Indigenous legal advocates in northwestern Ontario are sounding the alarm over the Ontario government’s cancellation of its contract with Starlink, citing concerns with people’s access to legal services in remote First Nations.

Last month, Premier Doug Ford announced he’d be ripping up the $100-million deal with Elon Musk’s internet provider, as a retaliatory measure in the ongoing Canada-U.S. trade war.

But in northwestern Ontario, this means the end of the Starlink-Navigator Program delivered by Nishnawbe-Aski Legal Services Corporation (NALSC), which “permitted community members, who often do not have access to internet, or reliable internet, an opportunity to participate in virtual courts.”