of the Government of British Columbia. I can only say that for the Connect to Innovate program, every province will benefit. We're working closely with the Government of British Columbia. We're aw

Industry committee  Yes.

Industry committee  Connect to Innovate is focused on rural communities, which we define as communities with a population of up to 30,000 people. StatsCan defines “rural” as communities with a population up to 1,000. We did that a little bit broader because we found there were a couple of communitie

Industry committee  We have a very close working relationship with all of the provinces and territories in the rollout of the program, especially with British Columbia. British Columbia also has some funding for a broadband program. We have a very good working relationship with them. Understanding

Industry committee  That's a very pertinent question. I'm just looking at who is best to answer. Adam, you would like to answer.

Industry committee  Those are big percentages. I wouldn't say that we are covering 80% or 100%. It's hard to project at this point in time. One thing I can say, when we talk about the backbone and the last mile and funding the backbone, is that getting the backbone is almost like a prerequisite. Yo

Industry committee  Just in Quebec, benefits to 360 communities were announced, so we know that we are exceeding our target of 300 communities, but as Luc pointed out, the number of eligible communities was around 3,700. That's why it's a drop in the bucket.

Industry committee  Yes. We had an original map on our website that showed eligibility of communities across the country, with dots showing communities. I think what we were waiting for, once all projects had been selected, was to go back and refine that map to see where remaining gaps lie. In this