Canadian Rural Partnership - Town hall meeting report


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Canadian Rural Partnership
Rural Dialogue
Town Hall Meeting Report

Line

"A Dialogue on the Quality of Life
in Our Rural and Urban Communities"

Middle Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia
October 25, 2002

Publication 2149/E
Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2002
Cat. No. A22-275/2002E-IN
ISBN 0-662-33157-5

This summary report is available on the following Web site:
www.rural.gc.ca/dialogue/reports_e.phtml.
For further information on the Rural Dialogue,
please call 1-888-781-2222 (toll free number).

Message from the Honourable Andy Mitchell

A successful nation is one that is built upon both a strong rural and urban Canada. The Government of Canada is committed to working with Canadians, organizations, and other levels of government to ensure the long-term sustainability of our rural and urban communities. Our success will ensure that our youth will see rural Canada as a place of opportunity, where they can have access to a high quality of life and have a future for themselves and their families.

I recently had the pleasure of hosting the town hall meeting entitled "A Dialogue on the Quality of Life in Our Rural and Urban Communities" on October 25, 2002 in the community of Middle Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia. This was the first of a series of five town hall meetings being held across the country in 2002-2003.

The event provided a forum for local and regional community leaders and members to discuss how rural and urban Canadians can work together to build a better quality of life for all Canadians. The meeting featured a question and answer session in which participants had a chance to speak directly about the challenges they face and future opportunities for their communities.

The themes and issues discussed at the Nova Scotia town hall are consistent with those heard through the Rural Dialogue initiative. Since its launch in 1998, several Rural Dialogue activities involving over 14,500 citizens from rural, remote and northern regions have been held across the country. These activities help communities identify their goals and assets, as well as help the Government of Canada understand and react to local and regional issues.

Our rural and urban communities share many common priorities and can together create unique and innovative solutions to address issues that are important to them. The Government of Canada is committed to providing the necessary tools that will allow citizens to build strong and vibrant communities.

Andy Mitchell
Secretary of State (Rural Development)
(Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario)

1. FOREWORD

2. INTRODUCTION
3. COMMON RURAL AND URBAN ISSUES LINKED TO THE RURAL PRIORITY AREAS
(A) Access to Government of Canada programs and services
(B) Access to financial resources for business and community development
(C) Opportunities, programs and services for youth
(D) Community capacity-building, leadership and skills development
(E) Access to health care
(F) Partnerships for community development

4. OTHER KEY ISSUES/RELEVANT TOPICS
5. CONCLUSIONS AND NEXT STEPS

1. FOREWORD

This report is a summary of discussions that took place at the town hall meeting entitled "A Dialogue on the Quality of Life in Our Rural and Urban Communities" held in Middle Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia, on October 25, 2002. Following brief presentations by speakers and the Secretary of State for Rural Development, the Honourable Andy Mitchell, participants were invited to share their comments and questions. In order to present a true report of the free-ranging discussions, recommendations made by participants that fall outside federal jurisdiction are also included. Views expressed by participants do not necessarily represent those of the Government of Canada. The report also provides selected examples of existing initiatives by the Government of Canada that address some aspects of the issues raised.

2. INTRODUCTION

The Nova Scotia town hall meeting was part of the Rural Dialogue, an ongoing, two-way discussion between the Government of Canada and Canadians from rural, remote and northern regions. Launched in 1998, the Rural Dialogue is a key citizen-engagement component of the Canadian Rural Partnership Initiative. The Dialogue process helps the Government of Canada to understand local and regional priorities, and provides rural, remote and northern citizens with an opportunity to influence Government of Canada policies, programs and services that affect them. The town hall meeting was designed to continue this dialogue and expand it to include citizens from urban communities. The objective was to increase the understanding and awareness of the interdependency and joint contributions of rural and urban communities to Canada's prosperity.

The town hall in Nova Scotia stemmed from the commitment made by the Honourable Andy Mitchell, Secretary of State (Rural Development) (Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario), to host a series of five town hall events across Canada in 2002-2003 to identify common priorities for urban and metro-adjacent communities, and to discuss opportunities for collaboration on community development.

