Internet in Canada’s North

46.1% of the world is connected to the internet

88.5% of Canadians are connected

• 3.7K pages per month: most in the world.

• 41.3 hours spent per month (2013): second in the world.

Not the whole picture

• How is this internet connectivity distributed?

• What is the quality of this internet connection?

• Connectivity drops substantially in rural areas

• Only 27% of communities in Nunavut had access (2010)

• Download / upload speeds vary dramatically

• Only 85% of rural Canada has “broadband”

Why are we not Iceland?

“It’s expensive”

The internet is both an investment and a right

• A generation is being left behind

• Human right: United Nations Human Rights Council (2016)

• Ideas are consolidating in urban areas

• Internet infrastructure investment as innovation

We should think about internet connectivity the same way we think about literacy

• Standard definitions

• “Broadband” is outdated

• Definition needs to be applied universally

• Territories and rural areas shouldn't be left behind

• Understand it as a societal indicator and federal policy priority

• Literacy rates are not reported any more in most developed countries