 Hi and good afternoon everyone. My name is Ann Kang. I'm the Minister of Citizen Services. I'm honored to be here on the territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Slay-with-tooth people. Like most British Columbians, my heart is heavy as we navigate these difficult times. We have lost people to this pandemic. We're worried about our friends, our neighbours, our communities and we're concerned about our families and our ability to protect and provide for them. In one moment, the weight of challenges we're facing feels very overwhelming but then we see people across BC reach out to support each other with kindness and support and it lifts our spirits. I hear a quiet streets awaken at 7pm with the sounds of banging pots and pans and shouts of support and jubilation. I see the flowers and groceries being left on people's doorsteps. Words of encouragement scrawled in chalk on sidewalks and paper hearts stickered on living room windows in many neighbourhoods. British Columbians are rising to the challenge that has required major changes to the way we live and work. The provincial state of emergency and the need to maintain physical distancing means that people are spending more time at home. Many of us are working remotely, attending virtual classes and teaching children online. Finding new ways to connect with friends and families using technology and businesses are relying on new online services to help stay afloat in these uncertain times. The challenges we're facing today have underscored the importance of reliable high speed internet. Telecommunication companies have stepped up to help people in BC to access the internet. There are now more than 26,000 open Wi-Fi hotspots in British Columbia. Service providers have reached out to school districts to help families access low cost internet and devices and many providers are also supporting their customers by providing more cellular data and waiving internet overage charges. Shelters and other organizations have received donations of cell phones to help their at-risk and vulnerable population stay connected to the supports and services that their clients rely on. All of these measures we're taking to move online are helping to flatten the curve in BC. But many people in rural and remote areas of our province have showed internet speed, have slow internet speed that make it difficult to work and learn from home. Our response to the pandemic has also meant that communication networks throughout the province are experiencing heavy demands. This can be especially true in rural, remote and indigenous communities where the internet provides a lifeline to vital services. However, I always like the idea that a problem is an opportunity for us to be creative and for us to do our best. Rising to the challenge is something I see people in BC do every single day and that is what this government strives to do. We are committed to giving people better access to high-speed internet. Today I'm happy to announce that as part of our COVID-19 response we are launching a new funding opportunity under our Connecting British Columbia program that will give people in the rural, remote and indigenous communities access to faster and better internet services at a time when they need this the most. We know the need is urgent and that is why we are moving quickly. The grants for projects that will be completed, the grants for these projects will be completed by June 30th and will help fund immediate network equipment upgrades to rapidly improve capacity and internet speed in underserved communities. The new response funding is specifically targeted to internet service providers that require extra capital to upgrade their existing equipment. This might include new antennas, electric equipment or other type of peripheral devices that relate to the performance of a network. Internet service providers can apply for up to $50,000 per project. The provincial funding will cover up to 90% of eligible equipment costs. Northern Development Initiative Trust, who administers the program on behalf of the province will consider applications on a first-come, first-served basis. And they will provide speedy approvals for the project that can be completed by the end of June. This approach will ensure that underserved businesses and households through BC are getting access to faster internet as quickly as possible. It will also allow people to learn, to work, stay at home and remain connected to loved ones. It will also give people better access to online healthcare and mental health supports at this time of self-isolation. And it will show small businesses who have moved online during this challenging time. Details about eligibility as well as the application form can be found on Northern Development's website. The existing intake of the Connecting British Columbia program will continue to accept applications. As we move to identify and support quick projects to improve existing network during COVID-19 we know it is also important to keep sight of a future where all people in British Columbia have access to high-speed internet. This work continues through our Connecting British Columbia program. The largest injection to the program last year, $50 million, is still accepting applications. This will help expand broadband infrastructure to underserved rural and Indigenous communities. Many of these projects are in the planning stage and will begin to benefit communities in the coming months and years. Since July 2017, 479 communities including 83 Indigenous communities are benefiting from Connecting British Columbia High-speed Internet Connectivity Project and that are either completed or underway. I want to thank NDIT for their tireless work to get this latest funding intake up and running. I also want to thank the service providers who are working very hard every day to ensure people have the connectivity they need to work, learn and access virtual healthcare, keep in touch with loved ones. Responding to the impact of this pandemic requires the best from all of us. The examples of strength and community spirit that I'm seeing every day continues to inspire me during these very difficult times. I want to thank everyone for joining me today. Thank you so much. Thank you and we'll start taking questions now. A reminder to the media, please press star 1 to line up for questions. Media will be limited to one question each but if the media has a follow-up, please queue up again and time permitting we will be happy to take these questions. Also a reminder to the media, please keep your phones unmuted. You will not be heard or be audible unless we call your name. And once again, please do press star 1 to queue up for questions. And we begin with Katie. Katie Hyslop, could you... Yes, thank you. Can you hear? Yes. Thank you, Minister. Go ahead, please. Yeah, I wanted to know. So this program is just for current service providers. Is that correct? Yes, that's correct. So currently we are having... This intake is for current service providers, for them to enhance their internet access with new equipment. So this could include antennas, peripheral equipment, or electronic devices. And the purpose of it is to make sure that they can provide better coverage or higher internet access for people in their community. Thank you. The next question is from Lisa Kodasko, CHLY. Go ahead, please. Thank you very much. I have two questions. First of all, what is considered a smaller remote community and how much new money is being announced today? Yes. So small and remote communities are those that have... That's more difficult to access. And these are communities that are telling us that they do need better internet access connections. And the internet connections are more or less high speed and a broader coverage. We understand that right now, with the suspension of in-class classroom activity, that students are learning their courses online. And for our rural and remote and Indigenous communities, this is very important as well, being able to get access to their healthcare system. People are using telehealth. So we want to make sure that there is good higher capacity internet as well as a faster speed internet to meet the needs. You did ask about the funding. This is not new money. This is actually money, existing money that we have in connecting British Columbia. And we are making sure that the existing funds that we have right now are optimized at this time. And this is so important to stress. This new intake will enable quick and targeted improvements. So targeting improvements is something that I really want to emphasize, is if we could use current money to optimize our programings. This new intake complements the existing Connecting British Columbia program, and it draws from the 50 million in funding that's already in our budget. Thank you, and another reminder to the media, please press star one if you have any questions. For follow-up as well, you could queue up again. Are there any other questions from the media at this time? Hearing none, we would like to wrap up this presser at this time. Thank you all for participating.