Update:
The Ontario government says it is making a historic investment of nearly $1 billion over six years to improve and expand broadband and cellular access across the province.
The $680 million being announced today is on top of the $315 million to support Up to Speed: Ontario's Broadband and Cellular Action Plan.
Ford says this funding will be used for shovel-ready projects starting in 2019-20, will create jobs, and connect unserved and underserved communities.
The investment announced today doubles funding for the Improving Connectivity in Ontario (ICON) program, bringing the new total to $300 million.
This program now has the potential to leverage more than $900 million in total partner funding to improve connectivity in areas of need across Ontario. As part of Ontario's broadband and cellular action plan, ICON is one of several provincial initiatives underway to improve connectivity across Northern, Eastern and Southwestern Ontario.
In a press release issued today, the province said "Over 1.4 million people in Ontario do not have broadband or cellular access, and as many as 12 per cent of households in Ontario, mostly in rural, remote or Northern areas, are underserved or unserved from the perspective of broadband, according to Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) data."
Original story:
Premier Doug Ford is slated to provide an update at 1:00 p.m. today in Minden Hills.
The news conference comes one day after the Ford government unveiled a new tiered system to determine when COVID-19 restrictions should be implemented or eased region-by-region.
Ford will be joined by Rod Phillips, Minister of Finance, Laurie Scott, Minister of Infrastructure, and Peter Bethlenfalvy, President of the Treasury Board, to make the announcement.
Village Media will carry the livestream, so stay tuned.
