Rural internet access more crucial with second round of school closures

The provincial government’s announcement Thursday that schools will remain closed for in-person learning until at least Jan. 25 due to the COVID-19 pandemic makes high-speed internet service for rural areas of Peterborough County even more crucial.

“Well, it’s not totally unexpected. I mean, the cases in Ontario are not starting to go down at this point, so I think it’s something that we probably anticipated,” said Diane Lloyd, chair of the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. “We always want to put our students’ safety first. This is something that we’ve been doing for a while now and we’ll continue to work hard to make sure that we reach our students online.”

As virtual learning for students continues, Peterborough County Warden J. Murray Jones said it’s critical every household have access to highspeed internet.

“We have been hitting our head against the wall through (the Eastern Ontario Regional Network) and (the Eastern Ontario Wardens Council), and nothing seems to happen. It is so critical that rural areas in Ontario get access to highspeed internet,” Jones said. “Federal and provincial governments have got to understand the need is here right now and we need to do something and we need to work together to get it. But, at this speed, we’ll be talking about this next year.”

Lloyd, who represents the largely rural Selwyn, North Kawartha and Trent Lakes townships on the public board, said the board is trying to assure every household has technology and that they’re able to get online during the pandemic.

“There’s not a lot we can do if connectivity isn’t strong in the area that they live in. We would find other ways to get work to those students. It might quite likely be something that’s a paper copy,” Lloyd said.

Marissa Lentz is a staff reporter at the Examiner. Her reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. Reach her via email: mlentz@peterboroughdaily.com