Baile Fios, Antigonish

Canadian digital sovereignty for the rest of us.

Practical help for individuals and small-business owners who want to rely less on American technology, and keep control of their own data, accounts, and websites.

Digital sovereignty is usually sold to governments, universities, banks, and large companies. This is the version for everyone else. We work out what you actually depend on, what it would take to change, and which single change is worth making first. Plain language, a fixed price, and advice from me directly. No enterprise sales process, and no assumption that you have an IT department.

Start with a $75 conversation See the full $225 checkup

Canadian-owned, based in Antigonish, and built for people without an IT department.

Digital Independence

Two ways to start.

Both are a fixed price, paid once. Neither one ends with you owing me a monthly bill, and neither one includes doing the migration for you. If that turns out to be what you want, it is separate work and I will quote it separately or point you at someone better suited.

$75 CAD

Digital Independence Conversation

For one question you need answered.

A 30-minute conversation
One service, problem, or proposed move
Practical options explained in plain language
Three next steps, sent to you by email

Questions this fits

How do I leave Google Photos?
What map should my website use?
Is this hosting provider actually Canadian?
What is a sensible first step away from Google Workspace?

Not included: extensive research, a full inventory of your technology, or any migration or implementation work.

Ask about a conversation

$225 CAD

Digital Independence Checkup

For a person or small business that needs a broader plan.

A short intake and review beforehand
A 75-minute conversation
A review of the important tools and dependencies in scope
A prioritized written roadmap
Canadian and non-US alternatives researched where practical
Clear advice on what to keep, replace, defer, or leave alone
One follow-up email

Not included: migration or implementation work.

Ask about a checkup

Full scope, common situations, and what happens afterwards

If neither price works right now, the article below and its checklist are free, and they are meant to be genuinely useful on their own.

Notes

Lake Ontario is still Lake Ontario. Your technology should answer to you.

At the end of August 2026, a handful of Canadian websites started showing Lake Ontario labelled as something else. Not because anyone in Canada decided that, but because the maps embedded in those pages came from a company in another country, and that company had applied its own government's decision.

It is a small thing, and it is also exactly what technological dependency looks like when it finally becomes visible. Here is what it means for the rest of us, and seven questions worth asking about your own setup.

Read the article

Small-Town Web Starter

If what you need is a website, that has a fixed price too.

Owning your own website is one of the more practical pieces of digital independence, because a page you control cannot be reorganised, repriced, or quietly changed by a platform. Here in rural Nova Scotia, people hear about a business from someone they know, see it in a community Facebook group, or look it up on a phone between jobs. The Small-Town Web Starter gives you one clear place for that information, plus a practical lesson so you can keep talking about your work yourself. It has been the same fixed scope and the same fixed price since it launched.

A clear website for the work you do

One page that answers the questions people ask before they call, with a clear next step when they are ready.

Easy to read on a phone
A clear path from what you do to how to reach you
Your own words and business details in one place
A page you can share from a sign, van, card, or social post
A tidy logo treatment using what you already have
Room for the facts customers actually need

A practical lesson you can use

One focused 60-minute session, in person, by video, or another way that works. We look at what you already do and make it easier to keep up.

Take useful photos while you work
Turn a finished job or customer question into something worth sharing
Two reusable Canva templates for your updates
A four-week list of things to say and show
A quick check before you publish

Canadian hosting and control that stays with you

Your first year of hosting is part of the Starter. After that, you can continue year by year or take the site elsewhere. There is no long contract tying you to Baile Fios.

Your domain registered in your name
The finished site files are yours
Hosting in Canada where practical
A secure connection and regular checks
A separate backup copy of the site
One yearly check that your contact details are still right

First year $750 CAD

Hosting continuation $250 CAD/year

Domain registration is separate, billed at cost, and you maintain ownership of it.

The website, training, templates, launch, and first-year hosting are one package and are not sold separately. The $250 annual hosting continuation is available only for sites built through the Small-Town Web Starter.

Process

Four steps from first email to a finished website.

See if it fits

You tell me what the business needs. I tell you plainly whether this can do the job.
Send the basics

You answer a few questions, send real photos, and pay half.
I make the site

I write and build the page. You get two rounds to ask for changes.
We put it online

You pay the balance, I launch the site, and we spend an hour on the practical lesson.

You should know who is building your site.

I am Colin Duggan. I grew up in Antigonish, run Baile Fios from here, and I am the person who will ask the questions, write the page, build the site, and answer you after it launches. I built Tidal Salt over nearly a decade, so I know the difference between a tool that helps and another bill that keeps showing up.

There is no sales handoff and no anonymous account manager. Baile Fios is my work, done under my own name, with a scope I can stand behind. Everything here is deliberately bounded, and every price is published, because a person trying to get out from under a platform should not have to sign up for an open-ended relationship to do it.

I am not a lawyer, and I do not sell compliance or cybersecurity certification. What I can do is read a service's terms and ownership honestly, tell you where your work actually lives, and be straight with you about the cost of moving it. Where I do not know, I will say so.

Flagship Baile Fios project

The Antigonish Reel

The Antigonish Reel is an independent community information utility for Antigonish: weather, events, public notices, and practical local answers in one calm place. No nonsense, no tracking, no account needed. Built and hosted in Canada.

Visit antigonishreel.ca

Let's Talk

Tell me what you are trying to sort out.

Pick whichever one sounds closest and send me a few details. I will tell you plainly whether I can help, and I will say so if the honest answer is that you do not need to pay me anything.

Prefer email? colin@bailefios.ca

Digital Independence Conversation, $75 CAD 30 minutes on one question, with three next steps sent afterwards

Keep $11,250 available for the things that matter.

A $1,000 monthly contract costs $12,000 in one year. The Small-Town Web Starter costs $750.

One-year price comparison
$1,000 monthly marketing contract	$12,000
Small-Town Web Starter, first year	$750
Not committed to the monthly contract	$11,250

$11,250 stays available.

That could cover groceries, fuel, tools, materials, insurance, wages, or some breathing room.

These are different services.

The Starter does not include monthly posting or advertising. Advertising costs may also be separate from management fees.

Four questions to ask before you sign.

Ask for clear answers in writing before you agree to ongoing marketing work.

What exactly will you do each month?

My answer: The Starter has a written scope: one website, two rounds of changes, launch, and one practical lesson. Ongoing posting and advertising are not included.
Is advertising money included?

My answer: Advertising money and the fee to manage it are separate. The Starter includes neither.
Who owns the site, domain, designs, accounts, and customer data?

My answer: Your domain stays in your name. You keep the finished site files and the words, photos, and designs you supplied.
What does it cost, and how long does it take, to leave?

My answer: There is no long contract. Hosting continues year by year, and you can take your site files elsewhere.

Canadian digital sovereignty, in plain English.

You should know where your site lives, who can access it, and how to move it. I use Canadian services where practical, name important exceptions, and keep the important choices in your hands.

You keep control

Your domain stays in your name
Your site files and business materials stay yours
You can take a copy of the site files elsewhere

You get the full picture

Hosting in Canada where practical
Important outside services named plainly
You know which accounts matter and who can access them

Useful for a defined job, honest about the rest.

A good fit

Trades and repair businesses
Small retailers and service businesses
Growers, makers, and food businesses
Independent local professionals
A first website or replacement for an outdated basic site

Not included

Online stores or payment processing
Booking, dispatch, or customer-account systems
Email hosting or mailbox migration
Custom branding or professional photography
Ongoing posting, advertising, or unlimited changes

If the Small-Town Web Starter does not fit, I will say so and may refer you to someone better suited to the job.