CAP s goal is to give the residents of rural, remote and urban communities across Canada affordable access to the internet, and to provide new ways to communicate, learn, and do business in today s knowledge-based economy. The Community Access Program is a partnership between governments, the private sector, and community organizations designed to help accelerate public access to the internet all across the country. At present, CAP supports over 6800 public internet access sites nationwide. CAP sites are selected through a competitive process based on the merits of each community s supported proposal.
Successful applicants receive cost-shared funding based on their proposal.
A lumber and forestry town since its inception, Lumby is now facing the challenges of an economy based mainly on natural resources. CAP is helping the community use the tools of the knowledge-based economy to make a difference. The Lumby CAP site serves the 6800 people that make up the population of the Trinity Creighton Monashee area of southern British Columbia. Located at J. W. Inglis Elementary School, the Lumby CAP centre is open twice a week from 7.30 p.m. to 9 p.m., as well as one day at the weekend. Students, who have access all day long, account for 75 per cent of the users, while seniors account for another 18 per cent.