Expanding Access to Reliable Broadband

New legislation will help build infrastructure faster in communities and in a more cost-effective way – opening Ontario to business and creating good jobs

Now, more than ever, we need an Ontario-made plan to help build infrastructure faster, strengthen our communities, and lay the foundation for growth, renewal, and long-term economic recovery. 

As the province recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, our PC government is taking action to remove barriers to help build better infrastructure faster and strengthen communities, while laying the foundation for future growth, renewal, and long-term economic recovery. Today, we were pleased to introduce the Supporting Broadband and Infrastructure Expansion Act, 2021, that if passed, would connect communities to reliable, broadband sooner, by helping accelerate deployment of provincially significant broadband infrastructure across Ontario.

“By taking this step, our government is proposing to speed up Ontario’s broadband expansion, increasing our competitiveness, connecting our unserved and underserved communities, and making life more convenient for individuals, families and workers,” said Laurie Scott, MPP for Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock and Minister of Infrastructure. “Through the initiatives proposed in this legislation we would get our infrastructure working better for Ontario.”

COVID-19 has made reliable broadband access even more critical for families and individuals across Ontario to work from home, learn online, and access essential services. By reducing barriers and costs for internet providers to use existing electricity infrastructure, we are creating a path forward to deliver cost-effective and timely broadband service to communities across our vast province.