A report from Canada’s Auditor-General found that Canada’s telecom regulator and industry department had been much slower than expected in administering its funding programs, taking 17 months to approve applications, instead of the 10 months anticipated.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Ottawa spent only 40 per cent of funds earmarked for mobile and internet infrastructure by March, leaving nearly $1.5-billion on the table, a report from Canada’s Auditor-General has found.
The report, tabled on Monday in the House of Commons by Auditor-General Karen Hogan, found that Canada’s telecom regulator and industry department had been much slower than expected in administering its funding programs.
A range of programs offered by the federal government aim to support companies and municipalities in their rollout of high-speed Internet and mobile connectivity, especially in rural areas where there is less of a business case for expansion.
“The standout point from this government is that they have put so much money into broadband. But if the funding is simply getting announced and not actually spent, then that hurts the government’s track record,” said Michael McNally, a University of Alberta digital technology professor and co-founder of the Alberta Rural Connectivity Consortium.
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According to the report, as of January, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada had distributed just $891-million of the $2.14-billion allotted for its various programs. In a response included in the report, ISED said that it recognizes there are opportunities to streamline certain processes and that “work on internal process effectiveness” is continuing.
Meanwhile, four years into the five-year Broadband Fund, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has spent just one-quarter of the $750-million in available funding for mobile and internet projects in underserved areas.
Earlier this month, the CRTC said it was launching a review of the program, and will likely revise its related application policies in 2024.
“The goal of this consultation is to examine opportunities to improve and expand the fund, as well as looking at ways to improve the application process, and applicant notification considerations,” said CRTC spokesperson Patricia Valladao in an e-mail on Tuesday.
The CRTC recently launched its third call for applications for the Broadband Fund, which will be accepted until May 15.
Helen Hambly, a University of Guelph rural development professor, said the funding process has been complex and lacked transparency. In the case of the Broadband Fund, many cities were left wondering for months whether their applications had been successful, she said.
According to the report, it took the CRTC 17 months to approve applications, instead of the 10 months anticipated.
“Many municipalities made the effort to get applications to funding, only to be told that they were slightly ineligible or that there was not enough money to go around. Then to find out that only 25 per cent of that was used, I’m sure they must be frustrated,” said Ms. Hambly.
Slow communication between the federal and provincial governments and delays related to the pandemic could have further hindered the funding process, she said.
The University of Alberta’s Mr. McNally said that in some cases, feeling uncertain about their applications and tired of delays, companies who applied for funding found investments through private means, and pulled their government applications. Moreover, some companies could have abandoned projects as interest rates and other regulatory and economic pressures pushed up the costs of expansion.