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Canadian Rural Partnership
Rural Team Saskatchewan 
News Feature - Rural Saskatchewan Meets to Find Answers
Developing a new attitude. Making the most of opportunities. Finding ways to keep youth from moving away. Bridging the gap between Aboriginals and non-aboriginals. These were the main themes that emerged at a recent meeting of 40 rural residents from across Saskatchewan who got together in Saskatoon to exchange information and ideas about rural sustainability. The event, called Rural Dialogue, was sponsored by the federal government's Rural Secretariat to gather information at the grassroots level that will influence government decisions on rural development. People came from all over the province – from La Ronge to Ponteix – and spent the day discussing topics which they themselves raised. "There are lots of opportunities in rural Saskatchewan, but we won't make them grow if we have a negative attitude," said Marc Topola, general manager of Prairie Rubber Corporation, a tire recycling plant in Assiniboia. "We have to be aggressive about going after these opportunities." Wayne Zimmer, an economic development consultant, said that although agriculture is an important part of the provincial culture and economy, rural Saskatchewan has to be positive and go beyond primary production in order to grow. "We have originality, innovation – all of that," he said. "And now we need to bring these to fruition." Another participant, Louis Hradecki of Albertville, who is the vice chairman of the Saskatchewan Council for Community Development, also stressed the need for rural communities to take the initiative in moving ahead. "We need to see the positive aspects of what we have and move forward," he said. "We can take aspects of government policies that apply to us and work with them, but we can't rely on government to do it all." A participant who wanted to remain anonymous said rural survival depends a great deal on reversing the stigma attached to young people who choose to stay in their communities as opposed to leaving for greener pastures. Quite often, she said, the ones that stay behind are considered by their peers to be failures. "It all boils down to values," she said. "Is success measured by a better quality of life or by the amount of money you make?" One of the discussion groups focused on the need to break down barriers between First Nations and non-aboriginal communities. Group members offered suggestions that included creating cultural awareness within rural communities, helping develop Aboriginal youth for the rural labour force, and making efforts to promote business between the cultures. Another group talked about rural Saskatchewan 20 years from now, and suggested that this needs to be a topic of discussion across the province. People need to talk in order to come up with a common vision, said group members, and they need to embrace the future by realizing things are changing. Other topics that were discussed included training young people, promoting new businesses, celebrating successes, promoting success stories, and building small-town economies. People who attended the event took the first steps in creating a network to facilitate new ideas for growth in their communities. "We all networked together to see what worked for other communities," said Connie Martin, a participant from Shellbrook. "We took back positive experiences that might work in our communities." Rural Dialogues have been ongoing since 1998, and have taken place in many locations across Canada.
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