$45-million investment to provide high-speed Internet access to over 8,000 households in the Chaudière-Appalaches region by September 2022

QUÉBEC, April 14, 2021 /CNW/ - Thanks to a $45-million joint investment made as part of Canada–Quebec Operation High Speed, over 8,000 households in the Chaudière-Appalaches region will have access to Sogetel and TELUS high-speed Internet services by September 2022. The announcement was made today by Joël Lightbound, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and Member of Parliament for Louis-Hébert; Marie-Eve Proulx, Minister for Regional Economic Development, Minister Responsible for the Chaudière-Appalaches Region, Minister Responsible for the Bas-Saint-Laurent Region and Member of the National Assembly for Côte-du-Sud; Stéphanie Lachance, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Families and Member of the National Assembly for Bellechasse; Isabelle Lecours, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Public Security and Member of the National Assembly for Lotbinière-Frontenac; François Jacques, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (municipal affairs) and Member of the National Assembly for Mégantic; Luc Provençal, Member of the National Assembly for Beauce-Nord; Richard Biron, Vice-President, Corporate Development, Sogetel; and Marie-Christine D'Amours, Vice-President, Consumer Solutions and Customer Experience in Quebec, TELUS.

For the deployment of high-speed Internet services, TELUS will receive $13.3 million to provide coverage to 2,700 households, while Sogetel will receive $31.7 million to provide coverage to 5,400 households in the Chaudière-Appalaches region. The investments will accelerate the deployment of reliable, high-performing infrastructure in the targeted municipalities (see the appended list). Over the next few weeks, TELUS and Sogetel will take an inventory of the targeted regions to ensure that no household will be left without service.

Canada–Quebec Operation High Speed is a joint initiative of the governments of Canada and Quebec to connect 148,000 households, through unprecedented agreements with six of the biggest telecommunications companies (Vidéotron, Cogeco, Bell, Xplornet, Sogetel and TELUS).

Quotes

"The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that it has never been more important to connect all Quebecers to high speed Internet. This is why our government is investing to connect homes and businesses in Chaudière-Appalaches by fall 2022. We will continue to invest and work in partnership with Quebec until every home and business has access to the high speed internet they need."
– Joël Lightbound, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and Member of Parliament for Louis-Hébert

"Access to high-speed Internet is a necessity in all regions of Quebec. To promote regional development, we need to have high-quality services to ensure vibrant communities. The government's commitment is clear: we will connect every household by the end of our first mandate. Investments in Chaudière-Appalaches will help bridge a gap, since more than 9,000 homes are currently without service."
– Marie-Eve Proulx, Minister for Regional Economic Development, Minister Responsible for the Chaudière-Appalaches Region, Minister Responsible for the Bas-Saint-Laurent Region and Member of the National Assembly for Côte-du-Sud

"Like electricity in the last century, high-speed Internet has become indispensable—especially during this period. This service will help not only retain citizens in rural environments like ours but also attract them, thus encouraging land use and development in our region. I am therefore very proud that our government has made huge investments to make high-speed Internet accessible to all residents of Bellechasse and Les Etchemins by fall 2022 and thus fulfil our electoral commitment."
– Stéphanie Lachance, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Families and Member of the National Assembly for Bellechasse

"I am pleased by this announcement, which shows our government's willingness to act and make connecting all households in the Lotbinière-Frontenac riding a reality. In the coming weeks, the selected Internet service providers will be on the ground to fulfil this extraordinary commitment and give the population access to proper high-speed Internet service by September 2022."
– Isabelle Lecours, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Public Security and Member of the National Assembly for Lotbinière-Frontenac

"For the last several months, we have been working very hard to implement the deployment of high-speed Internet services so that all citizens in the riding of Mégantic can have access to quality services. For municipalities in the southern part of Les Appalaches, like Beaulac-Garthby, Disraeli, Disraeli parish municipality and Sainte-Praxède, this announcement is welcome news. I applaud all the stakeholders that are participating in this project and that have contributed over the last year. I would particularly like to highlight the collaboration of the Les Appalaches RCM and the discussions we've had on this subject. I am very pleased to see that the entire sector will finally be able to be connected."
– François Jacques, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (municipal affairs) and Member of the National Assembly for Mégantic

"I am pleased to announce that TELUS will be connecting seven municipalities in Nouvelle-Beauce. This is excellent news for these communities, where Internet service is inadequate and even nonexistent in some areas. These investments by my government are unprecedented, and we are confidently making strides in the right direction."
– Luc Provençal, Member of the National Assembly for Beauce-Nord

"Many municipalities in Beauce-Sud still don't have access to high-speed Internet service. Where previous governments have failed, our team is investing the funds needed to bring essential services to our regions. The vitality of our villages and the return of our young people to Beauce are at stake."
– Samuel Poulin, Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier (youth), Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Tourism and Member of the National Assembly for Beauce-Sud

