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Indigenous Broadband – Connecting the North

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3 minute read

In our digitally defined world, access to technology is an important factor in achieving a high quality of life for many. The digital divide refers to differences in access to technology experienced by individuals as a result of various socioeconomic and geographical factors. In Canada, a major feature of the digital divide is location, with a major gap existing between the sparsely populated Northern territories and the rest of the country. 

The lack of access to reliable Internet in rural areas across Northern Canada can make it extremely difficult for those living in remote communities to remain connected, conduct business, access necessary resources and more. The absence of reliable connectivity for our Northern neighbors has been an ongoing problem since the inception of the Internet, but countless discussions and grants have yet to yield a serious, sustainable solution. 

KatloTech Communications Ltd. (KTC) is a Northern-Indigenous owned business based in Yellowknife, NWT committed to solving the broadband issue that has plagued Northern Canada for years. The organization’s mission is to close the digital divide in Northern Canada by providing world-class telecommunication solutions through the use of wireless and fiber optic technologies. 

Their Broadband Investment Project in the Northwest Territories, currently in the planning and investment stages, seeks to “build and deploy an indigenous-owned next-generation fiber-optic network infrastructure connecting the Northwest Territories into Global Markets.” The network will have the ability to host services such as Internet, Cloud Services, IP telephone services, cellular and digital TV services and offer wholesale broadband access to providers and resellers.  

 “People in the North have been waiting for this for years,” says Lyle Fabian, President KatloTech Communications, “finally we decided, if no one else is going to build it, we will!” 

The low population density in Northern Canada does not attract the same number of telecommunication providers as southern regions of the country. This has led to a lack of competition between providers in the north, contributing to the creation of a predatory market atmosphere where clients are paying outrageous prices for access to basic services. “Our goal is to innovate the North,” says Fabian, “as soon as you leave major city centers, choice of access is almost non-existent. We want to create competition and give everybody choices.”  

Like countless other organizations across the country and the world, COVID-19 has forced KatloTech Communications to reevaluate their plans for 2020. However they remain entirely committed to the cause. KatloTech is currently focused on raising public awareness for their project and furthering discussions with third party organizations interested in bridging the divide and bringing reliable connectivity to the North. 

For more information on KatloTech Communications Inc., visit https://katlotech.ca/

 

For more stories, visit Todayville Calgary.

 

Economy

Trudeau commits $8.4 million to study impact of ‘climate and environmental issues’ on democracy

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From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

The money is part of a $30 million-plus project to ‘strengthen democracies in Canada and around the world.’

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is committing millions of taxpayer dollars to research how climate change “interacts” with democracy.

On March 20, Trudeau told the Summit for Democracy that Canada will send $8.4 million to the Global South to further “climate and environmental issues” despite Canadians struggling with the rising cost of living.

“Today I’m announcing that Canada is investing $8.4 million on research across the global south to better understand how climate change interacts with democratic decline,” Trudeau announced at the gathering orchestrated by the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden and hosted by South Korea.

“These initiatives will also help protect the human rights of environmental defenders,” he added.

According to a press release from the prime minister’s office, the money will be used to reclaim “civic space to confront the climate emergency.”

“Canada is investing $8.4 million to support human rights defenders working on climate and environmental issues across the Global South,” it reads.

The $8.4 million is part of the more than $30 million that Trudeau is spending “for new projects to strengthen democracies in Canada and around the world.”

It includes $22.3 million to “defend human rights and promote inclusion” and $1.44 million “to strengthen the resilience of francophone LGBTQI+ rights movements in North Africa.”

Another $4.6 million will be spent “in research to create an equitable, feminist, and inclusive digital sphere.”

Food costs are going up so fast that even Canada’s own Department of Social Development in a recent briefing note stated that the nation’s poverty rate could increase by 14% this year because of high food prices.

Additionally, a recent poll found that 70% of Canadians believe the country is “broken” as Trudeau focuses on less important issues.

While Canadians placed the cost of living above climate change and the war in Ukraine as their most important issue, Trudeau recently promised another $3 billion to Ukraine and plans to increase the carbon tax on April 1 to limit the effects of “climate change.”

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Energy

Carbon tax costs average Alberta family $911 this year

Published on

From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Author: Kris Sims 

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to scrap the carbon tax, which is set to increase April 1.

“Alberta families are fighting to afford food and home heating and the last thing they need is Trudeau’s carbon tax hike,” said Kris Sims, CTF Alberta Director. “It’s wrong for the Trudeau government to punish Albertans for driving their cars, heating their homes and buying food.”

The federal carbon tax is set to increase to 17 cents per litre of gasoline, 21 cents per litre of diesel and 15 cents per cubic metre of natural gas on April 1.

The carbon tax will cost about $12 extra to fill up a minivan and about $18 extra to fill up a pickup truck. Truckers filling up their big rigs with diesel will pay about $200 extra due to the carbon tax.

For natural gas home heating, the average Alberta household will pay about $439 extra in the carbon tax.

According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the carbon tax will cost the average family in Alberta $911 this year, even after the rebates are factored in.

A Leger poll showed 72 per cent of Albertans oppose the April 1 carbon tax increase.

“If Trudeau really cares about making life more affordable for Canadians, then at the very least he wouldn’t hike his carbon tax again,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “The PBO is clear: the carbon tax costs average families hundreds of dollars more every year than they get back in rebates.”

Carbon tax costs, per PBO

Province Net cost for the average household in 2024-25
Alberta $911
Saskatchewan $525
Manitoba $502
Ontario $627
Nova Scotia $537
Prince Edward Island $550
Newfoundland and Labrador $377

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— Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director
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