Federal Government Initiatives that Support First Nations Broadband Development
Links to summaries of current federal government initiatives that support First Nations broadband development.
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Federal Government Initiatives that Support First Nations Broadband Development |
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Thursday, 21 November 2024, 04:08 PM |
Aboriginal Connectivity Strategy (AANDC)
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) (formerly Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, or INAC) has been tasked with developing an Aboriginal connectivity strategy. Although AANDC began administering the First Nations SchoolNet program in 2006, the department has only had broad authority over broadband infrastructure and connectivity development as of 2009, when it became part of the broader First Nations Infrastructure Fund (FNIF) portfolio.
Connected to these developments, AANDC recently established the Connectivity and Partnerships branch, which is working to bridge the access divides facing many First Nations in Canada. One way it does this is through facilitating private-partnerships supported by matching funds from agencies like Industry Canada (through Broadband Canada) and Provincial and Territorial governments.
The Connectivity and Partnerships branch has also been mapping connectivity levels in Aboriginal and Northern Communities in Canada. To measure connectivity levels, the branch utilizes a broadband standard established in 2001 by Industry Canada: 1.5Mbps. The map measures connectivity at a community-level point-of-presence, and does not include related issues like affordability.
Map Created by AANDC
It is not clear if and how the Aboriginal Connectivity strategy will be connected to the Government of Canada's emerging digital economy strategy. Various consultation papers draw attention to the importance of a strategy that acknowledges the unique technology needs of First Nations communities (For example see: Aboriginal Connectivity Strategy & Ensuring Aboriginal Involvement in Canada's National Digital Strategy). However, at present the Government of Canada has not yet publicly released details about the digital economy strategy. It is therefore unclear whether the strategy will address broadband infrastructure (capital expenses), connectivity services (operating expenses), or both. Furthermore, there have to date been no opportunities for First Nations and Inuit groups to participate in the development of the strategy through targeted, formal consultations.
Digital economy strategy (Industry Canada, Canadian Heritage and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada)
In June 2009, Industry Canada announced plans to develop a digital economy strategy. Other federal departments linked to the development of the strategy include Canadian Heritage and Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (Government of Canada, 2010). The creation of the plan is supported by the recommendations in a recent report by the Senate Standing Committee on Transport and Communications called Plan for a Digital Canada. The report recommended a strategy for an inclusive digital society, along with a new Minister of Digital Policy, and the deployment of a national broadband network that could deliver essential digital services to all citizens.
Shortly after announcing its plans to develop a digital economy strategy, Industry Canada opened public consultations for “feedback from all interested parties on priorities and targets” (Industry Canada, 2010a, para 8). One of the consultation’s five discussion themes was: Building a World-Class Digital Infrastructure, which included mention of rural and remote communities (Industry Canada, 2010b, p. 2). However, nowhere does this initial consultation paper refer to the unique needs of First Nations and Inuit communities, in terms of broadband infrastructure and connectivity services (Industry Canada, 2010c). This oversight fails to consider the conclusions of evaluations of programs such as the Aboriginal Canada Portal, which closed down early in 2013. Read more about this here. Furthermore, it fails to showcase the long history of successful First Nations and Inuit community-based communications infrastructure and services development, which stretches at least as far as the Wawatay Native Communications Society’s 1974 efforts to establish a community radio system (O’Donnell et al, 2010; see also Alia, 2010; Roth, 2005).
View the consultations provided by members of the First Mile team to Industry Canada:
CPROST: Ensuring Aboriginal Involvement in Canada's National Digital Strategy
KO-KNET: Aboriginal Connectivity Strategy
Northern Digital Opportunities Strategy (CanNor)
In 2008, the Speech from the Throne announced the creation of a new stand-alone agency focused on northern economic development, a key deliverable under the government’s Northern Strategy. In 2009, the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) was provided with $50 million over five years to “to help provide the foundation for a prosperous economic future for those who live, work and support their families in the North” (Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, n.d.).
As of June 2010, CanNor’s ICT Working Group began working towards defining and establishing a northern-focused ‘Digital Opportunities Strategy’ to assist in developing an Agency ICT policy and strategy. This strategy aims to: strengthen northern ICT tools; address the communications needs of the North within the federal context; facilitate the planning and delivery of communications technology and digital literacy among citizens in the north; allow market forces to function where and when possible; and acknowledge government’s role in ensuring northern residents possess the skills, knowledge and tools required for full participation in the global economy.
