The Ontario government is asking for Ottawa’s help to expand broadband internet access for students as schools remain closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Sunday, in a letter penned to the federal government, Education Minister Stephen Lecce and Infrastructure Minister Laurie Scott requested “immediate, urgent support” to address gaps in broadband access in areas of rural and Northern Ontario.
“While most residents in Ontario have access to the internet, the speed, quality, and cost vary significantly across the province,” the ministers wrote.
“Existing internet connectivity gaps prevent many elementary and secondary students from accessing the same learning made available to all other Ontario students, affecting education equity.”
The letter states that, according to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, every Canadian should have an internet connection with access to broadband speeds of at least 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload and access to unlimited data.
The Ford government has committed to spend $315 million in the next five years to expand broadband access province-wide, and is asking the federal government to help speed up the effort of bringing almost 3,000 schools across the province, including 99 in Northern Ontario, online.
https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/2020/05/31/ontario-government-asks-feds-to-help-expand-internet-access-for-students.html?utm_source=TVO&utm_campaign=7fd4e7216f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_1_17_2019_10_56_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_eadf6a4c78-7fd4e7216f-68105177
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