High-speed Internet: Legault outraged by Ottawa’s indifference

Fed up with waiting for funding from the federal government to connect the regions to high-speed internet, Quebec itself will fund this project.

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This was indicated by the Prime Minister, François Legault, passing through La Sarre in Abitibi-Témiscamingue on Thursday.

“For a year and a half, we waited a little for the federal government, which was asked to finance half of it. It is too long. So what I asked the Minister of the Economy is to fund it completely by the Government of Quebec, then in a second step we will try to collect the federal government for their part, ”he said. Explain.

Hundreds of millions

The Minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon, was therefore responsible for negotiating with various telecommunications companies.

“We are talking about several hundred million dollars so that these companies are able to offer rates comparable to the rates that are in the big cities, but by charging us an amount so that it is profitable for them others because currently it There are some remote residences that are not profitable for these companies, ”said François Legault.

The latter has undertaken to connect 340,000 residences in Quebec.

Connect 60,000 homes

Quebec has already released $ 150 million in May to finance 66 province-wide projects to provide access to high-speed internet service in rural areas and at a price comparable to those offered in the city.

The projects selected are spread over 11 regions of Quebec, namely Bas-Saint-Laurent, Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean, Capitale-Nationale, Mauricie, Estrie, Outaouais, Chaudière-Appalaches, Lanaudière, the Laurentians, Montérégie and Center-du-Québec.

They will connect 60,000 homes and should all be launched by 2022.

During the last election campaign, the Coalition d’avenir Québec (CAQ) provided for a budget of $ 400 million to connect all households in Quebec to high speed internet by 2022. François Legault then expected an equivalent contribution from the from private telecommunications companies (Bell, Videotron, Telus, etc.), as well as from the federal government.

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