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Background

In 1998, the government made it a priority to improve the quality of life of rural Canadians. It introduced the Canadian Rural Partnership (CRP) to promote a co-ordinated, coherent approach to policy and the delivery of federal programs and services to rural citizens.

An Interdepartmental Working Group, consisting of representatives from 30 federal departments and agencies, and Rural Teams working in each province and territory, are responsible for implementing the Partnership. The Rural Secretariat, within Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, provides the overall leadership and coordination for this cross-government approach.

Since 1998, Rural Dialogue sessions have been held with Canadians in all areas of the country with more than 16,000 in all area of the country. The Rural Dialogue helps the government understand local and regional priorities, and provides Canadians in rural, remote and northern communities with an opportunity to influence government policies, programs and services that affect them.

In 2002, the Government of Canada continues to demonstrate its strong support for rural Canada and announced a four-part plan, including the renewal of the Canadian Rural Partnership, a new Community-Capacity Building initiative, a new partnership with the co-operative sector and an accelerated plan for the deployment of broadband internet access to rural and remote communities.

In 2004 Wayne Easter was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food with a special emphasis on Rural Development.

Canadian Rural Partnership

The Canadian Rural Partnership is the key policy instrument supporting federal rural policy efforts. It is about operating within the federal government to ensure that federal programs, policies and activities provide support and address issues of importance to rural communities through:

• the creation of the Interdepartmental Working Group, whose mandate is to co-ordinate the Canadian government's policy development at the national level to ensure that rural issues are taken into consideration;
• the establishment of Rural Teams in each Canadian province and territory, consisting of representatives of federal, provincial and territorial departments and agencies, in some cases;
• the creation of funding program to promote grass-roots community development;
• the Rural Dialogue initiative to give the government a better understanding of rural issues and to provide citizens with a forum for discussion with the governement. Activities in the Rural Dialogue include a rural survey, a series of regional discussion workshops, a national workshop in Belleville (1998), two national conferences (2000 and 2002), four regional conferences in Canada (2001), a national rural youth conference (2003); and many other regional and local activities; ;
• the creation of a national research program to document certain rural socio-economic issues;
• the implementation of the Rural Lens, a tool to assess the impact of federal policies, programs and services on rural communities;
• the dissemination of information on government services, in particular through the Canadian Rural Information Service,a one-stop access, by phone 1 888 757-8725 (toll free), email cris@agr.gc.ca and fax number 1 800 884?9899 (toll free) to information, programs and services of particular interest to rural Canadians; a rural Web site (www.rural.gc.ca) and the Rural and Remote Canada Online at www.rural-canada.ca; a rural exhibits program, a publication describing all government resources available to rural communities, and an accompanying pocket directory.

Rural Team Quebec

Established in 1998, Rural Team Quebec’s members include representatives of some 20 different departments and agencies of the Government of Canada, as well as representatives of key organizations working on rural issues in Quebec, such as Solidarité rurale du Québec, Sociétés d’aide au développement des collectivités (SADCs) [Quebec community futures development corporations], and the Table de concertation des Forums jeunesse régionaux du Québec [Quebec regional youth forums roundtable]:

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Canada Revenue Agency
Canada Economic Development
Canadian Heritage
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Environment Canada
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Health Canada
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
Industry Canada
Justice Canada
Natural Resources Canada
Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada
Public Works and Government Services Canada
Rural Secretariat
Statistics Canada
Status of Women Canada
Transport Canada

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