Canada offers computers, $10 internet plans to low-income families — but critics say some are left out

The Liberal government says it will give 50,000 eligible low-income families a computer in a bid to get them online.

Innovation and Technologies Minister Navdeep Bains made the announcement on Wednesday as part of the “Connecting Families” initiative at the 2018 Canadian Telecom Summit.

The free computers are only part of the initiative, which includes offering $10 internet plans to families “who may struggle to afford access to home internet.”

But critics say the plan doesn’t go far enough to help vulnerable Canadians.

“There are hundreds of thousands of Canadians without children who desperately need affordable broadband internet who are left out of this program for no clear reason, other than cost,” John Lawford, head of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), said in a release.

WATCH: Manitoba city offers free high-speed internet to residents

1:18 Manitoba city offers free high-speed internet to residents

He explained that people like seniors and single Canadians in the bottom quintile, and those on welfare and disability who don’t have kids, would be exempt from this program.

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According to government statistics, almost half of Canadian households with an annual income of $30,000 or less don’t have access to high-speed internet – even though the CRTC has declared broadband internet a “basic service” that every Canadian should be able to access. Previously, the only other service that received that title was access to a landline.

But Lawford said that despite the CRTC ruling, the commission rejected the PIAC’s call for a “subsidy for equal low-income access.”

He also criticized the role the internet providers are playing in the initiative, saying as more families sign up, companies “will have a disincentive to enroll participants.”

In addition to the free computers and cheap internet plans, the government is also investing $13.2 million over five years to help expand and improve coverage and connectivity in rural areas.