Canadian Rural Partnership
Rural Dialogue
Town Hall Meeting Report



"Rural and Urban Communities Working Together With Our Youth to Build Stronger Alberta Communities"

Edmonton, Alberta
November 18, 2002

Publication 2153/E
Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2002
Cat. No. A22-277/2002E-IN
ISBN 0-662-33195-8

• Population-based funding formulae, due to economies of scale, disadvantage smaller and more remote communities. This disadvantage is increasing as populations shift to urban areas to a degree where some communities are no longer sustainable.
• Smaller rural communities have difficulty doing their part financially in cost-sharing arrangements with other levels of government.
• Transportation expenses should be factored into the cost of program delivery to ensure access by all, especially the youth and the elderly.
• There is a perception that government shifts funding from existing programs to new programs without fully considering the success of the established programs and the continued needs.
• Government should discontinue ineffective programs; those that meet community needs should continue to receive funding.
• It was pointed out that some federal programs, such as the Community Futures Program, are now in their second generation of funding.

• Stemming the flow of young people out of rural communities is a major concern and encouraging youth to return to their rural home communities after completing post-secondary education is a challenge.
• Young people raised in rural areas will stay if they feel they have an economic and social future. Increased local education and employment opportunities will contribute to retaining young people in rural areas. Most post-secondary education resources, however, are centralized in urban areas, and lack of services and facilities in rural areas discourage youth from seeking rural employment opportunities.
• For youth to feel they have a future in rural areas, access to capital, a competitive business environment, infrastructure and quality of life issues, such as lifelong learning and health care, are challenges that need to be addressed.
• In many rural aboriginal communities, the proportion of young people is increasing dramatically. Government must address their issues.
• Consideration should be given to developing a scholarship program designed to encourage graduating professionals, such as doctors and pharmacists, to return to their rural home areas.

• Young people are not only leaders of tomorrow but also of today. Meaningful opportunities that engage them in their communities need to be created in rural areas.
• Programs should help young people develop into rural adults who feel they are genuinely part of their communities.
• Capturing an enthusiasm for rural life and building leadership and communication skills amongst youth are necessary for youth to stay and become future leaders. To achieve this, the gap must be bridged between youth and adult leaders in small communities.
• As an example, one community bridged this gap and provided business skill development for youth by supporting the start up of a small business operated by youth. This venture was supported by local business people through mentorship, and the town provided a small subsidy.
• The Town of Beaumont has bridged this gap by including youth in decision-making and by creating a youth council to bring youth's perspective on matters such as recreation. Youth are also represented on the recreational planning board.
• The Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario's (FedNor) Youth Internship Program paid the salaries of post-secondary graduates to obtain a job with a host organization in rural communities. Through this program, young people gained experience and leadership skills. Some 90 per cent of youth interns found full-time employment upon completing the program and the vast majority stayed in northern Ontario.

• Infrastructure is vital to the rural lifeline as the availability of services contributes to attracting and retaining individuals and businesses to rural areas.
• Over the last decade there has been a drawing back of resources from the rural areas, making it difficult to retain youth and businesses.
• The costly delivery of high-speed technology, such as Alberta SuperNet, beyond urban centres illustrates the problems concerning infrastructure in rural areas.
• Increased funding for parks and recreation, from the two levels of government, would improve the quality of life in both urban and rural communities.
• Solutions regarding this key issue ideally should involve partnerships with different governments, including municipalities, and a long-term commitment from all levels of government. To this end, both the Government of Alberta and Government of Canada have worked together on infrastructure programs. In 2001 the Government of Canada announced a strategic infrastructure program. Details of this 10-year program, which was included in the 2002 Speech from the Throne, are expected in the spring of 2003.
• As well, the Alberta government has included a number of its municipalities in the province's infrastructure program. While this move to partner is well regarded, consideration must be given to small municipalities' capacity to raise their portion in cost-sharing programs.

• Public policies could be developed to overcome obstacles to prosperity in rural areas such as population density and distance from markets.
• Young people interested in becoming entrepreneurs should network with the local business community to gain information and practical experience. Such opportunities are available and are not dependent upon critical mass but rather on the willingness of local business people to teach and mentor future entrepreneurs.
• Big business should be part of rural-urban dialogues. A regional approach to business development is needed that considers and includes both rural and urban areas. Research facilities, such as the food processing research laboratories in Leduc, should be available both in the north and the south of Alberta.

• To retain youth in rural areas, education should be available locally.
• Government help is required to extend Internet services available, at affordable rates, outside urban boundaries.
• Government help is also required to improve access to existing distance-learning programs.
• Determining what urban communities can do to help rural people access educational services should be explored.

• Differentiating and arranging activities and organizations along rural-urban lines has merit in that it allows for greater focus. However, those same organizational lines are also part of the problem.
• Rural and urban areas are competing for the same resources. Co-operating in the pursuit of the same goals would benefit both. An illustration of this is the Iron Horse Trail in northeastern Alberta. After rail service was discontinued in the region in 1999, 10 municipalities formed a company to keep the transportation corridor operating. Roadways throughout the area bypass the small towns but the Iron Horse Trail goes right through them, bringing residents and visitors to their destinations. This regional co-operation has created partnerships between generations and amongst various groups and kept several communities alive.
• Ways to increase a sense of community in the cities should be explored.
• Dialogue is essential between rural and urban communities to promote understanding, eliminate competition and encourage co-operation for the betterment of all. At the same time, ongoing dialogue between communities and all levels of government is vital. Rural citizens must let government know what the barriers are to keeping rural communities vibrant and growing, so that these impediments can be addressed.

• The question on whether the Government of Canada was considering developing a communications program that builds the profile of agriculture in the minds of urban citizens, to improve the interface between urban and rural communities, was raised.
• It is necessary for rural and urban citizens alike to get the message out to all Canadians that investing in rural Canada is an investment in the whole country. Rural citizens need to express this clearly, both through personal contact and by including agriculture in the school curriculum (as is currently done at the elementary level in Alberta and will soon be done in secondary schools). All Canadians need to be aware of agriculture's importance to the general economy and particularly of the role of agriculture-based industries in providing employment in the cities.

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