Update: A recording of this meeting can be found here: https://youtu.be/u3lGROLyzjU
On Thursday February 4 at 6.30 pm, Economic Development Cowichan (EDC) will host a virtual town hall for Thetis Island community members to explore a last-mile (Internet) connectivity opportunity.
In Canada, Broadband Internet is now classified as a basic telecommunications service, establishing universal speed targets of 50/10 Mbps download/upload to households and businesses. Yet, 40.8% of rural communities in Canada are not meeting these targets. Consequently, Federal and Provincial funding envelopes are being made available to address connectivity gaps.
Which brings us to this opportunity for Thetis Island. Strathcona Regional District (SRD) together with City West (Prince Rupert owned Telecom) has approached the CVRD with an immediate grant funding opportunity aimed at constructing a last-mile fibre to homes on Thetis Island.
At this Thursday’s virtual town hall, SRD CAO, David Leitch, will present the federal grant funding opportunity. Following the presentation, community members will have an opportunity to ask questions of David, who will appear in a panel alongside representatives from the CVRD (Area G Director, Lynne Smith; CAO, Brian Carruthers), Islands Trust Council (Chair, Peter Luckham), and Thetis Island Residents’ and Rate Payers’ Association (President, Wendy Hinsperger).
The Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) Corporate Strategic Plan (2020-22), identifies the need to undertake a regional connectivity strategy to support the delivery of broadband service to all communities in the CVRD. EDC intends to initiate a connectivity strategy in 2021, while responding to more immediate connectivity opportunities.
We invite all Thetis Island community members to attend the virtual town hall by following the registration link below.
Event Information
Date: Thursday Feb 4, 2021
Time: 6.30– 8 pm
Location: Online/by phone – registration required
To Register: Click here or the link below: (need to click on the Register link beside Event status) https://cowichanvalleyrd.webex.com/cowichanvalleyrd/onstage/g.php?MTID=ed1e09bd541ee5fa492e7a82c27244124
Join by phone: Join the meeting by calling 1.833.311.4101 (Canada Toll-Free). When prompted, enter Event number 146 421 8499 followed by the pound key (#), and when prompted enter Password: 84384786 followed by the pound key (#). Calling in does not require pre-registration.
Technical assistance: If you experience technical difficulties joining or participating in the session, please contact the CVRD’s IT department at 250-746-2584 or itsupport@cvrd.bc.ca.
Note: This event will be recorded and the recording will be made available after the event to community members who are unable to join live.