# CIRA Grants $1.25M to Indigenous, Rural, and Student Projects



## theinvestor__ (Jul 29, 2021)

Funding Digital Equity: CIRA Grants $1.25M to Indigenous, Rural, and Student Projects

https://financialpost.com/globe-new...-25m-to-indigenous-rural-and-student-projects

OTTAWA, July 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — At a time when internet access has never been more important, CIRA, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, today announced $1.25 million in grants to support communities across the country where the need is greatest. For 2021, CIRA’s Community Investment Program grants initiative placed a special emphasis on grants for internet-related projects in Indigenous and rural communities, along with initiatives that benefit students.

From improving connectivity in Ermineskin Cree Nation in Alberta, to providing laptops and cybersecurity courses in Toronto’s Regent Park, the Community Investment Program funds a broad variety of projects that will help support new broadband infrastructure, digital literacy, civic engagement, and cybersecurity skills for students and Indigenous, rural, and remote communities across the country. These community-led projects funded by CIRA will help provide Canadians with faster internet access, as well as the skills they need to stay safe and secure online. You can find the full list of projects below.

For this year’s grant program, CIRA saw a record number of applications for infrastructure projects, no surprise given our growing reliance on the internet during the pandemic. And there was a groundswell of interest from Indigenous communities.

“It’s inspiring to see communities across the country taking internet access into their own hands,” said Byron Holland, CIRA president and CEO. “More than ever, it is an essential service and CIRA is committed to help improve access for all. This year’s recipients all have great ideas to help their communities and we’re proud to support them.”

“We appreciate the opportunity to create a new internet infrastructure project with help from CIRA,” said Derrick Houle, executive director of the Mamawapowin Technology Society. “For years we have had a dream and a desire to improve our nation’s connectivity. We look forward to presenting them with new opportunities that otherwise wouldn’t have been available.”

Through a previous CIRA grant in 2019, the Mamawapowin Technology Society was able to strengthen the do-it-yourself network they built to serve Samson Cree Nation in central Alberta. With this year’s support, the organization will expand its network to the nearby, 2,500-person community of Ermineskin Cree Nation.

CIRA’s Community Investment Program provides grants to fund innovative community internet projects to build a resilient, trusted and secure internet for all Canadians. Since 2014, CIRA has provided $9.2 million for 185 projects across Canada.

Key Facts
Here is how this year’s list of 14 grant recipients breaks down:

8 (57 per cent of) funded projects benefit Indigenous communities
5 (35 per cent) benefit northern communities in Ontario, Saskatchewan, and BC
4 (28 per cent) benefit residents living in rural communities
6 (43 per cent) are primarily focused on serving students
This year’s areas of focus are digital literacy, infrastructure, cybersecurity and community leadership.
2021 Community Investment Program Grant Recipients
Alberta
Mamawapowin Technology Society (MTS) | Infrastructure

MTS will build on its existing network in Samson Cree Nation to bring high-speed, reliable connectivity to the neighbouring, 2,500 person Ermineskin Cree Nation.

British Columbia
First Nations Technology Council (FNTC) | Community Leadership

The FNTC will co-create a Digital Equity Roadmap for leaders in First Nations communities to mobilize their communities towards achieving digital equity in 6 areas: connectivity and infrastructure, policy and legislation, skills development, employment and business development, tech and innovation leadership, and governance and self-determination. 

Great Bear Initiative Society (Coastal First Nations) | Infrastructure

The Connected Coastal Nations project seeks to leverage federal and provincial funding to support Coastal First Nations community-owned ISPs to deliver high-speed internet throughout the region. CIRA funding will cover 10% of funding required to increase the network performance among Nations to reach the CRTC’s basic service objective of 50 megabits per second (Mbps) download speed, 10 Mbps upload.

Tsilhqot’in National Government (TNG) | Infrastructure

TNG, I-Valley, and Rock Networks have partnered to assess, design, and implement a cellular and broadband network in the Tsilhqot’in Nation. This project would create a working pilot to provide the foundation for a Tsilhqot’in owned and managed network and identify next steps for development. 

British Columbia Civil Liberties Association | Digital Literacy

BCCLA will create lesson plans, fact-sheets, and informative videos to provide Canadian youth ages 14-24 with an understanding of their digital rights on smartphones in relation to state entities, such as what law enforcement can use from their smartphones during an investigation. 

Minto Communications Society | Infrastructure

Minto Communications Society will invest in broadband last-mile access infrastructure to improve service speeds and capacity limits for the existing network in Bridge River Valley. 

Ontario
CatalystsX Network Communities Inc. | Digital Literacy

CatalystsX will create a toolkit of resources to meet the unique digital literacy needs of four northern First Nations Communities to help their community members and business owners (a) develop digital literacy skills, (b) adopt remote working technologies, and (c) advocate for needed infrastructure.

