The Matawa Chiefs Council is warning that Rogers’s planned 3G network shutdown could have consequences for remote First Nations communities in northern Ontario, including putting lives at risk.
The council said it sent a letter to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) this week that calls for an urgent delay to the Dec. 31 shutdown. The CRTC regulates telecom providers, sets basic service standards, monitors access and affordability and can encourage, but not force, companies to maintain service in specific communities.
The chiefs argue the move could “pose serious risks to the safety, health and well-being” of the region’s remote communities, which already face limited access to cellular and broadband services.
The Matawa region includes nine member First Nations, several of which are remote fly-in communities located in the mineral-rich Ring of Fire area, including Eabametoong, Marten Falls, Neskantaga, Nibinamik and Webequie.
“Reliable communications infrastructure is a matter of life and death in our communities,” Chief Sonny Gagnon of Aroland First Nation said in a news release annou
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