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Argument Essay: The Digital Divide In Canada

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The digital divide that is prominent in today’s society is sky rocketing daily, especially in Canada. Unfortunately, Internet will never be a free service and we never expect it to be; but, Coalition member ACORN Canada, a national organization of low- and moderate-income families, is calling on the CRTC to mandate that $10 per month high-speed internet packages be made available to families and individuals living below Statistics Canada's low-income measure (Goodyear, 2016). Some solutions consist of higher-earning Canadians paying a little extra on their own internet bills - about a dollar a month - to subsidize access for those who can't afford it. (Goodyear, 2016). I personally believe that this solution is risky because it would unfair if other Canadians have to pay …show more content…

Unfortunately, many low-income Canadians have high-speed internet, but pay for it by cutting back on other necessities, like groceries (Harris, 2016). The Affordable Access Coalition is petitioning the CRTC to subsidize internet access for low-income and rural Canadians (Goodyear, 2016); however, citizens are realizing they need access to the online world more than ever before. The digital divide, advocates say, serves to keep the poorest Canadians from getting a leg up (Goodyear, 2016). This is exactly why affordable Internet access should be a human right. We should not be sacrificing whether or not low-income families will be eating this week or surfing the web. The CBC News states that interviewee Amber Slegtenhorst, “admits to covering her $60 monthly bill for home phone and internet. But the single mother of five children says her family needs online access”; (Goodyear, 2016) but, she somewhat sacrifices home necessities for Internet

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