Q-597 , 45th Parliament, 1st session May 26, 2025, to present

With regard to the government's February 22, 2023, announcement of up to $94 million to bring high-speed Internet to more than 36,000 homes in Newfoundland and Labrador: (a) what was the total amount of funding approved for each project under this announcement, broken down by Internet service provider, namely (i) Bell Canada, (ii) Xplore Inc. (formerly Xplornet), (iii) any other service providers that received funding; (b) for each project in (a), what were the expected deliverables at the time of approval, including the number of households to be connected, the technology to be used, and the anticipated service speeds; (c) for each community listed under the February 2023 announcement, what amount of funding was planned to be allocated to that community, broken down by the (i) assigned service provider, (ii) number of households expected to benefit, (iii) estimated per-household cost used in the project model; (d) what accountability mechanisms were established to ensure providers met their obligations, including (i) reporting requirements, (ii) progress benchmarks, (iii) compliance or performance conditions tied to the release of funds, (iv) any provisions related to project delays, scope changes, or service withdrawal; (e) as of the date of this question, for each project listed in (a), what is the current status of (i) funds disbursed, (ii) households connected, (iii) communities fully completed, (iv) communities still awaiting service, (v) any outstanding commitments from the providers; (f) since the original announcement, have any changes been made to (i) provider assignments for any communities, (ii) the total planned funding envelope for any project, (iii) the construction or deployment timeline, (iv) the total number of communities or households expected to be served, and, if so, what is the rationale for each change; and (g) for any project where a service provider has withdrawn, reduced its scope, or advised the government of concerns (such as cost escalation or feasibility challenges), what are the details of each, and what actions has the government taken to ensure affected communities will still receive service, including whether alternative providers have been engaged or funding reallocated?