Free Internet Access: Now You See It, Now You Don't

Timing can be everything. Last week, the BBC released a poll that said more than three quarters of people across the globe think that Internet access is a "fundamental right."

Ironically, it was the same week that about 3,000 community groups across Canada started receiving letters from Ottawa that told them it was winding down the Industry Canada Community Access Program that funds their Internet access.

Under new rules, organizations within 25 kilometres of a public library with Internet access would no longer be eligible for the Internet funding. Rural Canada, where downtown areas are small and community centres are often not far from local libraries, would be the hardest hit.

During the recession, these centres have been well-utilized by Canadians on the hunt for jobs and trying to upgrade their computer and Internet skills.

Industry Canada did an about-face today. After Canadian Press reported that the groups had received the letters that told them their funding would end on April 1, Industry Minister Tony Clement called a press conference to announce community access sites such as libraries would continue to get funding from a different source – the federal government's Rural Broadband program – while the Community Access Program winds down.

At the press conference today, Clement said the Rural Broadband Strategy will fund the community centres until rural homes receive Internet access.

Since its launch in 1994, Industry Canada has spent $14 million a year on the Community Access Program, funneling an average of $4,000 to $5,000 each year to employment centres, English-as-a-second-language programs, drop-in centres for youth, libraries, and seniors groups.

The money was used to buy computers, hardware such as wireless routers and bandwidth in order to provide Internet access and training for an estimated 20 million Canadians over the last 10 years.