As Prime Minister Stephen Harper utilizes YouTube to take the pulse of the nation, the federal government is slashing the budget for a program that provides free Internet access at community centres.

The Conservatives are cutting funds for Industry Canada’s Community Access Program that started in 1994 to expand broadband access. The program provides between $4,000 and $5,000 to various organizations, such as employment and youth drop-in centres, English-as-a-second-language programs and seniors groups, to help pay for computers, technical support or training.

But this year the program’s budget has been trimmed down to $2 million and the government said sites within 25 kilometres of a public library will no longer be eligible for the funding. The new stipulation could prove to be a real problem in smaller towns where many services, including the library, are only a small distance apart.

"It's a vital link for everyone. It puts everyone on the same footing across Canada," Karen Deluca of the Arnprior Public Library in eastern Ontario said, noting she sees people come in to draft resumes, download programs, or do homework.

"There are still many rural communities who still do not have high speed access at home."

The Community Access Program cost $15 million last year. An Industry Canada spokesperson said the program was started when few Canadians had access to broadband, but that has now changed.

The Conservative government is providing $200 million to expand broadband coverage to under-served households across the country. Gary Goodyear, minister of state for science and technology, said most public libraries and approximately 80 per cent of Canadians have Internet access.

"What this Conservative party is saying basically is that if you live in a large urban centre, then you're important, but the other 20 per cent of Canada, that's not important to this government," Liberal MP and vice-chair of the Commons committee on industry, science and technology, Anthony Rota, said.

"When you start dismissing people, you create a divide in Canada between the haves and the have-nots."

Nearly 270 remote and First Nations communities will continue to receive the funding.

With files from the Canadian Press