Canadian Rural Partnership
Rural Dialogue



2003 Prince Edward Island
Rural Symposium
"Community Matters"

Cornwall, Prince Edward Island
March 6-7, 2003

Publication # 2201E
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2003
Cat. No A22-328/2003E-HTML
ISBN # 0-662-34714-5

This report is a summary of discussions that took place at the 2003 Prince Edward Island (PEI) Rural Symposium, "Community Matters" held in Cornwall, PEI, March 6-7, 2003. No limits were placed on the participants during discussions that took place in brainstorming sessions. 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 do not necessarily represent those of the Government of Canada.

The 2003 PEI Rural Symposium was part of the Rural Dialogue (RD), 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 (CRP) Initiative. The CRP is designed to support rural community development by adopting new approaches and practices that respond to rural, remote and northern priorities. 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 Symposium's five key objectives were: 1) to provide an opportunity for rural citizens to network with representatives of other communities; 2) to give an update on the CRP and the PEI Rural Team; 3) to ensure rural youth involvement in a provincial dialogue; 4) to enable rural citizens to express issues and concerns; and 5) to provide an opportunity for rural citizens to dialogue with the PEI Rural Team. Also, participants had the opportunity to participate in various workshops and panel discussions which are outlined throughout Section 3 according to their topics.

Expected outcomes of this event were for participants: to better understand the CRP, community development programs and how to access government information; to network and share ideas and lessons learned on common issues; and to be better prepared to address their community issues.

The event brought together 55 past RD participants, which included ten youth, rural citizens, organizations and representatives of community groups, who have benefited from various CRP funding programs. The event was sponsored by the Rural Secretariat and the PEI Rural Team, which includes representatives from several federal departments, provincial ministries and rural communities, and was organized by the PEI Rural Dialogue Committee.

(A) Access to Government of Canada programs and services

• "Navigating Government Info" was a workshop on government programs and services at which federal and provincial government representatives demonstrated how to access information on government Web sites.
• The lack of access to the Internet in isolated rural communities was identified as a challenge to obtain needed information.
• Community volunteers are experiencing challenges to complete government application forms and to find the information requested by governments on those forms. Simplifying these forms for rural citizens was identified as a solution; however, it was recognized as a challenge for government.
• Participants expressed interest in receiving more information on programs and services from both the federal and provincial governments at a future dialogue. It was suggested that a booth with information from various government departments be displayed at the next event.

(B) Opportunities, programs and services for rural youth

• "Voices of Youth - A part of our communities" was the theme of a panel discussion with the following four panellists: Chris MacBeath, 4-H and Youth Agriculture Education Enhancement Program Coordinator, PEI 4-H Council; Dawne Knockwood, Youth Coordinator, PEI Native Council; Andrew Godfrey, University Student, former Dialogue participant (selected at large); and Angela MacDonald, Coordinator, Triangle Club Montague.
• The four panellists shared their points of view regarding youth involvement in rural communities.
• Rural communities are very anxious to attract youth membership to their organizations. The rural youth participants expressed that they are involved in their communities and want to continue their involvement.
• Rural youth are usually appointed to various community organizations as a "token" youth, which can be a valid first step.
• Rural youth would appreciate active roles along with responsibilities on these committees to ensure the youth point of view is recognized and validated.
• The youth participants indicated an interest in continuing the dialogue amongst rural youth and community leaders.

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

• Participants were informed about a leadership and skills development project being delivered in partnership with the PEI Rural Team and the PEI Community Development Bureau.
• Community groups can also access workshops on community and skills development for volunteers. These workshops, an initiative of the PEI Department of Development and Technology, are being offered to any rural community interested in hosting a session. The Rural Secretariat will facilitate the delivery of these workshops to the rural communities.
• Access to funding programs to train rural community volunteers is needed.

