Residents of isolated communities along the Labrador coast fear they may lose vital connections to the internet.

The federal government announced last week that its participation in the cost-shared Community Access Program will end in December, as part of a $1-billion cost-cutting plan.

Sheila Downer, who helped establish public internet sites on the Labrador coast, said it's heartbreaking to learn the program may end.
(CBC)

The cut may mean the closure of 21 internet sites in Labrador. In many coastal communities, the only efficient way to connect to the internet is via satellite.

Brenda Roberts, principal of St. Peter's school in the southern Labrador community of Black Tickle, said CAP sites are used broadly. Students use the connection for research, and the school's administration depends on it.

"Our fee for this internet connection to [the] satellite system is around $220 a month, so basically, if you compare it to a human body, well, we're going to die of heart failure in January," Roberts said.

Dial-up service in Black Tickle, she noted, only became available last year.

Residents in the community rely on satellite-based CAP sites for everyday things, including commerce and filling out government forms.

"We've got no bank here now and it's easier to get a piece of gold nugget here than cash, so being able to bank online is all right," she said.
   
Sheila Downer, who helped develop the 21 CAP sites through an information technology initiative in the 1990s, said the cuts are heartbreaking.

"Some of the sites would receive, on an annual basis, $3,000 to $6,000, so you know, it's a very small investment for huge benefit for communities," Downer said.

Roberts said if the federal government's decision is not reversed, alternative funding will have to be found or the site will have to close.