The Yukon provincial flag flies on a flag pole in Ottawa, Monday July 6, 2020. The Yukon government is urging Canada's telecommunications regulator to ensure northern residents have access to the same internet service quality as the rest of the country at comparable rates. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
WHITEHORSE – The Yukon government is urging Canada’s telecommunications regulator to ensure that northern residents have access to the same internet service quality as the rest of the country at comparable rates.
Sean McLeish, assistant deputy minister of information and communications technology for the territory, says the quality of internet service in Northern Canada, especially in rural and remote communities, is inferior to what is available throughout the rest of Canada.
The CRTC is holding a hearing this week in Whitehorse seeking feedback on actions it should take to improve telecommunications in communities in the Far North and to further reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
He says until there are viable market forces to incentivize quality improvement by the private sector, public sector intervention is needed to ensure Yukoners are not “left behind.”
McLeish says a subsidy should also be provided to northern customers who face higher retail broadband prices.
The regulator is also hearing from several local First Nations, service providers and municipalities as part of the proceedings.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 18, 2023.