The town hall brought together rural and urban citizens and stakeholders, members of community organizations from the Halifax area, and municipal and Government of Canada representatives to share their views on the quality of life in their communities. The event was sponsored by the Rural Secretariat and Rural Team-Nova Scotia, which includes representatives from several federal departments, provincial ministries and rural communities. Other partners involved in this event were the Nova Scotia Economic Development, Environment Canada, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Canadian Heritage and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

The event was facilitated by Ron Robichaud and included presentations by the Secretary of State, the Honourable Andy Mitchell, Renee Lyons, and Fred Morley. In his opening remarks, the Secretary of State stressed the interconnections and interdependencies between rural and urban communities and reinforced the need for dialogue to increase the understanding of the role and contribution of each type of community to the success of our nation. "A strong Canada is made up of a strong rural and a strong urban component", said the Secretary of State. Renee Lyons, PhD., Director of the Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre at Dalhousie University in Halifax, focussed on the not-so-obvious similarities between rural and urban communities as well as their current and possible inter-dependencies. Health, transportation, pollution, tourism, migration are areas that interest and affect both rural and urban citizens. Fred Morley, Vice President and Chief Economist of the Greater Halifax Partnership, addressed the common challenges and opportunities associated with growth, from both rural and urban perspectives. Mr. Morley also highlighted the advantages of growth, such as: the attraction and retention of skilled people, greater leverage for existing infrastructure assets, and increased prosperity.

3. COMMON RURAL AND URBAN ISSUES LINKED TO THE RURAL PRIORITY AREAS

The Nova Scotia town hall attracted a total of 60 people coming from metro-adjacent, heartland and coastal areas (62 %) and urban (38 %) areas. Many participants took the opportunity to ask questions, share suggestions, and provide input and comments regarding the quality of life in their communities.

Topics raised at the town hall meeting are consistent with several of the 11 priority areas identified by rural Canadians through the Rural Dialogue and outlined in the Federal Framework for Action in Rural Canada. To ensure a comprehensive account of the discussion, topics that go beyond the rural priority areas have also been reported and are found under section 4. The following is a summary of the discussions related to the priority areas and selected examples of government initiatives that currently address some aspects of the issues raised. These examples are boxed to set them apart from the information shared at the town hall meeting.

(A) Access to Government of Canada programs and services

Rural communities want and need to establish a more regular and positive dialogue with the Government of Canada by continuing to hold events like the town hall meeting and the on-going dialogue with rural citizens.
The federal and provincial governments have to stop thinking that solutions that work well in an urban context will do the same in a rural context. Issues need to be addressed differently. Even if the objectives are the same, the process has to be different.
Access to federal programs is too complicated and time-consuming for volunteer-based organizations in rural areas. There is a need for a 21st century way of delivering programming and not 19th century tools for program delivery.
The cumulative effect of policies needs to be addressed and the Rural Lens should to be utilized efficiently so that policies are built in healthy, rural communities.
There are great programs developed for agriculture-based industries. The Government of Canada has developed the Agriculture Policy Framework as a response to a need for long-term vision and planning for the agriculture sector. It is a strategic approach for sustaining agriculture into the future, in a global environment.

Regional development agencies are being used to help deliver services. For instance, the Atlantic Investment Partnership, Strategic Communities Investment Fund and the Infrastructure Canada Program are being implemented by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) in Atlantic Canada.

There are 229 Service Canada in-person access centres across the country with 11 serving Nova Scotia (Cheticamp, Dartmouth, Halifax, Inverness, Louisbourg, Petit-de-Gras, Port Hawkesbury, Port Hood, St. Peter's and Whycocomagh). These centres provide Canadians with convenient, one-stop access to more than 1,000 Government of Canada programs and services. Canadians in all communities also continue to be served by the 1 800 O-Canada telephone service and the Government of Canada Web site www.canada.gc.ca. Printed copies of program directories are also available.

Development and Program Officers are also located in local community offices of Regional Development Authorities, Canada/Nova Scotia Business Centres, ACOA, Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC), the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and Members of Parliament have local constituency offices which all provide assistance in finding the right programs and services.

