Sustainability of Public Access Sites:

• Ongoing support, particularly sustainability funding, is required for Community Access Program (CAP) sites in Canada.
• Future CAP funding by Industry Canada should include: (a) required national service standards and (b) a review of the geographical location of sites to ensure they are suitably located to meet local needs.
• Industry Canada should explore the viability of establishing provincial level not-for-profit Community Development Foundations. Administered by community representatives, these foundations would disseminate federal sustainability funding and other forms of support.
• Business should be engaged to do more to support access initiatives in Canada.

HRDC Roles for Individual and Community Capacity Development:

• HRDC should take a lead role through its Skills and Learning Agenda to address the digital divide as it is broadly conceived.
• HRDC’s Community Learning Network program should be extended and used as a key resource in the Skills and Learning Agenda.
• The Community Learning Network program should consider establishing Community Assistance Teams to help community organizations with issues relating to establishing a CLN, access, training, partnerships, capacity development and resources.
• Funding support from HRDC should include resources that permit communities to undertake community-level and individual needs assessments.
• There is a need for ongoing federal financial support, separate from the CAP and CLN programs, for community organizations that provide access, skills, training, content development and related services to the public.