Rural communties in the Kootenay region will soon be more connected than ever before.
The Government of British Columbia this morning announced the launch of a multi-million dollar high speed internet project in the South Country, between Jaffray and Roosville. Six communities will benefit from this, including the Tobacco Plains, Baynes Lake, Grasmere, Jaffray, Kragmont and Roosville.
“We as a province can no longer sit by as our neighbours in rural and indigenous communities remain unconnected,” said Jinny Sims, Minister of Citizen’s Services in Castlegar this morning.
“No matter where you live in B.C., we want you on a level playing field for internet access.”
They are six of 26 communities in the Kootenay region to benefit from a $50M dollar investment in connectivity. According to the government, this is the largest ever provincial commitment to connectivity.
Connectivity, the government explained, is just as important as water, piping, and electricity. It brings people opportunities to learn, connect and better expand their businesses.
“As Premier Horgan would say, what are doing for communities outside of the lower mainland?” said Sims.
“We know that there is not going to be economic reconciliation, reducing the economic gap between the rural and the urban, and the educational gap, the healthcare gap; it’s just not going to happen unless we tackle the digital divide,” she added.
This project is a collaboration between the Ministry, Columbia Basin Trust, the Regional Districts of the West and East Kootenay, as well as the Columbia Basin Broadband Corporation (CBBC). They are a wholly owned subsidiary of Columbia Basin Trust, and will be receiving $4.8 million in provincial funds for the two new projects in the Slocan Valley and South Country to improve broadband access.
CBBC will install fibre-optic infrastructure for the two new projects announced today in the Slocan Valley and to just outside Nakusp, and the South Country near Jaffray. The South Country project involves more than 50 kilometres of fibre-optic infrastructure installed between Jaffray and Roosville at an estimated total cost of $2.9 million.
The total value of the Slocan Valley and the South Country projects is approximately $10.2 million and includes $4.4 million from CBBC, $420,000 from the Regional District of East Kootenay and $525,000 from the Regional District of Central Kootenay and communities in the Slocan Valley and Nakusp.
Sims further explained that connectivity has helped communities thrive. For some, it has helped bring their children home, and thrive locally.
“The two projects that we’ve announced today, I’m confident will be completed and be made available shortly,” said Johnny Strilaeff, president and CEO, Columbia Basin Trust
“Today is obviously about those two builds, for the Slocan Valley and the South Country, but it’s also a platform for future success,” he added.