How business, industry and communities are coming together to connect the North and expand opportunities for local residents.

There is no denying the beauty and tranquility of the Saskatchewan North.  Its isolation seems fundamental to its picturesque serenity, but for residents of Northern Communities, with the splendor of the natural surroundings comes the challenges of access to modern technology. 

Members of sparsely populated and geographically remote Northern communities have struggled in the past to remain connected- to not only each other and the rest of Saskatchewan, but to the larger global world.  A lack of access to infrastructure that powers technology has also been a barrier to attracting and retaining business and industry to the area to ensure a source of economic sustainability for local residents.

SaskTel launched wireless cellular service in Saskatchewan in 1989, and by 2015, had extended the network to provide coverage to 99% of the population.  Although a mere 1% of the population seems marginal, to residents of the most remote Saskatchewan communities, the lack of service was a significant issue.   

Read the stories of local residents and leaders from Northern Saskatchewan who partnered with SaskTel to bring cellular service to their communities.  Our common goal and guiding vision: Bring the same first class technology to residents of remote communities enjoyed by the rest of the Province, allowing them equal access to the economic and social development opportunities that technology brings.

The story of Canoe Narrows and Jans Bay

Jans Bay is a Northern community of approximately 180 people located on the shores of Canoe Lake.  It is 20 minutes on gravel highway from Beauval, and approximately 2 hours North of Meadow Lake.  

Just across the water on the shores of Canoe Lake, to the west of Jans Bay, is Canoe Narrows, home to the Canoe Lake Cree First Nation, led by Chief Francis X. Iron.

When Francis took over as Chief of Canoe Lake recently, his relative young age lent to his strong familiarity with and desire to have access to the technology his generation “grew up with,” despite his own community still not having access to cellular service.  Home to approximately 715 residents, Chief Francis understood that a service as important to modern life as cellular coverage could not only help retain community members - particularly youth - but would also be essential to attracting new ones.
 

As proud as he already is of his community, long-time mayor of Jans Bay Tony Maurice also has a vision that includes further growth and development for current members and area locals.

By designing and constructing a training facility made to resemble a traditional work camp, Tony has embarked on an entrepreneurial venture to ready locals for employment as labourers, cooks, support staff and equipment operators at the various work camps springing up all over the North.

The venture is two-fold- Tony wants to support and provide opportunities for local people to become employable by the various industries developing Northern Saskatchewan, and generate a source of sustainable income for further community expansion.  The first project he hopes to fund is the expansion of the current school that currently serves over 80 kindergarten to grade 12 students without a gym or recreational facility.

Getting cellular service was aligned with both Francis’s and Tony’s vision of community development, expansion and inclusion, but in communities as small as Canoe Lake and Jans Bay, both foresaw the barriers to making this a reality. 

When the Mayor and Chief approached SaskTel, we recognized visionaries that saw the same bright future for their communities we did - but we also knew the financial numbers would be a challenge to overcome. 

By working through an economic analysis of costs vs. potential revenue, SaskTel determined that with the community chipping in, we could work together to make expansion possible.

Cellular service was turned up for Jans Bay and Canoe Narrows in October 2015, and It is clear that in just a short time, the service has already had significant impact, particularly with local business owners.
 

 Residents - and even community visitors – say the advantages have been immediate.

If there is one thing both community leaders and SaskTel believe in, it is that residents of Jans Bays and Canoe Lake deserve access to the same opportunities afforded to other Saskatchewan residents, and that access to technology will take them one step closer to the brighter future they have planned.