Chief John McKay, of Keewaywin First Nation, has been using information and communications technologies (ICTs) for three years. As Keewaywin’s Chief for the past two years, and as a band councillor before that, he has been involved with the development of K-Net’s SMART Community project.

Now that Keewaywin has full Internet service, it is far easier to maintain contact with the outside world and to obtain information about the world, Chief McKay explained. Since K-Net’s SMART Community project began, Keewaywin’s community members have gained a significant increase in access to the outside world, compared to the single phone that the community once had to share.

Chief McKay is looking forward to listening to the other presenters during Thursday’s Roundtable.

"I’d like to see the changes since (Internet access) was available in their communities," McKay said, explaining that he’d like to see what their experiences have been.

Chief McKay would like to see more funds invested into the K-Net’s service so that community members would be able to benefit from increased educational opportunities and Internet-based employment opportunities. He would also like to see the service expanded so that more communities would benefit.

You can reach Chief McKay at the Keewaywin (807 771-1210)