The president of the Kent Federation of Agriculture (KFA) stresses they need to work with, not against, the Ontario government to get high-speed internet in rural Chatham-Kent.
This after it was revealed Chatham-Kent wouldn't see any of the $180M promised by the provincial and federal governments to expand internet access in southwestern Ontario. The money will go towards the ongoing Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) project.
KFA President Ron Faubert says the issue consistently comes up during his meetings with the OFA's Policy Advisory Council.
"In order to meet the premier's mandate of growth expectations for agriculture, we can't do it without high-speed internet," says Faubert. "It's slowing our growth, it's not allowing us to do business properly."
Faubert adds speeds in rural Chatham-Kent seem to be consistently low. This limits farmers' ability to access information on equipment repair, costs of markets, databases from agricultural colleges among other resources.
Chatham-Kent isn't eligible for the funding because it's only granted to communities with less than 100,000 people. Faubert adds they constantly work with their government partners to secure more money to expand.
