Statement Honorable Dennis Patterson Senator for Nunavut

Honorable Senators, as you know, Nunavut is by far Canada's largest and most isolated jurisdiction. The 30,000 people of Nunavut live in 25 remote communities with no roads linking them together - none. But we now have an information highway connecting the people of Nunavut with each other and with the world. This is QINIQ a creation of the Nunavut Broadband Development Corporation, a nonprofit corporation established in 2005 and aided by investments from Industry Canada. Nunavut has benefited from broadband enhancements more than any other jurisdiction in Canada. QINIQs growth has been impressive, with about 4800 subscribers today, who pay $60.00 per month. These subscribers represent 50% of all households and corporate buildings in Nunavut. This growth over the past 5 years reflects the fact that QINIQ is good for economic development it has created local jobs by allowing entrepreneurs in all 25 communities to become community service providers, each one receiving training, and earning commissions on their QINIQ accounts- over $850,000 in annual revenue in remote communities. Over a very short time, people have adopted broadband as an essential service for work, business, to get news, to bank online, to order or market products and services, to obtain and submit government information and to communicate with family and friends. In response to the challenges of growth in August 2008, Infrastructure Canada announced that they would invest $21 million in network upgrades, additional satellite capacity and some essential new bandwidth management tools, which was matched by funds from other mostly private sources in a true Public-Private Partnership. This has meant noticeable improvements in speed, especially during busy hours. Exciting new broadband services such as videoconferencing and the ability to move large data files will be announced this month. This will positively affect the delivery of education and health services.

I am especially encouraged about one potential application, which I enthusiastically support, to enhance the fledgling University of the Arctic. With support from federal departments led by Indian and Northern Affairs, three territorial colleges in Yukon, NWT and Nunavut plan to expand opportunities for university-level education across the northnot based on bricks and mortar, but by creating a cyber university. The ability of the Qiniq network to provide videoconferencing and other communications will be an ideal vehicle for making university courses accessible to students in even the most remote locations. I want to emphasize that all communities in Nunavut are satellite dependant and that satellite bandwidth is extremely expensive. That is the #1 challenge. It must be subsidized by federal funds because speeds are slow compared to fibre optic cables now widespread in the south. Broadband service in the south on cable and phone lines is much faster and costs less than 5% of service in Nunavut. In the north, connectivity is not a luxury; it is a lifeline an opportunity to bridge north south economic inequities. Connectivity is as vital to economic and social development in Arctic regions as the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Trans Canada Highway and Trans Canada Pipeline have been for southern Canada. In closing, I wish to note an important and looming reality. On July 1, 2012, the Infrastructure Fund for bandwidth support will be finished. Honorable Senators, I believe that broadband capacity in a territory without any roads a communications highway connecting to southern Canada and the world - is as high a priority as housing, water, ports and airports.