CK Mayor Randy Hope is looking on the bright side -- despite Chatham-Kent being left out of joint government funding to improve internet connectivity in southwestern Ontario.
The province announced today 300 communities will benefit from a $180-million investment to help bring ultra-high speed internet to rural homes and businesses, but Hope says Chatham-Kent is not qualified under the Small Communities Fund to access the money.
That's because that fund is for communities with a population of fewer than 100,000 people.
Hope is still calling it good news for the region, because the investment is part of the new Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) project.
"Getting the $180-million towards the SWIFT project, which is the fiber optic network that will connect the rural communities across Ontario [is positive]," says Hope.
"The important part is that the government is moving forward with SWIFT."
Essex County, however, will benefit from the rollout of fiber optic coverage through SWIFT, because it's a two-tier government system.
Hope says that means every community under 100,000 people can make an application, even though it's pooled together as one resource of money.
"Each municipality doesn't get its own money. The corporation, which is the SWIFT corporation, will be the governing body over executing and implementing the fiber optic rollout."
Hope says the municipality will continue to work with government to get every community in Chatham-Kent connected, but for now, this is a step in the right direction.
"It identifies that the government realizes that connectivity is important to rural Ontario," he says.
"And the identification of that only supports our case moving forward, for those who weren't involved in the announcement today."
