British Columbia Legislature 42nd Parliament, 1st Session (2020-2021) Statements, 16 Dec 2020

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From YouTube: DECEMBER 16 2020 Statements Michele Babchuk

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The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
1st Session
42nd Parliament

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Member for north island.

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Thank you honourable speaker. I rise in the house to congratulate chair brad unger and the strathcona regional district board, the mayor of prince rupert lee brain his council and the board of city west telecommunications.

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A company wholly owned by the city of prince rupert on a very successful collaboration, they've recently signed and finalized a joint venture contract and procurement contracts that will allow the connected coast project to physically begin its important work in the spring of 2021..

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The connected coast project is an initiative to bring high-speed sub-sea broadband fiber to 148 landing sites in rural, remote and indigenous coastal communities.

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The project will circumnavigate vancouver island reach gulf islands and the sunshine coast as well as communities along the central and north coast, including haida gwaii, connecting directly into the vancouver internet exchange means coastal communities, and those east of prince rupert to prince george will have, for the first time reliable internet with required with the required redundancy.

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This project is funded by both the government of canada and the province of british columbia through the connecting bc program. Honorable speaker, we have learned from living with the covid19 pandemic, how much of a necessity connectivity is to british columbians. It truly has become our virtual highway. It is very frequently the way we need to connect these days, not only between friends and family, but also for small business and industry. It affects so many parts of our lives.

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Closing the digital divide is essential to ensure people in rural, remote and indigenous communities can enjoy the immense benefits of modern connectivity, including the ability to learn and work from home, grow a business or access modern services.

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These places are home to vibrant people who care deeply about their community. I'm excited to see the incredible benefits high-speed internet will bring to these regions. Honorable speaker and I ask the house to congratulate me, congratulate once again our local government leaders for their vision and their persistence in seeing this initial initiative. Finally come to fruition.