MATAWA FIRST NATIONS DEMAND FULL SUPPORT FOR BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY IN ADVANCE O

HIGH-GRADE NI-CU-PT-PD-ZN-CR-AU-V-TI DISCOVERIES IN THE "RING OF FIRE"

NI 43-101 Update (September 2012): 11.1 Mt @ 1.68% Ni, 0.87% Cu, 0.89 gpt Pt and 3.09 gpt Pd and 0.18 gpt Au (Proven & Probable Reserves) / 8.9 Mt @ 1.10% Ni, 1.14% Cu, 1.16 gpt Pt and 3.49 gpt Pd and 0.30 gpt Au (Inferred Resource)

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MATAWA FIRST NATIONS DEMAND FULL SUPPORT FOR BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY IN ADVANCE O

posted on Mar 21, 2016 08:38PM

http://www.matawa.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/21-03-2016-MR-Matawa-FNs-Demand-Full-Support-for-Broadband-Connectivity.pdf

MATAWA FIRST NATIONS DEMAND FULL SUPPORT FOR BROADBAND

CONNECTIVITY IN ADVANCE OF FEDERAL BUDGET 2016

THUNDER BAY, ON:

Matawa First Nations

today called for the commitment of the governments of Ontario and

Canada to fully collaborate on providing funding for a project aimed at connecting 5 remote First Nations in Matawa

to broadband. They are seeking $4.028 million to complete design, enginee

ring and construction planning. They will

be seeking additional capital for the construction phase which they hope to start this winter with the goal to have the

first communities connected in the spring of 2017. The project has potential to be the only on

e if its kind in any First

Nation in Canada as it replaces the copper method.

In 2010, $81 million in funding was announced by Canada and Ontario to bring a state

the

art backbone fibre optic

network to 26 First Nations communities in Nishnawbe Aski N

ation who partnered with Bell Alliant. This initiative,

called the

Northwestern Ontario Broadband Expansion Initiative (NOBEI)

, originally planned to include Nibinamik,

Webequie, Neskantaga, Eabametoong and Marten Falls First Nations

—

the 5 remote Matawa Fi

rst Nations directly

within the area known as the Ring of Fire. Then, in 2013, they were informed that the NOBEI had gone over budget

due to issues in the construction of the 21 Non

Matawa First Nations leaving them without funding or a plan for

broadband

connection.

The 5 Matawa First Nations left out of the NOBEI said that full funding commitment is required on April 1 as the 2016

federal budget is released. They are growing increasingly frustrated after have been waiting for 3 years and having

been di

sappointed by the NOBEI. They warn that if investments do not take place now, future costs will rise with

inflation and they will have to continue to rely on an outdated, dysfunctional and expensive satellite and microwave

telecommunications system that is

riddled by blackouts and breakdowns.

The call comes on the heels of the 2

anniversary of the

Regional Framework Agreement

(RFA) signed between

Ontario and M

atawa First Nations on March 24, 2014. The RFA includes infrastructure such as broadband as one of

its

four pillars

. Other pillars include revenue sharing, socio

economic, and

environment. Matawa CEO David Paul

Achneepineskum said that the lack of broadband leaves First Nations disadvantaged in these negotiations with

respect to access/dissemination of information and reporting.

Recently, Eabametoong

First Nation Chief Elizabeth Atlookan drew attention to the hardships the lack of broadband

connectivity is having in her community saying that it is interfering with the ability to do business like financial

reporting and conducting banking.

The

Broadb

and Commission for Sustainable Development

, a United Nations body that advocates for digital inclusion

have reaffirmed the important and urgent need to provide access to basic telecommunication/information and

communication technology (ICT) services for ev

eryone, and particularly for developing countries, in order to provide

coverage in rural and isolated areas which lack this service, and in Indigenous communities. Ironically, within Canada,

programs such as Industry Canada’s

Connecting Canadians

are not accessible to First Nations as Matawa First Nations

learned after being denied funding in 2015. They feel this program needs to be re

launched to remove barriers to

access.

It is not

known if previous cuts to Canada’s FedNor played a role in the ability of this project to get underway but

Matawa First Nations are in agreement that support for economic diversification in the north should be a priority with

projects such as improving the

ir broadband connectivity. They also believe that long term re

tooling of the Canadian

economy for sustained growth needs to include support for

how

, and

in which sequence

, they would like to see

infrastructure development taking place within their territories.

The Matawa Broadband Project Steering Committee who have been overseeing this project, made up of

representatives from 6 First Nations interested in broadband con

nectivity, including Aroland First Nation, are

meeting with officials from Canada and Ontario at the end of this month. They are hoping for a favourable response