"Sogetel has been established in the Chaudière-Appalaches region for more than four decades, where it has been deploying fibre optic extensively since 2009. Today's announcement is the culmination of several years of collaboration between Sogetel and the Les Appalaches and Les Etchemins RCMs to ensure all their residents have access to high-speed Internet. We are pleased to contribute to the region's economic development by offering citizens this essential service, especially with the ongoing pandemic."
– Richard Biron, Vice-President, Corporate Development, Sogetel

"Our 350 team members in the Chaudière-Appalaches region are committed to actively deploying our networks throughout Quebec and participating in our regions' economic recovery with the governments of Quebec and Canada. In the territory we serve, 93% of businesses and families already have access to our PureFibre network, and we are continuing to invest jointly with governments to reach 99% of homes by the end of 2022. The pandemic has reinforced the importance of having a fast, reliable connection to stay in touch with our loved ones, consult a health care professional or continue our education and business activities online."
– Marie-Christine D'Amours, Vice-President, Consumer Solutions and Customer Experience in Quebec, TELUS

Quick facts

• Canada–Quebec Operation High Speed will give Quebec the highest connectivity rate in Canada, at 99%.
• The goal is to reach 100% of households throughout Quebec by September 2022. However, there are still approximately 36,000 households for which no deployment plans have been established. These households are in areas that are particularly difficult to reach and sparsely populated. Technological solutions are currently being considered, and the strategy chosen to reach these households by September 2022 will be announced at a later date.
• The Government of Canada has allocated billions of dollars to Internet infrastructure in rural and remote regions, including $1.75 billion as part of the Universal Broadband Fund.

Associated links

• Backgrounder: Universal Broadband Fund and Telesat low Earth orbit satellite capacity agreement
• Universal Broadband Fund
• Connect to Innovate Program – Project status updates
• Canada Infrastructure Bank announcement
• High-Speed Access for All: Canada's Connectivity Strategy

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Annex

Canada–Quebec Operation High Speed – List of municipalities targeted by TELUS and Sogetel projects

TELUS projects

Beauce-Sartigan RCM:	●  Saint-Côme–Linière
Bellechasse RCM:	●  La Durantaye ●  Notre-Dame-Auxiliatrice-de-Buckland ●  Saint-Charles-de-Bellechasse ●  Saint-Damien-de-Buckland ●  Saint-Henri ●  Saint-Lazare-de-Bellechasse ●  Saint-Léon-de-Standon ●  Saint-Malachie	●  Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse ●  Saint-Nazaire-de-Dorchester ●  Saint-Nérée-de-Bellechasse ●  Saint-Raphaël ●  Saint-Vallier
Nouvelle-Beauce RCM:	●  Frampton ●  Saint-Bernard ●  Sainte-Marguerite ●  Sainte-Marie	●  Saint-Isidore ●  Saints-Anges ●  Vallée-Jonction
L'Islet RCM:	●  Saint-Cyrille-de-Lessard
Lotbinière RCM:	●  Dosquet ●  Leclercville ●  Saint-Agapit ●  Sainte-Croix ●  Saint-Édouard-de-Lotbinière	●  Saint-Narcisse-de-Beaurivage ●  Saint-Patrice-de-Beaurivage ●  Val-Alain

Sogetel projects

Les Appalaches RCM:	●  Adstock ●  Beaulac-Garthby ●  Disraeli ●  Disraeli parish municipality ●  East Broughton ●  Irlande ●  Kinnear's Mills ●  Sacré-Coeur-de-Jésus ●  Saint-Adrien-d'Irlande ●  Sainte-Clotilde-de-Beauce	●  Sainte-Praxède ●  Saint-Fortunat ●  Saint-Jacques-de-Leeds ●  Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur-de-Wolfestown ●  Saint-Jean-de-Brébeuf ●  Saint-Joseph-de-Coleraine ●  Saint-Julien ●  Saint-Pierre-de-Broughton ●  Thetford Mines
Les Etchemins RCM:	●  Lac-Etchemin ●  Saint-Benjamin ●  Saint-Camille-de-Lellis ●  Saint-Cyprien ●  Sainte-Aurélie ●  Sainte-Justine ●  Sainte-Rose-de-Watford	●  Sainte-Sabine ●  Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague ●  Saint-Luc-de-Bellechasse ●  Saint-Magloire ●  Saint-Prosper ●  Saint-Zacharie

SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Marie-Pier Baril, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, 613-295-8123, [email protected]; Media Relations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, 343-291-1777, [email protected]; Alexandra Roy, Political Attaché, Office of the Premier, 819-212-0459; Antoine Tousignant, Media Relations Lead, Ministère du Conseil exécutif du Québec, 418-999-3029

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