A northern First Nations community is calling on the province to provide better cellphone coverage in their community.
Ministikwan Lake Cree Nation is located more than 300 kilometres east of Prince Albert and the closest cellphone tower is more than 40 kilometres away.
“We’ve been dealing with internal issues with safety with our youth (and our) elderly,” said Ministikwan Chief Leon Crookedneck. “We have no cell service for contact for emergencies services that we need.”
Member of the Saskatchewan NDP held a media conference on Monday to bring the issue to light.
Trent Wotherspoon, Saskatchewan NDP SaskTel critic, said cellphone coverage connectivity isn’t just a luxury but rather an essential service.
“It’s about basic safety, security (and) quality of life,” said Wotherspoon. “It’s completely unacceptable to have an inequity for a community of over 1,000 residents. This is a glaring example of the inequity that many face.”
Nippi-Albright said the provincial government promised Ministikwan First Nation it would get cellphone coverage. That was over 12 years ago.
“This community is paying for services that they are not getting,” said Betty Nippi-Albright. “In this day and age, that is wrong.”
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In an email response, the province stated that in 2013, SaskTel created the Community Partnership Program, which has served as a successful framework for Saskatchewan communities that want to increase their wireless service. The province said SaskTel and Ministikwan Lake Cree Nation have been actively engaging under the Community Partnership Program to improve wireless access in their area.
“In 2020, SaskTel applied for funding via the Federal Government’s Universal Broadband Fund to bring improved wireless coverage to Ministikwan Lake Cree Nation,” stated Don Morgan, Crown Investments Corporation minister.
“Despite submitting its proposal nearly 2 years ago, SaskTel has still not received a response on its application to support Ministikwan Lake Cree Nation. We urge the Federal Government to work with SaskTel to improve wireless coverage across northern Saskatchewan.”
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