Part of this strategy involves identifying the communications infrastructure and capacity requirements needed for effective community and economic development. The lead-up to the strategy builds on several recent meetings, including the Northern Communications and Information Systems Working Group (NCIS WG). Members of this group include Government of Canada departments like Justice, Fisheries, Environment, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (formerly Indian and Northern Affairs Canada), Canadian Space Agency, Public Safety and Human Resources and Skills Development, as well as representatives from Territorial governments.
The Yukon, Northwest, and Nunavut Territories are also linked to these developments. The three territorial premiers published a communiqué on May 14, 2010 that stated they “agreed that reliable connectivity to satellite transmission across the North is essential for the continued economic and social development of northern communities and they urged the federal government to continue to support that policy” (24, interview). The communiqué also noted the opportunities for significant partnerships between the territorial premiers and CanNor:
One area of focus is telecommunications. The premiers discussed the opportunity of identifying ways to enhance telecommunications to support services such as healthcare, justice and education and directed their governments to formalize a pan-territorial policy working group on telecommunications (Northern Premiers’ Forum, 2010, p. 2).
In 2011, CanNor funded a survey of northern government departments and service providers that identified existing communications capacities and infrastructure across the north and identified future needs. The Arctic Communications Infrastructure Assessment Report argues the importance of reliable communication infrastructure in the North of the country in order to protect Canada’s sovereignty, and to ensure safe passage of air, sea and road traffic through the region (Northern Communications & Information Systems Working Group, 2011).
In 2011, CanNor also provided $275,000 to the K’atl’odeeche First Nation of the Northwest Territories "to build a local fibre-optic network, establish local ICT certification training, and research the potential to build a fibre-optic connection to southern Canada to access broadband services" (Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, 2011). Read about this project in more detail HERE.
K’atl’odeechee First Nation (KFN) received further CanNor funding in 2013 to expand their community networking project. KFN will receive $279,000 over two years to install twelve kilometers of fibre to connect their community network to NorthwestTel’s existing fibre network and link the network to Alberta’s SuperNet line. The high-speed network will provide homes and businesses in K’atl’odeechee First Nation with a faster and more powerful service and will support economic development and public services in the community.
CanNor: Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund
The
Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund was introduced as part of the
Economic Action Plan 2012. The fund will provide $150 million over a two year period to community infrastructure improvement projects across the country. CanNor will be delivering the program in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and the Yukon, where $6.4 million has been allocated.
Projects are required to meet a set of
eligibility criteria, and may be eligible for up to $1 million in funding. Connectivity and Broadband projects are considered to be eligible infrastructure under the Fund’s guidelines.
Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians (Industry Canada)
However, some First Nations expressed concerns over a lack of consultation regarding the development of this initiative. According to the
Assembly of First Nations (AFN):
Several First Nations and networks have applied for funding from this new program. Neither the AFN not individual First Nations were invited to provide input into the selection criteria and procedures for this particular fund. As of the writing of this report [March 31, 2010], it is unknown how many First Nation-specific projects will be funded (AFN Chiefs Committee on Economic Development, 2010, p. 18).
At its completion, the Broadband Canada project successfully completed
84 projects in five provinces and two territories. This brought “broadband access to a total of 218,000 previously unserved and underserved households” (Broadband Canada, 2012)
This project was carried out through a number of private-public partnerships. AANDC was involved in many of these projects through the FNIF initiative discussed above. Some of the projects included a role for First Nations technology organizations. Many focused on capital expenses to establish physical infrastructure, including several large-scale regional networking projects.
First Nations Infrastructure Fund (AANDC)
There is no legislative or legal obligation for the federal government to fund infrastructure in First Nations. However, since the 1960s AANDC has funded areas like water/wastewater, electricity, roads/bridges, and capacity-building. Connectivity became part of the FNIF portfolio partly given its necessity in supporting remote water treatment plants. This reflects AANDC’s position that connectivity is required for First Nations governments to support services like e-commerce, remote banking, e-health, online education, and program reporting. According to the Government of Canada: “it is imperative that the majority of Canada’s Aboriginal communities have access to reliable high-speed internet”, particularly as more government services and businesses move online.
