One of the fundamental requirements to achive digital equity is the access to reliable internet connection. According to this article, many Indigenous communities in remote areas do not have that connection and therefore their access to online services and resources is limited.
“Recent events, including the pandemic, fires and severe flooding in B.C., have highlighted the inequalities for Indigenous communities that don’t have access to these online services. Without connectivity and the ability to travel, relationships were challenged. Youth were unable to attend online academic and cultural teachings. Communities lost the ability to maintain their social and mental wellness and safety.”
“This lack of connectivity exacerbates socio-economic inequities, including business opportunities, employment, education, and physical and mental health.”
The current policy is for major telecommunications companies to participate in an auction and the job of providing internet with the proper licensing would go to the highest bidder. These companies are mostly focused on improving the internet services in urban areas rather than rural or remote areas. That results in disadvantaging Indigenous communities by leaving them digitally disconnected.
Indigenous leaders in Canada requested a change in the policy for providing internet to remote communities and demanding a seat at a table where decisions are made by sending a letter to François-Philippe Champagnein, theMinister of Innovation, Science and Industry in December 2021.
“At an Assembly of First Nations meeting in December 2020, 98.5 per cent of First Nations Chiefs in attendance from across Canada passed a resolution requesting access to high-speed internet for remote Indigenous communities. The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs also passed a resolution in February 2022 in support of a spectrum policy change to urge Indigenous digital equity. The federal government has an opportunity to not only close the digital divide, but to take another meaningful step towards truth and reconciliation by updating its spectrum policy.”