APAS task force shares interim report

Dec 11, 2020

The Rural Connectivity Task Force met with experts on cell phone and Internet service issues in the province

Staff Writer

Farms.com

The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan’s Rural Connectivity Task Force representatives published a report on Dec. 10 sharing how their work is going and what they’ve learned so far.

The task force, established in September, looks a look at rural Internet and cell phone service in Saskatchewan.

“We had some really good discussions with a number of academics, people that have been studying the issue for a significant number of years,” said Jeremy Welter. “We had a meeting with SaskTel last week, which was very good. … Things are really ticking along. We're coming up with a lot of really good information to assist in our policy,” recommendations.

Welter is the task force chair and farms near Kerrobert, Sask.

The report details issues task force representatives are finding, including Internet problems.

“We are consistently hearing stories about people whose children can't access online learning,” Welter told Farms.com. “It's just one of thousands of examples of evidence that shows rural residents are getting shortchanged and getting left behind and it's a very serious struggle.”

One impact of the poor connectivity in rural areas of the province is economic loss, said Welter.

“Preliminary research estimates that the value of connecting rural Saskatchewan (means) we increase our provincial GDP by up to $1.2 billion,” he said.

Internet access is a concern for the farming community, as access to data to manage farms using precision agriculture and other advanced technologies is often hindered by poor Internet access.

Improving the connectivity also can help increase population size in the province.

“It's already happening where people who desire rural areas choose different jurisdictions. So, maybe someone that would happily set up shop or a business or bring their family into Saskatchewan, would choose a neighbouring province or somewhere else that has better rural connectivity,” said Welter.

The task force representatives plan to continue to have meetings and eventually publish a final report in January 2021.

“Our final report is going to see policy recommendations for both federal and provincial governments, some takeaways and things that they have the ability to change to encourage innovation and investment into the idea of connecting,” said Welter.

Those interested can read a short version of the interim report here and the full report here.

Chunumunu/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo

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