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sOuRCEs: pROVinCial hEalth authORitiEs; City OF VanCOuVER; spaCing.Ca; ChOpValuE manuFaCtuRing; trying to do digital work in a rural community," says Shannon, who spent 10 years working with a high-speed connection in Vancouver before returning to the islands. Sometimes he mailed his clients their high-resolution •les on USB drives because he couldn't transmit them by email. Shannon, who won Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2015 at the BC Aboriginal Business Awards, was pay- ing between $300 and $500 a month for Internet, and depending on the time of day, it "wasn't even usable," he recalls. "I had to do most of my work in the middle of the night." Shannon joined the board of GwaiiTel, which manages the Internet infrastructure on the islands, helping the company apply for grants that ultimately allowed it to install under- ground •bre links in more populous areas of Haida Gwaii. Remote areas still struggle with slow, unreliable connections and low bandwidth. B.C.'s geography has played a role in hindering rural access to broadband Internet. Telecommunications giants like the Big Three— BCE, Rogers Communications and Telus— didn't have the business case to invest millions to dig trenches and lay •bre lines through vast, diŽcult terrain to bring service to small communities, explains Jinny Sims, B.C.'s Minister of Citizens' Services. "In places where they have •bre, we have seen amazing things happen in supporting traditional industries and participating in the new digital economy," Sims says. When •bre to the home was rolled out in Tumbler Ridge in 2012, Steven Tory, an IT consul- tant, founded Dino High Tech Solutions, o—ering computer servicing, web design and tech support. "I would never have thought about running a tech company in this community when we didn't have fast or reli- able Internet," Tory remarks. The town of 3,000 people now has what Tory calls an "acceptable level" of Internet service, but the delay in getting broadband caused "a massive problem with digital literacy." He points out, "You have to have a solid grasp on technol- o˜y, otherwise you'll get left behind." According to industry experts, we're a few years away from a full 5G wireless rollout. A network of new base stations needs to be built across the country to distrib- ute the 5G signal, which uses a di—erent frequency than current technologies. Sims acknowledges the province is committed to working with the federal government and private industry to stay on top of future technological developments so rural and remote B.C. doesn't fall behind again—for example, when it's time to install 5G infrastructure. The Ministry of Education has also established a working group to identify opportunities to improve con- nectivity in public libraries. In the interim, the ENCQOR project could have a B.C. com- ponent. A spokesperson for the federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Devel- opment replied in an email that the 5G test corridor in Ontario and Quebec may eventually include companies across the country, which could access the infrastructure virtually. When 5G arrives, it will expand employment oppor- tunities in the tech industry in rural and urban areas, says Karl Swannie, CEO of Victoria- based Echosec, a social media geofencing platform. Swannie has a property on Saturna in the Gulf Islands and would love to work there, but the island does not have the connectiv- ity speed and bandwidth he requires. With 5G, not only would he be able to work from Saturna or anywhere else, he says he wouldn't hesitate to hire employees who live in rural areas as long as they can connect to the high-speed net- work. "If they have the skills and the talent, I would bring them on in a heartbeat." As the ninth annual International Sushi Day (June 18) invites us to indulge in all things raw and rolled, here's a look at B.C. seafood by the numbers by Melissa Edwards plenty of Fish 16 BCBusiness junE 2018 701 ( the informer ) G O F I G U R E 1:8 Approximate ratio of poke to sushi restau- rants in Vancouver Minimum number of restaurants in B.C. with "sushi" in their name 71% Lower Mainland 17% Vancouver Island 10% Interior 2% North 69% Proportion of respondents to a 2015 City of Vancou- ver survey who said they "eat sushi all the time" R E A D T H I S Why did Gordon Campbell spring a harmonized sales tax on british Columbians? how did the Christy Clark government overlook voters' concerns about housing affordability? Who are the John Horgan whisperers? based on interviews with 70 insiders, including Clark and horgan, veteran legislative reporters Rob shaw of the Vancouver Sun and Richard Zussman of global news reveal why members of the b.C. government from 2009 to 2017 made the decisions they did. A Matter of Confidence: The Inside Story of the Political Battle for BC is addictive reading for political junkies and useful for anyone interested in what goes on behind the scenes in government. published by heritage house, the 336-page book is $22.95 in paperback.

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