According to Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC), which now administers the First Nation Infrastructure Fund (FNIF), the fund combined a portion of INAC’s Capital Facilities and Maintenance Program, Infrastructure Canada’s Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund, and the Gas Tax Fund -- a ‘single-window’ approach designed to increase efficiency and streamline access to funding (Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, n.d.). It initially focused on four eligible funding categories: community planning and skills development; solid waste management; roads and bridges; and energy systems. The FNIF was described as “a project-based proposal driven program aimed at helping First Nations improve infrastructure on reserve” (Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, 2007, para 7). Broadband infrastructure and connectivity was recently added to the eligible funding categories. However, this inclusion was not initially accompanied with any new funding.
FNIF is a 5-year, $131M component of the broader Building Canada initiative. FNIF’s proposal-based funding model supports public-private partnerships between government, private sector entities, and First Nations organizations. The Table below provides an overview of several FNIF projects (as of late 2012).
FNIF Projects and Regional Partners as of Winter 2012
First Nation communities interested in expanding their connectivity infrastructure are required to complete a First Nation Infrastructure Investment Plan (FNIIP). This five-year capital investment plan outlines infrastructure needs and development plans.).
National Satellite Initiative – Part 1 (Industry Canada) and Part 2 (Infrastructure Canada)
First Nations and Inuit satellite-based broadband infrastructure projects were created in large part through two rounds of funding under the National Satellite Initiative (NSI). The first round of funding came in 2002 with the second round following in 2007.
As a result of the NSI funding, 43 remote Inuit and First Nations communities, and two non-First Nations or Inuit communities in the northern regions of Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba receive Internet services through the Northern Indigenous Community Satellite Network (NICSN). In 2002, communities in Nunavut, NWT and northern Ontario began sharing satellite bandwidth provided through a Public Benefit Transponder. In 2003, NSI allocated a second Public Benefit Transponder to NICSN to provide connectivity services to public institutions in 43 communities. The second round of funding provided in 2007 allowed NICSN to secure two more satellite transponders and to complete local access network upgrades.
Read more about NICSN here.
NSI also funded one project in Nunavut ($7.83 million to provide broadband service via satellite to all 25 communities), and one project in NWT ($7.0 million for 31 communities in NWT). These territorial projects are guided by boards of directors that include First Nations and Inuit representatives, but are owned and administered by a commercial organization, SSI Micro.
The NSI investment in Nunavut was matched by a combination of funding from SSi Micro and customer revenue. The combined $15.6 million in funding invested in bandwidth expansion between 2009 and 2012. Specific projects include the expansion of connectivity in public schools across Nunavut and file sharing applications for businesses. Read more.
In 2008, the First Nations Emergency Services Society of BC (FNESS), succeeded in a bid to manage the National Satellite Initiative Round 2 (NSIR2). The project provided 17 communities in British Columbia with access to high-speed internet via dedicated C-band satellite service. The NSI funding is scheduled to end on March 31, 2014. This has prompted communities in BC to begin searching for alternative modes of funding. Read more.
Despite evidence of the success of these projects in achieving economies of scale, network efficiencies, and strong, long-term partnerships across geographic and jurisdictional boundaries, the satellite-based broadband infrastructure and connectivity services associated with NSI are in danger of losing core funding. In one key informant’s words: “The trend appears clear: lower funding for less stable lengths of time”. The Table below highlights the end of NSI funding. As of early 2013, no new government program has been announced to replace the NSI.
NSI Funding Timelines as of early 2013
| Province | Project | End Date |
| B.C. | FNESS, FNTC and Norsat’s NSI Round 2 | March 2014 |
| Quebec | KRG’s Broadband Canada project (Nunavik Inuit) | 2016 |
| Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba | NSI Round 2 funding ends for NICSN partners | 2019 |
| Nunavut | SSi Micro and Nunavut Broadband Development Corporation’s
Broadband Canada project | 2016 |
First Nations, Inuit and Aboriginal Health: e-Health Solutions Unit (Health Canada)
Health Canada’s First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) is responsible for providing health care for First Nations and Inuit peoples. Its e-Health Solutions unit develops programs in “support of e-Health infrastructure to ensure that First Nations and Inuit communities are connected and informed” (Health Canada, n.d.).
