Thanks to a total investment of $11.1 million-made as part of Canada-Quebec Operation High Speed, which was announced on March 22-780 households in the Montmagny RCM will have access to Cogeco high-speed Internet services by September 2022.
The announcement was made today by the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue and Member of Parliament for Gaspésie-Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine; Gilles Bélanger, Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier of Quebec (high-speed Internet) and Member of the National Assembly for Orford; Marie-Eve Proulx, Member of the National Assembly for Côte-du-Sud; and Johanne Hinse, General Manager for Quebec and Vice-President of Programming and Community Relations at Cogeco.
Cogeco will receive a combined amount of $10.4 million from the two levels of government to support the deployment of high-speed Internet services to 780 households. The total cost of the project is $11.1 million. The investment announced will accelerate the deployment of reliable, high-performance infrastructure in the following municipalities:
- Berthier-sur-Mer
- Cap-Saint-Ignace
- Lac-Frontière
- Montmagny
- Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire
- Sainte-Apolline-de-Patton
- Sainte-Lucie-de-Beauregard
- Saint-Fabien-de-Panet
- Saint-François-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud
- Saint-Just-de-Bretenières
- Saint-Paul-de-Montminy
- Saint-Pierre-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud
Over the next few weeks, Cogeco will take an inventory of the targeted regions to ensure that no household will be left without service.
High-speed Internet services are considered essential today in a modern society like Quebec's. Access to high-performance, reliable and affordable Internet services is at the core of communities' economic and social development. The projects funded under Canada-Quebec Operation High Speed are a key part of the digital shift in Quebec and will promote access to telemedicine, distance learning, entertainment, online retail and telework.
Quotes
"The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that connecting all Quebecers to high-speed Internet has never been more important, which is why our government is investing to connect households and businesses in the Montmagny RCM by September 2022. We will continue to invest and work in partnership with the Government of Quebec until all households and all businesses have access to the high-speed Internet services they need."- The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue and Member of Parliament for Gaspésie-Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine
"This is excellent news for the residents of the Montmagny RCM! The partnership agreement with Cogeco will allow for the deployment of cutting-edge infrastructure, which will guarantee access to reliable, effective high-speed Internet services. We are investing heavily to make Quebec a leader in connectivity."
- Gilles Bélanger, Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier of Quebec (high-speed Internet) and Member of the National Assembly for Orford
"Today's announcement brings me great joy because it demonstrates that our government is delivering on its commitments. The willingness to take action and to collaborate is what's making it possible to resolve issues, and that's why I commend all those involved in this unprecedented operation. And finally, my thoughts turn to Côte-du-Sud residents, who, as a result of this announcement, will be able to say, after so many years of waiting, that they finally have access to high-speed Internet."
- Marie-Eve Proulx, Member of the National Assembly for Côte-du-Sud
"We're proud to participate in this major project to provide high-speed Internet access to residents of the Montmagny RCM. Announcements like this one serve to reaffirm the values that we hold dear: to be at the heart of our communities, to connect them and to support them in their economic and social development. We're committed to accelerating the expansion of our robust network within the scheduled September 2022 time frame."
- Johanne Hinse, General Manager for Quebec and Vice-President of Programming and Community Relations at Cogeco
Quick facts
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Operation High Speed will ensure connectivity for 150,000 households, notably through unprecedented agreements with six of the biggest telecommunications companies. This is made possible by an equal investment of $826.3 million from the governments of Canada and Quebec.
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The Government of Canada has allocated billions of dollars to Internet infrastructure in rural and remote regions, including $2.75 billion as part of the Universal Broadband Fund, of which $1 billion comes from Budget 2021.
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On March 9, 2021, the Government of Quebec announced that it was increasing its budget to more than $1 billion to accelerate the connection of thousands of Quebec households to high-speed Internet.
