Official Hansard
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in the people's House, and it is a joy to rise on this occasion to offer our support for this private member's bill. The member for Compton—Stanstead has worked hard on this issue. I hear her refer often to people in rural communities and in the rural areas of her riding and district. I congratulate her on her efforts in addressing this area of grave concern. Across the country, in rural and remote areas, connectivity is a huge, ongoing challenge. I represent a district that is well acquainted with this challenge. There will be times when I am in the middle of a great conversation, enthralled and just getting to the highlight, and then all of a sudden I am talking to myself. “That didn't work so well”, I think. Whether it is in Arthurette, in Craig Flats, in Brockway or heading toward Forest City, there are lots of dead zones. For many of the citizens and residents of my region, that is a huge concern for public safety and for health care. If they are in a rural area and do not have really good reception, they are not sure they can get the help they need when they need it. We want to address this and take any steps we can. The bill is one of the steps we can take to address this issue by helping to hold the providers accountable and by bringing transparency. We commend and support those efforts. We are looking forward to supporting the bill through to committee and then continuing to press the government to do all it can to address the ongoing need for increased coverage and broadband access across the rural and remote areas and regions of our country. Many times, rural Canada feels forgotten, left aside and not thought about or considered in policy deliberations that take place in the House. I understand that a disproportionate amount of the population is concentrated in urban centres, but so much of what makes Canada a truly incredible country is housed in rural Canada and in remote Canada. Whether that is our vast natural resources of our incredible oil and gas sector, our energy sector and our mining sector, or our agriculture sector, many of the centres and hubs of tremendous resources and financial capacity are housed in rural and remote communities. Part of making sure that those areas remain vital, vibrant and prosperous is ensuring that people can inhabit those places, still function at a high level and participate in society in a meaningful way. Part of that is connectivity so people can continue to work, do business and be able to reside in these places. Whether they are working in a lumberyard, whether they are on a tractor on a farm and are in need of GPS, or whether they are in the resource sector, working, providing livelihood and gaining substance from that, having the ability to connect is critical. The bill is one step toward making sure we are holding providers to account and bringing transparency, and we are going to ensure that they are meeting the objectives and the targets that need to be there. It is an important step, but obviously we need continued focus on broadening and opening up competition, on allowing and encouraging more providers to get into the space so access can become more affordable for Canadians and so Canadians who live in rural and remote areas can have options for connectivity. We will continue to press, from this side of the House, for the bill to remain a priority and for it to get the support it needs. We will also press for an enhanced discussion. Beyond discussion, enhanced action needs to take place to bring connectivity to those Canadians who have oftentimes been overlooked and forgotten. As I was preparing my speech, I could not help but reflect a bit. I was reflecting on an ancient story that came back to me as I was reflecting on the importance of connection and connectivity. I got to thinking about people and what they go through when they feel disconnected. Oftentimes, it goes far beyond just cell and broadband access. There is a deeper lesson in this, which is that, when anyone feels disconnected, it comes with all kinds of other societal challenges. Social isolation is a big problem. It is very real. Social anxiety is a big problem. When people feel disconnected from family, that leads to many issues. When they feel disconnected from help, that leads to issues. If they feel disconnected from resources and services, that leads to multiple issues. I was reflecting on an old story, and I believe there is a correlation. It goes like this. There was once a man who was travelling from one community to another. The way it is written, it is said that he fell among thieves. He was robbed, beaten, left on the side of the road and abandoned. After they had stripped him and taken his goods, they left him there half dead. This man was lying in a ditch with no help. He was feeling isolated, cut off from help, cut off from resources and cut off from his family. He was left to die. The man heard the sound of footprints coming down the road and was probably feeling happy that help was on the way. I am sure his hopes were rising, even though his strength was faint and he did not have the capacity to help himself fully. He thought that this was his answer because he heard help coming down the road. As this gentleman came up to him, his hopes, which had been rising so quickly, were quickly dashed. Why? It is because this gentleman, who was a priest, a religious man, looked at the man in the ditch and decided he did not have the time to deal with him. It was too messy and too complicated. He had to get to an important meeting, so he crossed over on the other side and kept on walking. Then came another man. The man in the ditch thought about how the last one did not work out well, how he left him more hurt, isolated and disappointed, but that maybe this one was his answer. Along came a very educated man. He was prestigious, a lawyer, a scribe. He was well regarded in the community. He was distinguished and had all kinds of resources. The man in the ditch thought to himself that this guy could help him, he could get him connected to what he needed to get better. Surely this was his answer. We can see that the hope was rising up inside the man who was lying by the wayside, in the ditch. He was thinking that surely this was the guy who could get him connected. Though it promised much and the man had the ability to do so, he looked at the man in the ditch and figured that he was too far gone and he had no time for that. He had more important things to deal with. He was busy, so he crossed over to the other side and kept on walking. The man in the ditch grew worse and more despairing. Then there was a third gentleman who came along that road. Members will recall the story. He did not come from much pedigree. He was not known as a person in a position of great authority. He was a stranger and a commoner, but something happened inside that man when he saw the man in the ditch, who was disconnected, cut off from resources and the sources of help he needed and was desperate for. This kind stranger was so moved, he got off his donkey, climbed down into the ditch, bandaged up his wounds and spent some time with him. Thankfully, he did not just give him a band-aid or put a bandage on him and move on. He did something very important, which relates to this bill, believe it or not. He took the man and connected him. He decided to take him to the local area hospital and make sure that he got the help he needed. He made sure that he was connected, had found a new circle and had the resources he needed to be hooked back up on the way to recovery and wholeness. Of course, that is the ever-famous story of the good Samaritan. There is good news in this bill. I see a correlation. If we can help people get connected to the help they need, if they are isolated and cut off, hurt by life circumstances, maybe because of where they live or because they do not have access to all the latest technology, we can somehow build a bridge of connectivity to them and help them gain access to the help, public safety, health care and resources they need to better their situation. I thank the hon. colleague across the way for her efforts on this bill.
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