The Internet Society held its second annual Indigenous Connectivity Summit in Inuvik last week. Discussions at the summit focused on sharing solutions to ensure good Internet connectivity in rural and remote communities, and consulting with Indigenous groups when implementing these solutions.
Mark Buell, North America regional bureau director for the Internet Society, said these discussions are especially significant following the recent ruling made by the Supreme Court of Canada that states federal ministers do not have a duty to consult with Indigenous groups when they are making laws.
Samantha McKay/NNSL photo
"While the Supreme Court has said that the government doesn't necessarily have the duty to consult, we certainly call on the Canadian government to work in full partnership with Indigenous communities across Canada so that every Canadian can have access to the Internet of opportunity," said Buell. "While we're embarking on this path of reconciliation as a nation, we believe that the Internet is a tool that will create opportunities for Indigenous peoples in Canada, in terms of social development, economic development, health and to be able to really achieve full reconciliation."
Buell added that consultation with Indigenous groups in rural and remote communities is important for the success of connectivity projects.
"What we find is that when a community is a full partner in developing Internet infrastructure in their community, that's how it's successful," he said. "You can't have someone from down south coming up to the North and telling people what they need … the community needs to be driving the process."
Iqaluit Mayor Madeleine Redfern attended the conference. She said it is easier for the federal government to consult with Indigenous groups than to have to pay lawyer fees later.
Samantha McKay/NNSL photo
"We have the three national Indigenous organizations, and it's not overly onerous to work through those particular organizations to see what our views and rights might be, and ensure that the legislation doesn't violate our rights," she said. "It's so time consuming to go to court, it's so costly, and it's not good for the government, it's not good for Canadians, and it's definitely not in the spirit of reconciliation."
On Oct. 12, the Internet Society announced its commitment to work alongside the Government of the Northwest Territories to help the federal government achieve its goal to involve Indigenous communities in its $750 million plan to close Canada's Digital Divide.
Talking tech
Buell said many different solutions for improving infrastructure for rural and remote connectivity were discussed at the summit, such as community networks, laying sub-sea fibre optic cables and low-earth orbit satellites.
However, the challenge with technology is often accessibility.
Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC) chair Duane Smith attended the conference. He said although it is good to see infrastructure such as the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Line being built in the region, the cost of taking part in these projects is prohibitive.
Smith cited getting the IRC building hooked up to the fibre line as an example.
"We've done a cost analysis on our building, and it's very high, and we've looked at different scenarios – if we hooked up and ran it ourselves, or if we went through one of the local service providers, the cost on a monthly basis are extremely high compared to what we're paying today," said Smith.
He added that the conference is a good place to learn from others and get ideas about what could be implemented in Inuvik, as many communities – even ones in the South – have similar connectivity issues as Inuvik, he said.
"There's so many different ways that people are using Internet connectivity in their regions, and this is a good way to share and learn from each other," said Smith. "The innovative ways some of them have come up with where they've maintained local control of providing that services was interesting to see."