Letter from Claire Trevena, MLA

Last month, our MLA, Claire Trevena has asked for our thoughts and opinions on the issue of connectivity.  Here is her letter.  To respond, contact her at:

Toll Free: 1-866-387-5100 or
Claire.trevena.mla@leg.bc.ca

In my continued campaign to ensure that households and businesses across the North Island have access to true high speed, broadband internet I am putting together a profile of the constituency for government and the large internet providers.

I hope that having a constituency wide business case will assist in persuading both Ministers and corporations for the need for 21^st century level of connectivity.

I would be very appreciative of your assistance in this matter and wondered if you could share with me your experiences with the lack of access.

In particular I am interested in:

n  The impact on individual business in your community – both existing and potential. For instance, what are the daily struggles businesses face by not having the speedy connection? Have new businesses have mentioned connectivity in their decision to either come, or not come, to your community?

n  The impact on education – both in the classroom, for homework and for distance learning.  Do your students have equity of access compared with those in the urban centres; how much reliance is there on connectivity for out of school projects? Are problems with connectivity affecting educational outcomes? How many people are doing, or have given up because of internet access, distance education?

n  The impact on quality of life. Are people choosing to leave or choosing not to settle in community because of problems with connectivity? Are people losing access to benefits and programmes because of inability to connect?

n  The impact on tourism. Are there any quantative reports on whether connectivity plays into tourists choosing to come or not come to the North Island; have there been anecdotal reports?


I know that you are very busy but would very much appreciate if you could help in any way that you can.


I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Claire Trevena, MLA

North Island