http://www.matawa.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/21-03-2016-MR-Matawa-FNs-Demand-Full-Support-for-Broadband-Connectivity.pdf
MATAWA FIRST NATIONS DEMAND FULL SUPPORT FOR BROADBAND
CONNECTIVITY IN ADVANCE OF FEDERAL BUDGET 2016
THUNDER BAY, ON:
Matawa First Nations
today called for the commitment of the governments of Ontario and
Canada to fully collaborate on providing funding for a project aimed at connecting 5 remote First Nations in Matawa
to broadband. They are seeking $4.028 million to complete design, enginee
ring and construction planning. They will
be seeking additional capital for the construction phase which they hope to start this winter with the goal to have the
first communities connected in the spring of 2017. The project has potential to be the only on
e if its kind in any First
Nation in Canada as it replaces the copper method.
In 2010, $81 million in funding was announced by Canada and Ontario to bring a state
-
of
-
the
-
art backbone fibre optic
network to 26 First Nations communities in Nishnawbe Aski N
ation who partnered with Bell Alliant. This initiative,
called the
Northwestern Ontario Broadband Expansion Initiative (NOBEI)
, originally planned to include Nibinamik,
Webequie, Neskantaga, Eabametoong and Marten Falls First Nations
—
the 5 remote Matawa Fi
rst Nations directly
within the area known as the Ring of Fire. Then, in 2013, they were informed that the NOBEI had gone over budget
due to issues in the construction of the 21 Non
-
Matawa First Nations leaving them without funding or a plan for
broadband
connection.
The 5 Matawa First Nations left out of the NOBEI said that full funding commitment is required on April 1 as the 2016
federal budget is released. They are growing increasingly frustrated after have been waiting for 3 years and having
been di
sappointed by the NOBEI. They warn that if investments do not take place now, future costs will rise with
inflation and they will have to continue to rely on an outdated, dysfunctional and expensive satellite and microwave
telecommunications system that is
riddled by blackouts and breakdowns.
The call comes on the heels of the 2
nd
anniversary of the
Regional Framework Agreement
(RFA) signed between
Ontario and M
atawa First Nations on March 24, 2014. The RFA includes infrastructure such as broadband as one of
its
four pillars
. Other pillars include revenue sharing, socio
-
economic, and
environment. Matawa CEO David Paul
Achneepineskum said that the lack of broadband leaves First Nations disadvantaged in these negotiations with
respect to access/dissemination of information and reporting.
Recently, Eabametoong
First Nation Chief Elizabeth Atlookan drew attention to the hardships the lack of broadband
connectivity is having in her community saying that it is interfering with the ability to do business like financial
reporting and conducting banking.
The
Broadb
and Commission for Sustainable Development
, a United Nations body that advocates for digital inclusion
have reaffirmed the important and urgent need to provide access to basic telecommunication/information and
communication technology (ICT) services for ev
eryone, and particularly for developing countries, in order to provide
coverage in rural and isolated areas which lack this service, and in Indigenous communities. Ironically, within Canada,
programs such as Industry Canada’s
Connecting Canadians
are not accessible to First Nations as Matawa First Nations
learned after being denied funding in 2015. They feel this program needs to be re
-
launched to remove barriers to
access.
It is not
known if previous cuts to Canada’s FedNor played a role in the ability of this project to get underway but
Matawa First Nations are in agreement that support for economic diversification in the north should be a priority with
projects such as improving the
ir broadband connectivity. They also believe that long term re
-
tooling of the Canadian
economy for sustained growth needs to include support for
how
, and
in which sequence
, they would like to see
infrastructure development taking place within their territories.
The Matawa Broadband Project Steering Committee who have been overseeing this project, made up of
representatives from 6 First Nations interested in broadband con
nectivity, including Aroland First Nation, are
meeting with officials from Canada and Ontario at the end of this month. They are hoping for a favourable response
from them and in the federal budget 2016.
