Canada’s Conservatives will connect communities
As an MP and Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer’s shadow minister for innovation, science, and economic development, I get many invitations to talk about rural internet access and get outside the so-called Ottawa bubble. Hearing directly from those who live in rural or remote communities is important for us to truly put people before government. A […]
Telecommunications services are increasingly expensive for families
According to Statistics Canada’s Survey of Household Spending, Canadian households spent an average of $2,246 on communication devices and services in 2016. Canadian consumers are right to be concerned about the evolution of broadcasting and telecommunications in recent years. They must spend more on internet services that have become both expensive and not easily accessible. Not only […]
How Canada is building a nation of innovators
The winds of change are powerful and persistent in the global economy. New technologies and new applications of data and digital tools are driving a fourth industrial revolution in economies and societies around the world. We can either put our heads in the sand and lose our opportunity for leadership, or we can take charge […]
For rural and remote communities, broadband access is not a game
Over the last decade, Canadians from coast to coast to coast have decried consecutive governments for not doing enough to support rural and remote broadband access. Canadians in these communities should have access to broadband supports—it’s 2019, after all. There are a whole host of reasons given that not every Canadian has access to affordable […]
Critics decry new minister as election ploy, say Liberals dropping ball on rural internet access
Shifting responsibility for getting better internet connectivity in rural areas to a new cabinet minister may just be a “smoke screen” for the Liberals dropping the ball on the file and other rural issues, say opposition MPs. But Liberals and stakeholders say there’s time for real progress on broadband and other rural files before the […]
A timeline of the Canada-China Huawei dispute
The context—For years, security experts in Five Eyes countries have sounded the alarm on Huawei potentially being a tool for Chinese espionage, particularly through next-generation 5G telecommunications networks. Australia and New Zealand have banned the use of Huawei equipment for their networks, while the U.K. and Germany are considering restrictions. Huawei has made itself a […]
Government inaction is a roadblock to building a sustainable economy for Nunavut
“There is no relationship more important to this government than our relationship with Indigenous people.” How often have I heard that said in the House as the prime minister and his cabinet ministers rise to answer questions on Indigenous issues? Nunavummiut can be forgiven for questioning their sincerity. In Nunavut we share a vision that […]
Canada’s North: Canada’s future
Almost 40 per cent of Canada is north of the 60th parallel. Do Canadians in the South understand northern issues, or the riches of the North, its unique, fragile ecology and centuries of Inuit, Dene, and northern First Nations traditions? The North is Canada’s future. The Senate Special Committee on the Arctic is mandated to assess […]
Canada’s people and economy deserve the fast lane!
There is a global race underway to deploy 5G networks and services that promise to fuel an exponential increase in digital opportunities and possibilities – an Industrial Revolution for the 21st Century. Until now, the introduction of each new generation of mobile technology came with improved features for connecting people faster and virtually everywhere: from […]
Why Canada needs a cyber security foreign policy
War or peace in cyberspace? This basic question was the theme of a recent gathering of cyber security experts held at the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo, Ont. Unlike many such meetings, the focus was on international policy and the status to be accorded this vital, if vulnerable, environment. There has been a […]