(D) Access to health care

• "Healthy Communities" was a workshop offered by John Martin (coordinator of the West Prince TeleHospice project) which provided an opportunity to share lessons learned about an innovative method to provide quality health care in rural communities.
• The TeleHospice project, one of the first of its kind in Canada, is an example of a home-based tele-technology helping to provide palliative care to residents of the West Prince region. This project was funded in partnership with the province and the CRP Pilot Projects Initiative undertaken in 2000.
• Health Community Centres are acknowledged as good models which are, however, difficult to implement.
• It was also recognized that bringing health care services closer to rural communities is a challenge for the government.

(E) Partnerships for rural community development

• "Strengthening Our Rural Communities" was the theme of a panel discussion with the following three panellists: Bill Buell, Manager PEI Community Development Bureau; Scott Harper, Economic Development Officer, ACOA; and David Daughton, Co-ordinator, Regional Co-Operative Development Centre.
• The panel's objective was to encourage partnerships amongst rural community groups and with governments by presenting different partnership possibilities and providing rural community leaders a better understanding of government's partnership role in community development.
• Participants indicated that networking amongst rural communities is very beneficial. They would like the existing PEI network to be expanded to include other Atlantic provinces as this would encourage thinking outside the box. It was noted that rural communities are applying the lessons other communities have learned and that an expanded network would increase their wealth of knowledge. It was suggested that this topic be discussed at a future dialogue and that representatives from other provinces be invited to PEI Rural Dialogues and other events to facilitate the development of a pan-regional network.
• The Symposium reflected on the importance of the role rural Canadians play in the development of our communities.
• The CRP's role in supporting rural community development and ensuring that rural Canadians enhance their quality of life in rural Canada was promoted throughout the Dialogue.
• Three community groups shared lessons learned about their community projects which CRP was a funding partner:

The Mi'kmaq - Acadian Culture Education Exchange Program: This Aboriginal initiative was undertaken to re-establish the lost relationship between the Mi'kmaq and Acadian people by sharing and celebrating their cultures in six specific projects.

Making History: Building Futures: PEI Women of the Twentieth Century was a research project that highlighted the accomplishments of PEI women in arts, culture and entertainment.

Community Use of Basin Head Lagoon: A socio-economic study was done to determine the impact of the "Basin Head Marine Protected Area" project on the small rural community of Basin Head.

Volunteerism in communities

• One common challenge facing a number of rural communities is the recruitment of volunteers for rural community councils. The volunteers find themselves stretched to the limit given the high demand for their services within their communities.

Water quality

• The water quality in rural communities continues to be a major concern for rural citizens. It was noted that there have been a few cases where bacteria forms were found in the drinking water and that boil orders had been placed on communities. It was also mentioned that the provincial government has been monitoring the water quality in different areas throughout the province.

Buffer zones for farmers

• There are increasing concerns amongst farmers regarding the buffer zones (the governments' response to soil erosion in rivers and streams) being imposed on them by governments. It was expressed that the farming community is willing to do its part; however, it feels that imposing restrictions on buffer zones is not the solution to address this issue. Municipal councillors (volunteers) who must respond to questions from citizens in their communities should be well-informed on these issues and be provided the necessary resources to meet these challenges.

Participants were pleased with the 2003 PEI Rural Symposium "Community Matters" and its components - two workshops and two panel discussions.

They expressed interest in receiving more information on government programs and services, and in building an expanded network to include rural communities throughout the Atlantic provinces. Youth participants indicated they would like to continue the dialogue amongst rural youth and community leaders.

To address the volunteerism issue, the PEI Rural Team will undertake the following actions: identify three rural communities who have this issue in common; create a working group with the communities and potential partners who can assist in finding solutions; and develop a strategic plan for this working group.

To ensure the youth's point of view is presented and validated in rural community groups, the PEI Rural Team will: create a Rural Youth Network that will provide youth an opportunity to be visible and involved; and will develop a strategy. The PEI Rural Team would also ensure rural youth are involved in the process.

To increase involvement of community volunteers in the Dialogue process, a number of actions were identified: increase the PEI Rural Team membership by including community representatives; involve community representatives on working groups and task teams; and utilize the PEI Rural Team's Web site to promote events and report on dialogues.

[ Français | Contact Us | Help | Search | Canada Site ] [ Home | News Releases | Key Rural Initiatives | Site Map | Publications ]