VICTORIA – The government of British Columbia is allocating an additional $10 million over two years to accelerate the rollout of high speed Internet for residents in rural and remote locations. In Budget 2015, the provincial government says it wants to beat its previous commitment of providing broadband to all households by 2021.
Finance Minister Michael de Jong noted in his budget speech this week that the government’s current plan for broadband for all is no longer sufficient because “with more and more growth taking place in rural and remote communities,” a greater level of involvement is needed to ensure that people living in these areas can use high speed Internet for learning, training, doing business, finding services and staying connected.
He acknowledged that the government had set a goal to expand high speed Internet to all residents in B.C. by 2021, but Budget 2015 is upping the stakes.
"Today I can tell the House that we remain committed to achieving that outcome. But we don’t want to make people wait quite so long. With this budget, we will pledge up to $10 million over two years, to match partner contributions to finish the project before 2021,” he said.
The production industry also received some support in the provincial budget. The 2015 version has expanded the Digital Animation or Visual Effects (DAVE) tax credit to include post-production film activities. The credit will apply to eligible post-production expenditures and will be available for productions where principal photography begins on or after March 1, 2015.
The Interactive Digital Media tax credit is also extended in Budget 2015. Introduced in 2010 and set to expire this year, the government is renewing the tax credit for an additional three years with an expiry date in 2018. It will continue to offset the cost of developing video games and other digital media products in the province.
