GUELPH – Members of Wellington County council voiced support for an initiative designed to enhance internet service in rural regions, even as promised provincial funding now seems uncertain.
Councillors received an update on the Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology Inc. (SWIFT) initiative on Nov. 29.
“Their work towards connecting rural communities with high-speed internet has been interrupted by the provincial budget review,” states the report from county economic development director Jana Burns.
“To enable the build-out, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture must first provide their funding commitment, alongside the already committed federal and municipal funding.”
The report notes a recent survey shows 57.2 per cent of the 35,798 premises surveyed in Wellington County are under-served in terms of internet access, including adequate download speeds.
“Everything’s on hold; we’re getting close, we’re getting close,” said councillor George Bridge, who chairs the county’s economic development committee.
Bridge said he met with provincial officials recently and hopes to have “good news” soon.
“We’ve got to do it by the end of December,” he stated.
“We have a good ally in the federal government and we’ve just got to make sure the provincial government comes through with their commitments.”
Councillor Doug Breen predicted the SWIFT initiative will be looked at as a historic initiative.
“There are moments, sort of, in history where either you step forward or you get left behind and SWIFT is one of those moments,” said Breen.
“There was a point where somebody decided they were going to put electricity in every small town in Ontario, going to put electricity in every small town basically in Canada.
“I wouldn’t even want to try and do the environmental assessment now for putting all those poles in the ground and the magnets for the wiring and all that. At some point, somebody had the leadership, someone had the gall, and I’m sure there were lots of people that told them it was a stupid idea and it was a waste of time and a waste of money and ‘Why would you bother running power to Eden Mills? They don’t need electricity.’”
Breen continued, “We’re in kind of the same spot with internet as we were with telephones at one point, as we were with electricity at one point, as we still are in many cases with water and sewerage. The future is the internet. The future is this connected technology. We run businesses in my personal life out in rural Ontario and it really is a detriment to us for a lot of things we are trying to do. It certainly is a problem for the agricultural community.
“I know it’s been very expensive. I know it’s been controversial. Right now we have 60% of our communities that are connected to the internet. If we can get to 70, if we can get to 80, it’s worth it.”
Councillor Andy Lennox said, “I see it as beyond just the internet too. I mean this is about communication technology. We have lots of residents in our community that can’t even have a reliable land line anymore because Bell isn’t supporting their copper wires in the ground.”
He added, “This isn’t just about the internet, this is about a whole array of services that I would call communication technology, and I agree with councillor Breen … We need to act and the time is certainly on us.”
The SWIFT project aims to expand access to broadband internet by delivering fibre optic coverage to over 350 communities with a total population of 3.5 million across western Ontario, as well as Caledon and Niagara.
Wellington County council agreed in 2015 to provide $1 million over five years to the SWIFT plan, which was initiated by the Western Ontario Warden’s Caucus (WOWC) and involves 14 counties and 10 separated municipalities.
The federal and provincial governments each agreed in 2016 to provide $90 million.
However, Bridge reported at the Oct. 25 county council meeting the project, like all spending, was part of a “line by line” review of the province’s finances conducted after the Conservatives took office.
Bridge pointed out the WOWC has generated support worth $350 million, including the anticipated provincial contribution and funding from county governments in the region.
“It’s not easy getting 16 counties to work on anything together,” he stated.
