
Ottawa, B.C. provide $77M to bring high-speed internet to nearly 7,000 households
A statement from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada says the funding is part of an agreement struck in 2022 that committed up to $830 million to bridge the high-speed gap in rural, remote and Indigenous communities.
The department says the latest funding will support 15 projects through the Universal Broadband Fund.
In addition to the jointly funded projects, it says the federal government is providing $7 million to bring a high-speed connection to 727 households in the communities of Hullcar, Spallumcheen and the Splatsin First Nation.
It will also bring cellular connectivity to more than 120 kilometres of road in the area east of Kamloops in B.C.'s southern Interior.
The projects also cover the communities of 70 Mile House, Savona, Cache Creek, Ashcroft and Clinton, as well as the Skeetchestn Indian Band, Bonaparte First Nation and Nuchatlaht First Nation, among others.
The federal department says 95.8 per cent of B.C. households are connected to high-speed internet, a number that is expected to rise to 97.8 per cent next year.
Wednesdays
What's next in arts, life and pop culture.
It says Ottawa is on track to meet its goal of providing high-speed internet access to 98 per cent of all households in Canada by 2026 and 100 per cent by 2030.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2025.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
History at risk in Ontario's Halton region as heritage service shutters: historians
TORONTO – Historians are warning that valuable artifacts in Ontario's Golden Horseshoe could be lost after a recent decision by a regional council to shutter its heritage services and rehome nearly 35,000 artifacts. On July 9, Halton Regional Council voted in closed session to 'cease delivering heritage services' by the end of the year and to deaccession its collection that contains around 3,100 photos, 13,000 archival materials and 18,400 objects, including natural artifacts, Indigenous artifacts, farming equipment, artwork, furniture and clothing. The decision marks a hard pivot from a five-year operational plan endorsed in 2021 that dedicated $8 million for a new museum facility that was never built. The items are currently held in an archive and former museum located in Milton, Ont. Halton Region spokesperson Isabel Contin says the heritage service is shuttering because Bill 23 — a 2022 law passed by the Ontario government as part of its goal to build 1.5 million new homes by 2031 — resulted in 'shifting land use planning responsibilities from the Region to the local municipalities. This includes heritage, but also economic development, agriculture, and forestry.' Halton Region also encompasses the lakeside town of Oakville, Halton Hills and the city of Burlington. The former Halton Region Museum, which closed to the public in 2016 and now serves as the Halton Region Heritage Services archive, will remain open until Jan. 1. Contin says the deaccessioning — which refers to the process of removing artifacts from a museum's collection — will take place 'well beyond that date.' 'There's no hard deadline in place, and that's intentional. We want to take the time needed to make thoughtful decisions and follow museum sector best practices to keep the items safe and reconnect these items with the public in a meaningful and respectful way,' Contin wrote in an email to The Canadian Press. In a staff report to council, Halton Region said its preferred approach is to transfer the artifacts to a local institution in another municipality or region. If it can't find a suitable home, Contin says Halton will 'ensure all items are safely stored while exploring options.' The municipality could put some items that don't have a 'clear connection' to Halton's history up for auction, she said. The staff report to council says there will be a 'separate and distinct' process in partnership with Halton Region's Indigenous relations team to rehome Indigenous artifacts. Local historian John McDonald says Halton's decision to deaccession its historical collection comes as a surprise, noting there was money set aside for a new heritage centre. 'It was certainly shocking to receive this news, and a surprise considering the richness of our heritage,' McDonald said in an interview. McDonald is the author of the 2011 book 'Halton's Heritage: William Halton and Halton County,' a book about the life of William Halton, whom the Halton region was named after. McDonald said the book took him three and a half years to research, and he would frequent the Halton Heritage Services often. 'Without those documents, I wouldn't have been able to (write) it completely and in as much detail,' he said. 'In the future, people like myself who do research are not going to have the same accessibility to those records,' he said, adding that any person or group that does a similar local history project will lose an important resource. Alison Drummond, executive director of the Ontario Museum Association, says offering residents easily accessible information about the history of their community is important because it's 'really intrinsic to what museums do.' 'It creates a sense of community when people move to a new place and learn about the history of it via artifacts and exhibits,' Drummond said. That's especially important right now with amplified conversations about Canadian identity, she added. U.S. President Donald Trump's comments about annexing Canada and making it the 51st state and the tariff war have renewed conversations about what it means to be Canadian. Drummond said preserving Canadian heritage — including provincial and local histories — is part of understanding this question. 'Halton is one of the fastest-growing communities in Canada. I think anybody coming into a new community, whether they're coming in from outside Canada or just outside Halton, deserves the chance to know more about their place they're in,' she said. Michelle Hamilton, a history professor at Western University in London, Ont., says there was a lack of public consultation and that marks a breach of trust. 'In Canada, artifacts belong to the public, and museums hold them in trust for the public,' she said, adding she's skeptical that the artifacts will be able to find another home. 'Anybody who understands the museum world in Ontario and Canada (understands that) all museums are already overburdened, understaffed, underfunded and don't have capacity to take (more),' Hamilton said, adding that local museums also typically only take objects that are relevant to their areas. 'You're taking away education for kids and seniors … I think that's pretty terrible,' Hamilton said. In a letter dated July 24, the Association of Canadian Archivists asked Halton's council to reverse the decision, saying local museums and archives contain 'one-of-a-kind documents and artifacts that chronicle the histories of the communities to which they belong.' 'These artifacts hold important significance, serving as an indispensable memory bank for the communities and researchers who depend on them. This collective memory plays a crucial role not only in preserving the personal histories of community members but also in ensuring the effective operation of local research,' the letter said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 1, 2025.


CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
First Nation, chamber of mines blast Yukon gov't's efforts to develop new mining laws
The Yukon government's efforts to develop new mining legislation are coming under fire, from both a First Nation and the territory's chamber of mines. In a statement on Wednesday, the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun, based in Mayo, Yukon, said it "rejects" the government's framework for new legislation, because it's ignored the First Nation's concerns and doesn't go far enough to fix how mining is done in the territory. "It is at best a modest improvement on the status quo," said Na-Cho Nyäk Dun Chief Dawna Hope in a statement. "The time for modest improvements is over. Yukon government has allowed unsustainable mining to continue for generations." In a separate statement on Thursday, the Yukon Chamber of Mines also slammed the government's developed framework but for different reasons. The chamber's executive director Jonas Smith says it would "introduce sweeping changes which disregard established conventions and would threaten the Yukon's ability to remain viable and competitive in a global investment market." Smith also complains of "proposals that were clearly conceived in a vacuum absent of industry perspective," but did not provide more detail. He also said the chamber hasn't been given enough time to review the framework and consult with its membership. "For these reasons we are not in a position to support it at this time," he wrote. The territorial government has been working for years to develop new legislation that will replace the Quartz Mining Act and Placer Mining Act. Some of the territory's laws and regulations around mining have not changed in a century. The government says it has been working closely with First Nations to determine how to best update the legislation. In a statement to CBC News, Yukon government cabinet spokesperson Laura Seeley said a draft framework was developed with a steering committee, "led by a small group that included several First Nation legal representatives." That included the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun (FNNND), she wrote. "If we collectively agree on a framework it will act as a commitment to key elements of new minerals legislation. After that, it will be up to each First Nation to decide whether they want to sign on." After that, she said, "we'll figure out how we'll be able to proceed with this legislation." Na-Cho Nyäk Dun says it has been working with the territory and other First Nations for four years, trying in good faith to develop new legislation "that works for all parties." However, the First Nation says its interests always seemed to take a backseat. "At every turn, our rights were ignored and our voice was unheard. Our interests were discarded. The outcomes we sought were unilaterally rejected by Yukon government representatives time and again," Hope said, in her statement. She also criticized the territory for not providing enough money for her First Nation to fully participate in the years-long process. She said the First Nation had to use some of its own money, "taking dollars away from FNNND-driven initiatives around land use planning, health and well-being, housing, and other critical priorities." The First Nation has been outspoken in its criticism of Yukon's mining regime, particularly since the failure of the Eagle mine on its traditional territory a year ago. That has created an environmental disaster, contaminating the ground and local waterways, and it will take years to clean up. "Yukon government ... sat back and allowed an unsafe mine to continue operating on our territory, and our people will be paying the price of the Eagle gold mine catastrophe for generations," Hope said.


Cision Canada
4 hours ago
- Cision Canada
Statement by Prime Minister Carney on Canada-U.S. trade Français
OTTAWA, ON, Aug. 1, 2025 /CNW/ - "President Trump has announced that the United States will increase its tariffs to 35% on those Canadian exports that are not covered under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA. While the Canadian government is disappointed by this action, we remain committed to CUSMA, which is the world's second-largest free trade agreement by trading volume. The U.S. application of CUSMA means that the U.S. average tariff rate on Canadian goods remains one of its lowest for all of its trading partners. Other sectors of our economy – including lumber, steel, aluminum, and automobiles – are, however, heavily impacted by U.S. duties and tariffs. For such sectors, the Canadian government will act to protect Canadian jobs, invest in our industrial competitiveness, buy Canadian, and diversify our export markets. The United States has justified its most recent trade action on the basis of the cross-border flow of fentanyl, despite the fact that Canada accounts for only 1% of U.S. fentanyl imports and has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes. Canada's government is making historic investments in border security to arrest drug traffickers, take down transnational gangs, and end migrant smuggling. These include thousands of new law enforcement and border security officers, aerial surveillance, intelligence and security operations, and the strongest border legislation in our history. We will continue working with the United States to stop the scourge of fentanyl and save lives in both our countries. While we will continue to negotiate with the United States on our trading relationship, the Canadian government is laser focused on what we can control: building Canada strong. The federal government, provinces, and territories are working together to cut down trade barriers to build one Canadian economy. We are developing a series of major nation-building projects with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners. Together, these initiatives have the potential to catalyse over half a trillion dollars of new investments in Canada. Canadians will be our own best customer, creating more well-paying careers at home, as we strengthen and diversify our trading partnerships throughout the world. We can give ourselves more than any foreign government can ever take away by building with Canadian workers and by using Canadian resources to benefit all Canadians."