As it was discussed earlier, limited access to high-speed internet and its proper infrastructure is one of the elements in the digital divide. Overcoming Digital Divides workshop series is looking at this issue to invite policymakers from the education and industry sectors to look more closely at these issues and how they would lead to digital inequities in Canada. According to their report, “the groups impacted and disadvantaged most by Canada’s digital divides include Indigenous peoples, people with lower incomes, older adults, people with disabilities, and rural and remote Canadians.”
Source: Overcoming Digital Divides Workshop Series
That impact was more obvious during the COVID-19 pandemic as many people (according to Statistics Canada, approximately 5.4 million Canadians) were working remotely, and those who did not have a reliable internet connection at home had lower chances of working from their homes safely. In addition, almost all k-12 and post-secondary classes were switched to an online or hybrid mode which again caused problems for students without or with limited interact connectivity.
“With the possibility that remote work and learning may play a larger role going forward and even past the pandemic, digital inclusion has become increasingly imperative — a necessity that a large number of working families cannot afford to forgo.”
Based on this report, many Indigenous communities feel digitally isolated and excluded. The report asks two important guiding questions:
- Are recent public investments and policies sufficient to achieve digital inclusion of Indigenous, rural and remote communities?
- What Indigenous-specific needs must be addressed to secure digital inclusion?
Federal and provincial governments must get in touch with Indigenous people to properly answer these questions. “Moreover, First Nations communities have cited barriers to building and independently owning their own digital infrastructure, including the federal government’s tendency to overlook Indigenous-specific concerns and self-determination during infrastructure development negotiations.Indigenous communities have also called for greater data sovereignty over information collected from internet infrastructure networks.”