(B) Access to financial resources for business and community development

Rural communities suffer due to a lack of services from large financial institutions. The decision makers in those institutions need to understand the economy within which rural businesses are operating.
The Government of Canada offers programs which are available to rural businesses, such as ACOA's Seed Capital ConneXion Program for Young Entrepreneurs.

The Canadian Rural Partnership works closely with Regional Development Authorities, Canada/Nova Scotia Business Centres, Community Business Development Centres, ACOA and Industry Canada to promote community economic development, entrepreneurship and access to capital.

The Canadian Rural Partnership's own Rural Development Initiative was developed to assist rural communities respond to community development challenges by supporting the development and adoption of long-term, sustainable rural development strategies that will strengthen their ability to build local solutions to local challenges.

(C) Opportunities, programs and services for youth

Rural youth need to have an economic and social future to choose to stay in their communities. The government needs to work with them, as leaders of today, to find solutions.
The government should implement a rural internship program across Canada, where students in a variety of fields could help communities plan and conduct research related to policy, based on an understanding of the need and reality of rural communities.
Universities need to be involved in decreasing youth out-migration. The Rural Lens needs to be applied to universities and other educational institutions so that they can better train and orient students towards the opportunities and advantages of rural life.

The Government of Canada has a number of programs and initiatives available to youth from both rural and urban areas. Some examples are: the Nova Scotia Economic Development's Youth Entrepreneur Scholarship (YES), ACOA's Young Entrepreneur Connexion program, the Canadian Young Farmers Forum, and several internship programs, here and abroad, developed specifically for youth.

The Canadian Rural Partnership's Pilot Projects Initiative has provided $1.7 million to fund 48 projects aimed at developing youth leadership skills. In addition, $3.6 million from FedNor's Youth Internship Initiative helped nearly 150 recent post-secondary school graduates gain education-related work experience in rural communities. By working with businesses and community organizations, young people gained experience and leadership skills.

The Rural Secretariat has gathered research information, in partnership with several federal departments and agencies, to assist in responding to challenges of youth out-migration and retention. In April 2002, the Secretary of State further announced the launch of a National Rural Youth Network, and a National Rural Youth Conference to be held in 2003.

Rural Team-Nova Scotia has a Youth Engagement Strategy which calls for a provincial partnership network for organizing community-based, youth-led action teams in Nova Scotia.

(D) Community capacity-building, leadership and skills development

There are some challenges in finding people within rural resource-based communities, in particular agriculture, who are trained or interested in working in this sector. Consequently, jobs available within communities are often filled by people from the outside.
One of the objectives of the Rural Communities Impacting Policy project is to develop training sessions to assist people in communities in developing and designing projects. This uses the bottom-up approach.
With ageing communities and youth out-migration, it is getting more difficult to recruit and retain volunteers. They are getting tired or burned out. Small amounts of money can provide an amazing incentive for people to do things. The Government of Canada recently signed a voluntary sector accord in recognition of the importance of the voluntary sector to the Canadian economy. The Secretary of State also announced $56,600 for the second phase of the Nova Scotia Rural Volunteer Project, through the Canadian Rural Partnership's Rural Development Initiative.
With the centralisation of many services to urban centres, citizens from rural communities are often under the impression that they have little influence on what is happening in their communities. As a result, they either lose interest or do not get involved in their community.

On October 8, 2002, the Government of Canada reinforced its support for volunteers by announcing the Voluntary Sector Initiative (VSI), which is a joint undertaking between the voluntary sector and the Government of Canada. It is a unique opportunity to focus on the voluntary sector as one of the three pillars of Canadian society, equal in importance to the public and private sectors.

Human Resources Development Canada has developed the Community Development Handbook, the Community Capacity Building Facilitator's Guide and the Community Capacity Building Internet Site (http://www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/community/menu/index.shtml) to help communities build their capacity. In addition, the Government of Canada's 2003 Community Capacity Building Initiative aims to provide rural and remote Canada with the tools they need to sustain healthy communities so that they can continue to contribute to the nation's prosperity.

(E) Access to health care

One common issue for both rural and urban areas is that elderly people are living alone and in isolation. We need to address this issue; the solutions may be different, but it is still a common priority for both areas.

