The bizarre sound of one modem connecting to another across repurposed telephone infrastructure is a relic of a bygone age in most of Canada. Those signals, however, are still the soundtrack of the internet in most of Manitobaâs remote First Nations communities -- but perhaps not for long.
An indigenous business called Clear Sky Connections plans to lay 3,600 kilometres of fibre optic cable, more than the distance from Vancouver to Toronto, to deliver high-speed internet access to northern communities.
The idea is still on the drawing board. It would be one of the largest telecommunication infrastructure projects in North America, crossing a vast expanse of rugged terrain. And it will take years to complete if it gets off the ground. But that hasnât stopped residents from considering the plethora of benefits that come with high-speed connectivity.
âManitoba is the last to be lit, so to speak, with respect to fiber and high-speed internet. Once we get that opportunity, I think things will change for our communities,â said Lisa Clarke, eHealth program director for Nanaandawewigamig First Nations health and social secretariat of Manitoba, in a video promoting the project.
Essential services like Manitoba eHealth connect doctors and remote patients, but videoconferencing is being held back by to poor connectivity.
âWe have some of the highest rates of suicide across Canada. We speak about promoting life and creating change, but how can we if we donât have the resources for our communities to do that,â said Clarke.
High-speed Internet would have the most profound impact on the lives of youth in remote communities, where recreational resources are desperately slim, and distance education and online work could open countless new opportunities.
âThere are days that I couldnât work because the internet was out for days at a time. If there was faster internet, it would definitely give our people the chance to catch up with the rest of society,â said Maggie Moose of the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation. âWe are doing big things with whatâs here. Imagine what can happen back in the communities if we have the same stuff that is here in the city.â
âItâs not just Netflix and Facebook. Itâs a tool,â said Eric Redhead of the Shamattawa First Nation. âIt gives opportunities for economic development.â
Federal grants from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada could help cover what promises to be a costly construction process. The ministryâs Connect to Innovate program, for example, aims to invest $500 million by 2021 to bring high-speed internet to rural and remote communities in Canada.
While most of Manitobaâs indigenous youth will have matured into adulthood by the time the Clear Sky Connections would be ready to come online, the benefits of the project are already taking shape for its youngest advocates.
âWhat I am learning here is about telecom, webcamming, and high-speed internet. We are leaning how to communicate with our youth, talk to our chiefs in council about the high tech stuff they want to bring into our communities, and making sure they trust the people,â said Roberta Lathlin of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation. âThis is a really big step in everybodyâs life. I think we are going to be bringing that positivity back into our communities.â
With a report from CTVâs Jill Macyshon in Winnipeg