The Honourable Chester Gillan, Minister of Education and the Honourable Mitch Murphy, Minister of Technology and Environment were on hand for the official opening of the Community Access Program (CAP) site at the Confederation Centre Library earlier today.
"Access to technology is something we believe should be available to every Islander," said Minister Gillan. "Because of the success of CAP sites, Prince Edward Island can boast that every Islander is within 12 minutes of an Internet access site."
The CAP site at the Confederation Centre Library is a joint venture of the provincial government, the federal government through Industry Canada and the City of Charlottetown.
"CAP sites enable communities across Prince Edward Island to take advantage of the Internet and other information technologies as a tool for social, cultural and economic development," said Minister Murphy. "Our characteristics and strengths in IT infrastructure, including CAP site development, workforce size, sense of community and quality of life are ideally suited to lead PEI to national and international recognition as the Smart Province. I encourage Charlottetown community members to explore the opportunities that the technology at your newly enhanced CAP site has to offer."
The Confederation Centre Library site has 10 computers, each one connected to a printer. The library also recently acquired a scanner.
"Much of the use at the site is related to the Internet," said Don Scott, Chief Librarian. "E-mail is particularly popular among users. It is an inexpensive communication tool which links people from around the globe. Internet use and resume preparation are also very popular at this site."
The Confederation Centre Library Site is one of 59 CAP sites on Prince Edward Island. For more information about the Community Access Program, visit http://www.peicaps.org or Industry Canada's connecting.canadians website at http://connect.gc.ca/