Long Lake #58 First Nation | Cybersecurity

This project is a part of LL58’s Communications Connection & Security project. It will ensure that LL58 has a secure internet infrastructure to avoid cyber-attacks and protect data, develop an internet and information security policy to provide proper governance to their information assets, and provide internet security training to administration staff and community members on the safe use of the internet and governance policies of the administration.

McMaster University, Indigenous Student Services | Infrastructure

This project will create a pilot ‘pop-up’ Learning Hub in Six Nations of Grand River to provide Indigenous post-secondary students at McMaster University, Mohawk College, and Six Nations Polytechnic with a local, off-campus site to access secure, high-speed internet and connect with student support staff. 

Canadian Association of Journalists | Digital Literacy

The CAJ will provide 13 training sessions (one in each province/territory) to post-secondary students and create a research guide and practical handbook on how to detect misinformation and disinformation online. Their goal is for the national guide to become a gold standard for detecting and combatting misinformation and disinformation. 

Centre for Social Innovation Institute | Digital Literacy

The Technical Lending Library will be for youth and school children in the Regent Park neighbourhood in Toronto to be able to access internet devices and take cybersecurity and device training. They will be able to use the access to attend online school, socialize, and find opportunities for safe online activities and services they need. 

Quebec
Comité de vie de quartier Duff-Court (COVIQ) | Infrastructure

COVIQ will provide affordable broadband internet through a shared infrastructure strategy to low-income tenants in the main building of the Place-Lachine subsidized housing complex, 1830 Duff-Court. 

Techno Culture Club | Digital Literacy

C’est juste en ligne aims to provide teens with access to tools, resources, and support in the form of workshops, toolkits, and online resources, to help them become empowered digital citizens.

Saskatchewan
The Northern Village of Île-à-la-Crosse | Digital Literacy

The Mayor, School Division, and DEPtH Lab will coordinate to develop and embed a citizen-science-based digital literacy program in the Île-à-la-Cross school division curricula to empower students to contribute to long-term digital initiatives currently in place. 

About CIRA and CIRA Grants
CIRA is the national not-for-profit best known for managing the .CA domain on behalf of all Canadians. The organization also offers enterprise-quality registry, DNS, and cybersecurity services to organizations across Canada and around the world. As a member-based, mission-driven not-for-profit, CIRA also has a much broader goal to promote a trusted internet for Canadians. CIRA Grants is one of our most valuable contributions toward this goal and funds projects in infrastructure, digital literacy, cybersecurity and community leadership. Every .CA domain name registered or renewed contributes to this program.

Media Contact
Josh Tabish
Public Affairs Manager, CIRA
613-875-3741
josh.tabish@cira.ca


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## MapleDots__ (Jul 29, 2021)

Hmmm...

Is that not something the government should be doing instead of CIRA?

I am constantly surprised how far CIRA strays from their original mandate. Should they not be spending the money promoting .ca, educating businesses about the power of .ca, sponsoring some high powered events promoting .ca?

It seems to me that providing internet access is more something the government should be doing.


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## DomainRecap (Aug 5, 2021)

Agreed, but everyone seems to want to jump on the Social Justice Bandwagon and collect their "Woke" bonus points.


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## aactive (Aug 5, 2021)

MapleDots said:
			
		

> Hmmm...
> 
> Is that not something the government should be doing instead of CIRA?
> 
> ...



Totally correct. Should not be in CIRA's mandate.


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## FM__ (Aug 11, 2021)

I agree that the government should be spending more money in this area and it's not CIRA's job. 

https://theturtleislandnews.com/ind...l-of-providing-internet-to-their-communities/

In general, though I think that CIRA as a not-for-profit helping some other not for profits makes sense.

Here are details on where they want to generally spend our money ;-)
https://www.cira.ca/improving-canadas-internet/grants


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## theinvestor__ (Aug 11, 2021)

First Nations taking control of providing Internet to their communities

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada...-providing-internet-to-their-communities.html

By Sam Laskaris, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.comWindspeaker.com
Tue., Aug. 10, 2021timer4 min. read
For the second time since 2019 members of the Samson Cree Nation in Alberta will benefit from a substantial grant from the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA).

It was announced in late July that CIRA would be providing a total of $1.25 million in grants this year to support communities across the country that have a significant need for improved Internet access.

Samson Cree Nation and nearby Ermineskin Cree Nation located in Maskwacis, Alta. will benefit.

Two years ago the Mamawapowin Technology Society (MTS), a registered not-for-profit society, was awarded $100,000 by CIRA to provide better wireless Internet at Samson Cree Nation.

MTS has now been awarded an additional $100,000 in CIRA funding this year to not only improve service in Samson, but to expand and bring more reliable, high-speed connectivity to Ermineskin.

“Because it’s a blend of technologies, we can get them online fairly quickly, within a month,” said Derrick Houle, MTS’s CEO.

MTS will provide Internet in areas of the two First Nations that for the most part are not serviced by other providers and expand upon existing services from other providers that do currently operate in the First Nations.

MTS officials said other plans tend to be costly with some only having speeds of five megabits per second. And often connections tend to be spotty at best.

