Towards a Digital Equity Policy for the City of Toronto

Executive Summary

Despite nearly all households in Toronto being able to connect to some of Canada’s fastest internet infrastructure, socioeconomic and demographic factors continue to sustain affordability and access barriers within Toronto’s equity-deserving communities. Low-income households, older adults, Indigenous peoples, and people with disabilities consistently report lower rates of internet connection, use, and digital skills. The City’s digital divides consist of interrelated factors, all impacting residents’ ability to meaningfully use digital services. These include the affordability of internet services, the sufficiency of internet speeds accessed, access to digital devices, digital literacy, digital accessibility, and experiences of online safety.

An equity-focused approach to developing Toronto’s digital infrastructure requires uncovering and learning from digital connectivity gaps to develop evidence-informed policies and programs that better target marginalized groups’ unique digital needs and ensure all people in Toronto can meaningfully access and use digital services.

In the face of ongoing disparities in digital access, the federal government has recognized the necessity of internet access for Canadians and the economy, with the CRTC declaring broadband internet access a “basic telecommunications service” that is essential to the quality of life in 2016. Through the establishment of a universal service objective, the CRTC aims to provide the digital infrastructure necessary to provide all Canadian households and businesses the ability to access a fixed broadband Internet service with speeds of at least 50 Mbps download, 10 Mbps upload, and have an unlimited data allowance. Federal and provincial governments are engaged in efforts to deliver this service objective to all Canadians through public and private infrastructure investments, but this objective does not ensure that all Canadians are able to use or can afford to subscribe to the available service.

Scholars, legislators and international organizations such as the United Nations have argued that the equitable access to the internet is an essential enabler of individuals’ ability to exercise their other fundamental rights, particularly freedom of expression and access to information. Other countries, such as Brazil, Costa Rica, France and Mexico, have formally recognized access to the internet as a basic right. Taking a human rights approach to digital equity, it can be argued that the internet has become an essential public service that should be regulated and protected by the government to ensure universal access for all people.

The City of Toronto’s Digital Infrastructure Plan aims to modernize and formalize how the City approaches digital infrastructure development and is founded on a set of six guiding principles, one of which focuses on ensuring the presence of equity and inclusion in the City’s decisions regarding digital infrastructure.

This report outlines considerations to inform the City’s approach to digital equity and provides evidence-informed analysis of where gaps in access persist, what types of digital barriers continue to impact equity-deserving groups and the initiatives that have and should develop to close digital connectivity gaps in Toronto. As Toronto has previously committed through the Declaration of Cities Coalition for Digital Rights, everyone should have access to affordable and accessible internet and digital services on equal terms, as well as the digital skills to make use of this access and overcome the digital divide.

Based on this research and engagement, we offer five policy recommendations to inform the City of Toronto’s digital equity policy and advance the right to internet access:

1. Set a universal digital connectivity objective for the City: regularly track the percentage of Toronto residents that are adequately connected to the internet and digital services, and work to close persistent gaps in connectivity in specific communities.
2. Facilitate or subsidize discounted prices for home internet to all City residents below the poverty line, particularly those receiving social or housing assistance through the City, and ensure services are provided at sufficient speeds.
3. Direct infrastructure investment to the deployment of City-owned, open access broadband networks that increase public access, control and competition.
4. Develop a cross-sectoral network of public, private, and community organizations to coordinate and strengthen initiatives focused on enhancing digital literacy and access to devices and software for underserved and vulnerable communities, and ensure all of the City’s surplus technology is donated for refurbishment and reuse.
5. Strengthen accessibility standards and initiatives to remove digital inclusion barriers for people with disabilities, including greater enforcement mechanisms.