The eHealth Infostructure Program (eHIP) supports the use of ICT by front line healthcare workers in First Nations and Inuit communities in Canada in an effort to improve people’s health in these communities. The project focuses on “the adoption of modern information technology (IT) for the purpose of defining, collecting, communicating, managing, disseminating and using data to enable better access, quality and productivity in the health and health care” (Health Canada, 2013).
eHIP’s project funding totaled almost $132M over five fiscal years from 2006/07 to 2010/11. This funding covered the cost of full-time employees, operations and maintenance, and grants and contributions.
Gateway Fund (Heritage Canada)
Prior to 2010, the Department of Canadian Heritage, through Canadian Culture Online, launched a targeted call for proposals under the Gateway Fund to increase access to diverse online Canadian cultural content, including projects presented by and with content about Aboriginal Peoples (Canadian Heritage, n.d.). According to the Fund’s website: “the applicant's main role must be to serve one or more Aboriginal communities and it must be active in promoting the culture of that (those) community(ies)”. The Canadian Culture Online program ended in 2004.
To replace the Gateway Fund (and a partnership fund associated with Canadian Culture Online), the federal government created the Canada Interactive Fund (CIF). This specific aim of this program was “to support the creation of digital and interactive Canadian cultural content, developed by official-language minority communities (OLMCs), Aboriginal and ethnocultural organizations, and other non-profit organizations”.
This new program was cut from the federal Budget in 2012.
Telecom Decision CRTC 2010-637 (CRTC)
In August 2010, the CRTC approved Telecom Decision CRTC 2010-637, which states that telephone companies must spend the money in their deferral accounts to invest $421.9 million to expand broadband Internet service (broadband infrastructure and connectivity) to 287 rural and remote communities, many of which are First Nations. Any remainder funds are to be rebated to existing customers who live in non-high-cost serving areas (which excludes many rural and remote First Nations customers from receiving these rebates, given they are living in communities designated as ‘high-cost’ serving areas). The CRTC-approved service improvement plans provided by the major telcos do not include any First Nations located in designated high cost serving areas in northern Ontario.
Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2012-669
In December 2012, the CRTC provided notice of a public hearing to take place in June 2013, which would review the
regulatory framework of Northwestel. The hearing will be largely centered around Northwestel’s investment in existing network infrastructure, as well as the funding details of their
Modernization Plan. The First Mile Connectivity Consortium and K’atl’odeechee First Nation provided consultations to the CRTC submission, and made suggestions for further consideration. These suggestions included:
• Transport facilities. Open access long-haul (backbone) infrastructure
• Local infrastructure. Support for community networks.
• Participation. First Nations community involvement in broadband development
Specifically, the consultation calls for the availability of subsidies for community-based infrastructures, as well as the involvement of affected community members in the consultation process.
Additional First Nations parties to contribute submission to these hearings include:
Community Access Program (Industry Canada)
In the mid-1990s, Canada’s
Community Access Program (CAP) program was used as a model for many member states in the
European Union (Pacific Community Networks Association, 2006).
CAP sites play an important role for many communities that do not yet have widespread local or household broadband infrastructure and connectivity services, and the program is widely utilized among communities in Northern Canada.
However, while some European nations built upon the
CAP model and incorporated it in nationally-oriented broadband strategies, in Canada “funding for
CAP in Canada was reduced, government utilization of the infrastructure was limited, and the program lagged in adjusting its mission and evaluative criteria to the changing realities of ICT in Canadian society” (Pacific Community Networks Association, 2006, p. 10; see also Smith, 2008). In March 2010, funding cuts to
CAP resulted in public outcry and (temporary) restoration of funding (Middleton, 2010, p.4).
Rather than a fund to support ongoing connectivity services,
Broadband Canada is linked to the federal government’s
Economic Action Plan, which focused on infrastructure development projects. This shift to short-term funding became more apparent in March 2010, when
CAP administrators across Canada began receiving letters advising them their funding would be terminated at the end of that month, unless their sites were located more than 25 km from a public library (Moll, 2012). The
CAP community responded by contacting MPs and the media, and the issue was raised during Question Period by members of all three opposition parties in the House of Commons.
According to Moll (2012): In a quick turn about, Industry Minister Tony Clement announced that there had been a bureaucratic misunderstanding and that the funding had never really been withdrawn. The program was good for another year but again funded through the temporary "
Connecting Rural Canadians" infrastructure program.
Federal funding for the broadband infrastructure-focused
Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians program ended on March 31, 2012. However, some governments, like the Government of Nunavut, continue to fund the program.