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Ottawa Promises to Connect 98 Percent of Canadians to High Speed Internet by 2026

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Missouri, Kentucky AGs Join Lawsuit Challenging Pennsylvania Mail-In Ballot Deadline Extension

Attorneys general in Missouri and Kentucky have joined a Republican lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania mail-in ballots before the U.S. Supreme Court, according to multiple reports. A spokesperson for Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt was cited by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as saying that Schmitt intends to add his name to an amicus brief—a legal document that can be filed by a non-party in a given case—in a lawsuit brought by the Pennsylvania Republican Party challenging the state’s Supreme Court decision to extend by three days the deadline for receiving mail-in ballots, provided they are postmarked by Election Day. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron will also join the court filing, according to the Louisville Courier Journal, citing plans for attorneys general from Louisiana, Georgia, and Missouri to hold a virtual conference later…

Ottawa Promises to Connect 98 Percent of Canadians to High Speed Internet by 2026

Ottawa is investing $1.75 billion to expand high speed internet access to 98 percent of Canadians by 2026, and all Canadians by 2030.

The announcement comes as a response to the increased demand for online access due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Now more than ever, Canadians need reliable access to high-speed Internet as we work, learn, and communicate with our family and friends from home,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement on Nov. 9.

The $1.75 billion investment, known as the Universal Broadband Fund (UBF), “will be used to build infrastructure across the country almost entirely in rural and remote communities,” according to Trudeau. Part of the fund was previously announced in the 2019 federal budget. 

He added that for “for places that are just too far to reach, including in remote areas in the north, we’ve reached a $600 million agreement with Telesat for satellite capacity to improve broadband.”

Telesat Canada is a Crown Corporation established in 1969 which is now a Canadian-controlled privately held corporation. It is the world’s fourth largest satellite operator.

Navdeep Bains, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, said the securing of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites with Telesat Canada will address the connectivity challenges particularly faced by rural communities.

The LEO satellites operate 36 times closer to the Earth than traditional communications satellites, which means they take less time to send and receive information in broadband internet. 

He also said that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that “access to high speed internet is absolutely essential.”

Also joining Trudeau in the conference, the minister for rural economic development Maryam Monsef said that the UBF will be launched in two parallel streams.

“The core universal broadband fund will support large strategic projects of impact, including $50 million for mobile projects to primarily benefit indigenous communities,” Monsef said. 

The project aims to develop infrastructure that will deliver broadband speeds of at least 50 Megabits per second (Mbps) download, 10 Mbps upload, and mobile wireless coverage to Canadians in rural and remote areas by 2030.

 

Focus News: Ottawa Promises to Connect 98 Percent of Canadians to High Speed Internet by 2026

Give President Trump His Day in Court: Noem

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem says President Donald Trump should have his day in court, citing “serious election integrity concerns.” Asked by ABC News on Nov. 8 about working with “president-elect Biden” on COVID-19 response in her state, Noem, a Republican, said: “This is a premature conversation because we have not finished counting votes. “There are states that have not been called, and back in 2000, Al Gore was given his day in court. We should give President Trump his day in court.” Noem rejected the charge that there was no evidence to back the claims of widespread voter fraud. “I don’t know how widespread it is,” she said. “I don’t know if it’ll change the outcome of the election. But why is everybody so scared just to have a…