Byelection Premier promises total Internet coverage for province as service surfaces in New Maryland-Sunbury campaign

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STEPHEN LLEWELLYN
canadaeast news service

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FREDERICTON - The provincial government will unveil a new plan to extend high-speed Internet to every part of the province by the end of this year.

Premier Shawn Graham made the promise in a speech to the Fredericton North Sunrise Rotary Club on Wednesday as Internet service has surfaced as an issue in the Nov. 3 byelection in New Maryland-Sunbury West.

"In 2008, we understand that infrastructure is more than roads and water," he said. "It's communications infrastructure like high-speed Internet."

Graham said when the Liberals took power in 2006, 90 per cent of New Brunswick had access to high-speed Internet.

"That was good enough for the previous government, but it was not good enough for us because it left a number of people in rural areas without the same access enjoyed by other New Brunswickers," he said.

The premier said in July 2006 the Tory government said 100 per cent coverage couldn't be reached. News reports at the time indicate the Tories said it would cost $150 million to service the last 10 per cent of the province.

"We pledged to close that gap and provide 100-per-cent coverage by the end of our first mandate," said Graham.

The premier said his government has been working aggressively on the issue.

"In fact, we are so close to resolving it I am confident that by the end of this year, we will be able to announce detailed plans to extend high-speech Internet access to 100 per cent coverage across New Brunswick," he said.

In an interview after his speech, Graham said the province has been talking to a number of service providers and the high-speed solution for rural areas would involve both new money and new technology. He didn't provide additional details.

High-speed Internet in rural areas became a byelection issue after Tory candidate Jack Carr filed a complaint with the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission against the province, Aliant and Rogers over a lack of the service. Carr said Wednesday he was pleased by the premier's promise.

"It is good news any time any politician talks about 100 per cent coverage for high-speed Internet," he said.

Carr said Graham had nothing to say about the issue for the last two years and now that the byelection is under way, he is asking people to wait two more months.

"We've forced him to say something on the issue," he said.

"They've made promises at election time before and came up short. I am hopeful that he will come good on this one."

Carr said he isn't annoyed or accusing Graham of trying to hijack the issue. He said his goal of filing the complaint with the human rights commission was to raise awareness and he has succeeded.

Many people from across the province have called him and thanked him for raising the issue, Carr said.

He said he has no intention of withdrawing his human rights complaint.

"I am going to keep that going because he (Graham) can't be trusted," Carr said.

The Liberal candidate in the byelection of New Maryland-Sunbury West is Debbie McCann. The NPD candidate is Mike McCaffrey.

Carr's human rights complaint was written off by the governing Liberals as a "crass political move."

But the issue of high-speed Internet access is atop the priority list of all Carr's competitors.

Liberal candidate Debbie McCann says the issue is one of many critical concerns in the rural riding that spans south of Fredericton.

The life-long resident of Hoyt, and mother of three grown sons, said the riding requires a number of upgrades if new residents and businesses are to be attracted to the area.

In an interview Wednesday, she said Route 101 is in desperate need of repairs, and that the community of New Maryland is incapable of expanding without a new water tower.

And the lack of high-speed Internet, she said, is preventing some people in the riding from working at home.

McCann, 48, admits that rural upgrades will be costly and difficult to fund, particularly with the province already looking to trim costs to deal with a slowing economy.

"It's certainly not going to be done overnight," she said. "The money is not going to come out of nowhere. These are things that must be looked at over a long period of time.

"But at least get some of these things started."

For Mike McCaffrey, the NDP candidate, the 2010 deadline for provincewide high-speed access is unacceptable. In fact, the resident of Ripples doubts the Graham government will even hit that target.

The father of two school-aged children said rural dial-up service impacts students and businesses the hardest.

McCaffrey says rural residents are too often ignored - and are the first to feel funding cuts.

"I get tired of not getting any answers," he said of his previous MLAs. "I felt it was time for me to step."

McCaffrey, 41, is also calling for a moratorium on uranium mining in the province and wants government to provide incentives to New Brunswick's sagging forestry sector.

Of all the candidates, McCaffrey's chances of snagging the riding are most remote, considering the NDP's current lack of seats in the legislature and low support in the 2006 election.

But that's not deterring the sales consultant.

"Let's stop with the showboating," he said. "Let's bring in a party that will report back to the people. That's what the NDP can bring."

Carr, 33, also has a list of issues, including a moratorium on uranium mining and local road upgrades. He also called Wednesday for the Liberal government to announce quickly its new home heating assistance program. The Liberals recently cancelled the old program, which provided a $100 rebate to low-income earners who struggle with sky-high home heating costs.

The Nov. 3 byelection is being held to replace Conservative Keith Ashfield, who ran successfully for the Tories in Fredericton during the recent federal election.

- with files from Quentin Casey