In the 1999 Federal Budget, $50 million over three years for "Innovations in Rural and Community Health" was announced and identified rural and remote care as a priority. In 2001, a Ministerial Advisory Council on Rural Health was established to provide independent expert advice on how the Government of Canada can improve the health of rural communities and individuals. Also, the Health Transition Fund is funding 141 pilot and evaluation projects dealing with home care, pharmacare, primary care and integrated service delivery.

(F) Partnerships for community development

Both urban and rural areas need to think "smart growth", which means creating jobs, economic activity and growth and preserving what is valuable in both urban and rural areas.
When thinking about sustainability and quality of life, it is essential that partnerships be created. Government needs to partner with the agriculture industry, community health boards, etc.

The Government of Canada is actively participating in the Nova Scotia Sustainable Communities Initiative. It is a joint initiative with the Government of Nova Scotia and the municipalities, First Nations and community organizations within two major watersheds planning areas - the Annapolis Valley and the Bras d'Or Lakes. The Initiative is focussed on collaborative partnerships for integrated community planning and development.

The Canadian Rural Partnership Pilot Projects supported 30 innovative partnership projects for community development in Nova Scotia over the past four years, and leveraged $3.6 million of partnership contributions for the $1.1 million invested.

In June 2000, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's (AAFC) Canadian Adaptation and Rural Development (CARD) Fund contributed $500,000 towards a project examining the barriers to the growth of agriculture co-operatives, with the aim of helping the sector better compete. In 2002, AAFC also announced that it was providing $968,000 in CARD funding towards a project aimed at helping ensure the long-term competitiveness and vitality of Canada's agriculture co-operative sector.

The Government of Canada is also pursuing its on-going dialogue with citizens as well as partnering with the agriculture industry and the community health boards, among others, to find solutions to community priorities.

4. OTHER KEY ISSUES/RELEVANT TOPICS

Citizens with a disability

Nova Scotia has 21% of its population living with a disability, which is the highest in the country. They need to be part of the dialogue and the discussion, and have to feel welcome.
Citizens with a disability represent an incredible potential within a rural community and it is important to increase their economic independence and educational opportunities. The fact that someone lives with a disability should not preclude that person from exercizing a citizenship right.
Should the location where you choose to live be the determinant to your access for publicly funded healthcare? That is a question Mr. Romanow is going to address in his report and it has to be part of the debate.

The Government of Canada has introduced a number of programs to help people with disabilities living in both rural and urban areas. These programs include the following: Employability Assistance for People with Disabilities (HRDC), Opportunities Fund for People with Disabilities (HRDC) and HRDC's Disability WebLinks: a collaborative federal/provincial/territorial project undertaken by Ministers responsible for Social Services and developed in consultation with representatives from the community (www.disabilityweblinks.ca).

Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol has received much media coverage lately. It is an issue that is important not only for oil industries, but also for traditional resource-based industries.
Climate change impacts the environment and the quality of life for both urban and rural communities. It is therefore important that they are represented and consulted in the decision-making process.

The Government of Canada has been consulting with provinces, industries and other stakeholders on finalizing the draft plan, to ensure that it will be a "Made in Canada" plan which is sensitive to every region and sector.

5. CONCLUSION AND NEXT STEPS

There is much interest by rural and urban citizens in working together. Opportunities do exist for partnerships between the urban area of Halifax and the adjacent and surrounding rural communities. Common growth and development challenges are faced in the social, cultural, health, economic and environmental fields. A collaborative strategy would serve to facilitate joint action based on smart growth, environmental stewardship and mutual benefit.

This first town hall meeting was an important initial step in starting a discussion between urban and rural citizens on their quality of life and on related issues. The discussions will continue with the four subsequent town hall meetings. At the conclusion of the town hall series in the winter of 2003, an analysis of priorities shared by rural and urban communities and strategies for collaboration suggested by participants in the town hall meetings will be prepared and will be available on the rural Web site: www.rural.gc.ca.

To obtain printed copies of town hall reports or for further information on the Rural Dialogue, please call 1 888 781-2222 (toll-free number).

Date Modified: 2003 01 28

Important Notices

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Middle Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia October 25, 2002