With its grant money, MTS plans to provide speeds of up to 300 Mbps for the immediate future. And it anticipates increasing speeds in the future.

Chelsea Mills, who is a director with MTS, was not surprised to see her society once again be the recipient of some CIRA funding.

“I guess we had quite a bit of success with the 2019 grant,” Mills said. “(CIRA officials) seemed quite happy with what we did. And we thought we did great too.”

MTS founder and chief technology officer Bruce Buffalo offered his thoughts on the latest funding.

“The CIRA grant means we can continue expanding our infrastructure in the community,” Buffalo said. “The services provided by other ISP’s in Maskwacis are not worth the high prices they are charging.”

Now MTS will be able to provide some more cost-effective Internet services.

“MTS is continuing to strive to meet or exceed connectivity options within the community and the CIRA grant enables further connectivity options and service areas,” Buffalo added.

Byron Holland, CIRA’s president and CEO, is looking forward to hearing the success stories that are anticipated following this year’s funding announcement.

“It’s inspiring to see communities across the country taking Internet access into their own hands,” Holland said. “More than ever, it is an essential service and CIRA is committed to help improve access for all.”

Holland was impressed with all of the applicants who were awarded funding.

“This year’s recipients all have great ideas to help their communities and we’re proud to support them,” he said.

A total of 14 projects across the country were funded by CIRA this year through its Community Investment Program.

CIRA has proved a total of $9.2 million for a total of 185 projects across the country since the program was launched in 2014.

CIRA is the national not-for-profit best known for managing the domain .ca

In 2021 CIRA’s community program focused in part on providing grants for Internet-related projects in Indigenous and rural communities as well those that benefited students.

As a result, eight of the 14 funding recipients that were selected will improve fortunes in Indigenous communities, including three groups from British Columbia and three others from Ontario that were funding recipients that will benefit Indigenous communities.

The B.C. recipients included the First Nations Technology Council (FNTC), the Great Bear Initiative Society and the Tsilhqot’in National Government (TNG).

The FNTC will co-create a digital roadmap for First Nations leaders in an effort to have their communities achieve digital equity in areas including connectivity and infrastructure, as well as tech and innovation leadership.

The Great Bear Initiative Society is hoping to eventually deliver high-speed Internet throughout coastal First Nations.

And the TNG is joining forces with other companies to hopefully implement a cellular and broadband network in its First Nation.

Fund recipients in Ontario included Long Lake #58 First Nation, Hamilton’s McMaster University and CatalystsX Network Communities Inc.

Long Lake will utilize its money on its communications connection and security project.

McMaster University’s project will see the creation of a pop-up learning hub in Six Nations. This centre, which will provide off-campus high-speed Internet and connections to student support staff, is not only for Indigenous students attending McMaster but also for those at Mohawk College in Hamilton and Six Nations Polytechnic in Brantford.

And the project for CatalystsX Network Communities Inc. will see resources created to meet digital literacy needs in four First Nations communities in northern Ontario.

Saskatchewan’s lone funded project will benefit those in the primarily Métis village of Ile-a-la-Crosse with its digital literacy program.


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## GeorgeK__ (Aug 12, 2021)

I agree with the sentiment expressed by others.....CIRA should avoid mission creep. If they have excess cash, it should be returned to registrants via a price cut. I don't need CIRA or others deciding how best to spend my own money.


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## Eby__ (Aug 12, 2021)

GeorgeK said:
			
		

> I agree with the sentiment expressed by others.....CIRA should avoid mission creep. If they have excess cash, it should be returned to registrants via a price cut. I don't need CIRA or others deciding how best to spend my own money.



George, I second that.. Can we vote to get George elected as CEO?


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## Eby__ (Aug 12, 2021)

DomainRecap said:
			
		

> Agreed, but everyone seems to want to jump on the Social Justice Bandwagon and collect their "Woke" bonus points.



Exxxxactly!!


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## aactive (Aug 12, 2021)

It gets this way when the people running these organizations like CIRA start to like the look of their own reflections in the mirror and also forget WHOSE money they are spending.


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## Eby__ (Aug 12, 2021)

aactive said:
			
		

> It gets this way when the people running these organizations like CIRA start to like the look of their own reflections in the mirror and also forget WHOSE money they are spending.



[notify]aactive[/notify] Do you have an idea how much they get paid.. it must be public information anyways. Being a bit lazy to look it up.


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## aactive (Aug 12, 2021)

Eby said:
			
		

> [notify]aactive[/notify] Do you have an idea how much they get paid.. it must be public information anyways. Being a bit lazy to look it up.



I don't know, but I doubt it is chump change. "non-profit" rarely equals "low salaries".


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## Eby__ (Aug 12, 2021)

Thanks [notify]aactive[/notify]  I believe the members here at DN must be contributing/sharing that load. Wonder if if anyone thought in those lines??


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## theinvestor__ (Aug 12, 2021)

I don’t believe it’s public information. They don’t run as a charity. They run as a non profit. So pretty much every dime they make they are spending. Must be nice…


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