**NEO NET NEWS RELEASE**

On Monday, August 26th, 2019, NEOnet welcomed the Honourable, Bill Morneau, Federal Minister of Finance, local federal candidate Michelle Boileau and Sharan Kaur, Senior Special Assistant to the Office of the Minister of Finance, to discuss NEOnet initiatives and challenges across North Eastern Ontario. NEOnet Board invited members of the Board of Directors; present were: Gerard Bruneau, Chair; Steve Kidd, Vice-Chair; Paula Mangotich, Treasurer; Sally Braun, Stephen Cameron, staff: Paul Ouimette, Director of Operations; Kait-Lynn Gooch, Outreach Coordinator Sharon Jones, Project Facilitator through Skype Video Conference. Gerry Talbot from Gogama and former board member was also in attendance and described first-hand experiences regarding the challenges of Broadband infrastructure in the North.

NEOnet described its’ mandate, the nearly 20 years of service and accomplishments with programs such as: BEAM (Broadband for E-Business and Marketing), STAMP (Small Business Technology Assessment, Monitoring and Planning), Municipal GIS (Geographic Information System) along with other areas of focus. NEOnet highlighted the challenges with Broadband Infrastructure in Northern Ontario, our role to advocate and aide in identifying gaps of service, and mediate possible solutions by forming Public-Private Partnerships (P3).
We are delighted to have been asked to meet with the Honourable, Bill Morneau, Federal Minister of Finance, to express our concerns and opportunities that exist to address the challenges in enhancing Northern Ontario’s digital connectivity and strengthening the opportunities for economic development.

Filed under: Local News