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Rural Dialogue
Dryden, Ontario
DISCLAIMER
Meeting Particulars
Dryden, Ontario - ENGLISH
June 29, 1998
5:30 - 8:30 pm
Questions
1. A) Rural residents are concerned about the future of their communities.
What are the key strengths of your community as you look to the future?
1. B) What are the biggest challenges that you, your family and your community face as you look to the future?
2. What is preventing you and your community from overcoming these challenges?
3. What organizations, levels of government or others should be involved in working to overcoming these challenges?
4. What role do you see specifically for the federal government in working with you to overcome these challenges?
5. How can federal programs and services better support your community's needs (e.g., are there changes needed in the design, delivery, awareness or accessibility)?
6. What is the best way for the Federal Government to continue to hear the views of rural people on an ongoing basis (e.g., meetings, surveys, polls, newsletters, advisory groups, the Internet, etc.)?
Findings
1. Rural residents are concerned about the future of their communities.
1 A).What are the key strengths of your community as you look to the future?
Strengths
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The people: strong, resourceful, independent
- Dedicated leaders
- Entrepreneurial strength—prepared to take risks
- Skilled workforce
Resources
- Sustainable natural resources
Tourism—conventional adventure and eco-tourism
Lifestyle
- "We're here because we want to be"
1.b) What are the biggest challenges that you, your family and your community face as you look to the future?
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Providing employment opportunities for young people
- Must go away for post secondary education
- Cost of living—fuel, food, transportation
- Lack of media access
- Health care—promotion of wellness and basic sanitary provisions—clean water
- Communications and transportation, infrastructure—basic telephone communications in isolated communities.
2. What is preventing you and your community from overcoming these challenges?
a)What is holding you back?
- Lack of communications infrastructure
- Arbitrary decision making from the south
- Partisan politics
- Medical resources—proper equipment
- Cost of living—transportation (gasoline), communications (telephone services)
- Data collection and use of information in making points
- Foster cooperation (not competition) among northern communities
- Let local organizations identify needs and respond to local problems and opportunities
3. What organizations should be involved in overcoming the challenges?
- All levels of government
- Women's organizations
- Local access to all government programs
- Better linkages with First Nations
- Large resource based corporations
- Need partnerships with large corporations who must be required to reinvest in their communities
- Need "long term" planning and follow up
- Must support creative local solutions
4. What role do you see specifically for the federal government in working with you to overcome these challenges?
Service delivery:
- Adjust taxes to reflect northern cost of living—fuel, transportation, communications
- Must be sensitive to local rural needs not just to national program imperatives
- Program delivery must be "up front and personal" not just computer terminals and "800" phone numbers
- Simplify access to programs
5. How can federal programs and services better support your community's needs (e.g., are there changes needed in the design, delivery, awareness or accessibility)?
- Support small and medium sized businesses
- Eligibility requirements for training programs need to be reflect northern and rural characteristics not just those of southern urban areas
- Community based access to programs
- Recognize the need to support risk training
- More communication and partnership with municipal councils, local businesses and organizations
- Fewer program access points with broader scope of programs
6. What is the best way for the Federal Government to continue to hear the views of rural people on an ongoing bas
is (e.g., meetings, surveys, polls, newsletters, advisory groups, the Internet, etc.)?
- Community forums and meetings such as this one
- Internet information maintained, expanded and simplified
- Long term permanent advisory committees in all communities
- Federal staff that live in our communities
- Use community newspapers
- Don't assume everyone has Internet access
- Must involve First Nations in local community development and activities
DISCLAIMER
All Rural Dialogue session reports on this Canadian Rural Partnership (CRP) web site are included for information purposes only. The views expressed in the Rural Dialogue session reports have not been edited and are those of one or many rural Canadians who attended the Rural Dialogue sessions.
The views expressed in the Rural Dialogue session reports do not necessarily represent the views of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada or any other department or agency of the Government of Canada. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada does not make any warranties, expressed or implied, as to the content and/or use of the Rural Dialogue session reports.
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