'It should be everywhere': Free public Wi-Fi to expand in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside

The City of Vancouver is on its way to providing more accessible Wi-Fi to those residing in the Downtown Eastside and adjacent neighbourhoods.

On Wednesday, Vancouver city council passed a motion tabled by One City councillor, Christine Boyle. 

“I have been hearing from many advocates in the Downtown Eastside and beyond about how important and potentially life-saving access to Wi-Fi is,” Boyle said.

Karen Ward agrees. Ward used to live in the Woodward’s development and lacked access to the internet for years.

“It’s like being silenced,” Ward said. “It's such a dangerous thing when you're down here because you do lose touch with what’s happening in the rest of the world.”

Ward said there are a number of challenges when trying to connect to Wi-Fi in the DTES such as slow connectivity and the lack of access in some social housing buildings.

She added that all of the services people need to survive require the utility.

“How are you supposed to use Telehealth?” she said. “It’s impossible, so all of these online services that theoretically make things more accessible don’t exist here and this is a huge problem.”

Advocates have been pushing for this for months, citing the need for Wi-Fi to utilize lifesaving overdose prevention apps like LifeGuard and Brave.

Boyle said providing this service became even more apparent during the region’s Arctic outflow in January, when people were trying to locate warming centers.

“Access is an important piece of making sure those messages get to the people who need to hear them,” Boyle said.

The City of Vancouver, with Shaw and Telus, provides 521 free public Wi-Fi locations. Boyle said she heard from other residents who would like to see public Wi-Fi expanded to their neighbourhoods.

Ward thinks that’s a wonderful idea.

“This would be a great way for equality and digital equity, and it should be everywhere in the city,” she said.

Staff will develop a timeline and plan for the rollout. That report will be ready for council to review later this year.