Apply for funding: Step 4. Community engagement
4. Community engagement
You must notify all affected communities of your proposed project and provide them with information about the infrastructure you plan to build and the services you plan to offer. This gives communities an opportunity to understand the proposal and share any questions or feedback before the application is submitted.
Eligibility
To be eligible for Broadband Fund funding, you must meet certain requirements, including:
- identify and list all communities that will be affected by the proposed project or that are located where the proposed infrastructure will be built, clearly indicating which of these communities, if any, are Indigenous
- provide evidence of your notification and outreach efforts. Include copies of letters sent to affected communities or groups. This demonstrates you contacted each community before the application deadline and invited their community representatives to respond
Notification and outreach
You must demonstrate that outreach efforts have been undertaken or attempted with each community affected by a proposed project. This includes notifying affected communities, providing details of your project and giving community representatives the opportunity to communicate feedback directly to you and/or the CRTC.
The CRTC will also review the quality of your outreach efforts. Effective outreach should be informative, timely, respectful, and it should establish a line of communication between you and the communities.
Approach communities early and openly. Give community representatives the opportunity to share priorities and raise concerns associated with your project.
Outreach can include:
- a telephone call
- a virtual meeting
- an in-person meeting
- a notification letter
- a presentation made to community representatives
Community support
You are encouraged to provide evidence of support from each affected community and work collaboratively to identify benefits that go beyond the broadband Internet access services. Written consent can be provided in any form chosen by the representatives of a community, such as:
- letters of support from community representatives
- a resolution from a local governing body (for example, a municipal resolution or a band council resolution)
- evidence of a community benefit agreement
- the use of local companies during the project implementation
- an agreement or memorandum of understanding
- investment (financial or otherwise) by the community in the project
- a transcript of oral consent (such as minutes from a meeting)
To support you in your notification and outreach efforts, the CRTC has developed community outreach template letters that can be used when first contacting affected communities. When considering what communities will be affected by a proposed project and should be engaged, you should consult the Call 4 Reference Map.
Consent for infrastructure to be built in Indigenous communities
If a project involves providing service or building infrastructure in an Indigenous community, you must provide evidence of that community’s consent before the CRTC provides its final funding approval. In these circumstances, the CRTC may issue a conditional funding decision requiring you to provide proof of consent it issues the final funding decision.
Engagement with Indigenous communities and groups
A proposed project may impact Indigenous communities, Aboriginal rights, or treaty rights. You should take a distinctions-based approach to engagement to ensure its efforts align with the community’s preferred or established approach. If applicable, you must provide information gathered in its early engagement efforts, including:
- whether the potentially impacted Indigenous communities and groups have responded, and whether they have identified adverse impacts to any established or asserted Aboriginal or treaty rights
- what those adverse impacts are, and what accommodation measures, if any, have been or will be implemented, along with any plans for future engagement or accommodation measures
The CRTC will assess an application more favourably if:
- you demonstrate responsiveness to concerns raised by representatives of Indigenous communities or groups and provides evidence of collaboration with potentially impacted communities or groups
- it has the support of potentially impacted Indigenous communities or groups
- the proposed project will provide economic benefits and/or employment opportunities to Indigenous communities and groups
When considering what Indigenous communities, Aboriginal rights, or treaty rights may be affected by a proposed project, you should consult the Call 4 Reference Map and the Aboriginal and Treaty Rights Information System (ATRIS).
Useful resources
- Call 4 Notice of Consultation
- Call 4 Application Guide
- Call 4 Technical and Program Details Guide
- Call 4 Mapping Guide
- Call 4 Reference Map
- Eligibility Mapping Tool
- Aboriginal and Treaty Rights Information System (ATRIS)
- Online Intake System
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