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Online service discount discriminatory for some Labrador communities May 09,2007
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Yvonne Jones, MHA for the District of Cartwright-L'Anse Au Clair, says the small cost reduction for going online to access government services means some communities in her district will not be able to take advantage of this break. In its 2007 budget, government announced a 10 percent reduction in cost for motor vehicle registration if drivers use the Internet to register their vehicle. The Liberal MHA points out that there are 11 communities in Labrador which do not have high speed Internet access and people in these communities will not be able to take advantage of this discount. ?Despite its recent strategic announcement that it intends to invest more strongly in Labrador, it would have been more reasonable for government to ensure that technological infrastructure was first placed at the top of the list for these communities,? says Jones. ?Otherwise, what is the sense of encouraging people to go online to register if the infrastructure is not available in some parts of the region?? MHA Jones acknowledges that the purchase of a computer to access the Internet would be the decision of the individual, but she says government has a responsibility to ensure that the infrastructure is provided so that the Internet service can be readily available should a person decide to go this route. ?Given the discriminatory nature of the measure implemented in the recent budget, I call upon government to provide this 10 percent discount to the residents living in those communities without high speed internet access. If government wants to show in a tangible way that they are indeed committed to the concerns and priorities of all citizens living in Labrador and to the principle of fairness, I would expect that they will make this discount available in the coming days.?
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