“Rare” move means many Indigenous Manitobans remain without broadband
By Ahmad Hathout
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS for years been dealing with two parties vying for federal funds to deliver high-speed broadband to one of the worst connected regions in the country.
But last week – in the same month it was meeting the proponents of its preferred project to try and salvage it – ISED withdrew $30 million in earmarked Connect to Innovate money because the project had not progressed in a “timely and effective manner,” the government said in an email to Cartt.ca.
That project was led by Wekitowak Communications, telecom RFNow, and was backed by the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation.
Such a move is uncommon, according to ISED. “If a project is experiencing difficulties and not advancing, ISED would work with the recipient to determine if progress is possible. If not, a project can be cancelled for non-performance,” ISED said in an email weeks before the plug was pulled on the Wekitowak project. All told, the broadband project would have received a total of $55 million, including money from the province, all of which is now gone.
“This is rare, and ISED and recipients are typically able to find ways to advance projects,” the ministry continued. “In the rare case where an approved project does not move forward, those funds can be reallocated to eligible CTI projects that were received through the initial application intake.”
ISED did not clarify where the revoked money would go and RFNow did not respond to a request for comment as to what exactly happened in the meeting or what led to a slower-than-expected roll-out.
However, if there was going to be any Connect to Innovate project that would fit the bill for an unusual case, it would be this one.
On Friday, a competing Northern Manitoba organization called Clear Sky Connections put out a press release (see below) announcing new discussions for funding in light of the withdrawal of ISED money. “In anticipation of federal funding being withdrawn from the Wekitowak project, Clear Sky Connections had been meeting with various federal departments to continue to advance the 100% owned and operated indigenous high-speed fibre optic network,” the statement said.
Clear Sky is the for-profit arm of the Manitoba First Nations Technology Council, which has worked since 2009 on bringing high-speed internet to all First Nation communities, according to its website.
The group said in a follow-up email it is negotiating new money with Manitoba, Canada Infrastructure Bank, Indigenous Services Canada, from which it has been the recipient of millions of dollars, and it plans to file for funds from the CRTC Broadband Fund and the federal government’s Universal Broadband Fund, which has not yet begun accepting applications.
“Why is it not yet clear to each level of government that you cannot proceed into First Nations territory without our consent?” – Clear Sky Connections
“Why is it not yet clear to each level of government that you cannot proceed into First Nations territory without our consent?” Clear Sky said in the release. “We continuously stress that we want to partner with entities that understand that First Nations ownership of the network is imperative.”
Since 2018, Clear Sky has been hammering the federal government about taxpayer money pledged to the Wekitowak group, which it alleged was not representing First Nation interests. It claimed it was the only organization that has received the full approval of the owners of the land, which Wekitowak disputed.
The ruckus and its impending political implications caused an earthquake with aftershocks felt within ISED.
According to several hundreds of pages of communications obtained through an access to information request, the federal government has had a hard time dealing with Clear Sky, at least in 2018. ISED officials were clear on their preference for the Wekitowak project because they said it was financially and technically more feasible than what Clear Sky proposed, but they were frustrated to learn of allegedly ambiguous communications coming from Clear Sky, which they felt ultimately led to confusion about who was the lead on the broadband project.
In one instance, an ISED official asked internally whether it had “friendlies” in the media to push a counter message to Clear Sky, an idea that was quashed. In another, it contemplated putting out a clarifying press release about who ISED designated as the proponent.
Once upon a time though, relationships between the competing parties were warmer. When Wekitowak and Clear Sky Connections submitted their own applications for CTI funding in 2017, ISED recommended the two merge because it saw two groups with similar connectivity goals.
The merged group, called Clear Sky Connections, was supposed to receive $30 million from the CTI program to hook-up just over 70 communities, with additional money chipped in from the participating groups and with the ultimate goal of having First Nation communities own 100% of the project over time. But while Wekitowak said it could make do with the amount of money pledged, Clear Sky said over $100 million was required for the project. (Clear Sky said in the Friday release that it would need $152 million for its project.)
The disagreement led to a break-up of the two in 2018.
Clear Sky’s plan includes laying down 8,789 kilometers of fibre, with 3,619 kilometers of that being new and purchased using funding from Indigenous Services Canada. The group said it is ready to light up the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation by mid-October (a project announced last year) and two other communities by the summer of 2021.
Earlier this year, the Manitoba government asked for private companies to pitch proposals to use the province’s existing but unused fibre lines, according to a CBC report. Clear Sky was chosen in 2018 to use the so-called dark fibre, the report said, but has complained that the project is still too expensive for the funding it’s getting.
