Skeena MLA Claire Rattée is urging the B.C. government to bolster telecommunications security after a third theft-driven outage struck the north this year . These disruptions, including a recent event on August 11, have severed essential internet and phone services across northern communities.
The single-corridor vulnerability between Prince George and Prince Rupert
Northwest B.C. relies on a narrow geographic path for its digital infrastructure, creating a significant point of failure. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Citizens' Services acknowledged this reality, noting that the region is served predominantly by a single corridor between Prince George and Prince Rupert. This geographic bottleneck means that localized disruptions can simultaneously impact multiple service providers.
While the province works with federal partners on long-term resiliency, the current setup leaves the Skeena region exposed. The Ministry of Citizens' Services pointed out that because telecommunications networks are owned and operated by private companies, these providers are responsible for the immediate security and maintenance of their own infrastructure.
A pattern of three theft-related outages since May
The August 11 disruption was the third major event of its kind in 2026, following previous incidents in May and on August 2.. According to the report, the August 11 outage affected CityWest customers and was triggered by an attempted copper theft that damaged a fiber line on a third-party network located in Alberta. This specific incident caused widespread service loss for users ranging from Prince George west to Haida Gwaii.
Other providers also felt the impact of recent criminal activity. Rogers reported outages both north and south of Prince George,which were caused by a cut to a third-party fiber optic line. these repeated incidents have led Claire Rattée to argue that cable theft should no longer be viewed as a series of isolated events, but rather as a growing threat to public safety.
Wildfire activity and the failure of secondary routes
Environmental factors have recently compounded the damage caused by physical theft. During the August 11 outage, CityWest reported that its secondary route between Prince George and Vancouver was also being hindered by neaby wildfire activity. This prevented the company from effectively rerouting traffic to maintain connectivity for its customers.
The intersection of criminal theft and natural disasters highlights the precarious nature of northern connectivity. When primary lines are cut and secondary routes are blocked by fires, entire communities are left without the ability to access government services, conduct business, or receive emergency updates.
The Haida Gwaii and Highway 37 resiliency plans
To mitigate these risks, two major infrastructure projects are currently being developed to provide much-needed redundancy. The Northern Development Initiative Trust recently approved a Haida Gwaii resiliency project , which aims to establish an alternate transport route from Kitimat. This project is intended to provide a diffferent path for services to reach Prince Rupert and Terrace if an outage occurs west of Terrace.
Additionally, the province is looking toward land-based transport projects to secure the Highway 16 corridor. Plans involving Highway 37 and Highway 97 are in development to create separate routes capable of supporting services throughout the Skeena region during a fiber break. These projects represent the long-term strategy to move away from a single-point-of-failure model.
Unanswered questions in Claire Rattée's letter to Diana Gibson
Despite the recurring nature of these disruptions, Skeena MLA Claire Rattée claims that previous attempts to seek clarity have gone unaddressed. In her recent letter to Citizens’ Services Minister Diana Gibson, Rattée noted that her office had already raised concerns with Telus and the province following the May outage. She expressed frustration that, several months later, the region has not received a satisfactory response regarding improved connectivity or redundancy measures.
The central question remains whether the province can move quickly enough to protect its citizens. Rattée's correspondence emphasizes that a single fiber optic line should not be the primary means of remaining connected,as a single failure should not have the power to disconnect entire communities from essential communications.
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