Chair of the PM's External Advisory
Committee on Cities and Communities Mike
Harcourt
Founding member of GreenpeaceDr.
Patrick Moore
Chair of the Standing Committee on
Agriculture and ForestrySenator Joyce Fairburn
Inuit advocate Sheila Watt-Cloutier
Aboriginal advocateChief
Clarence Louis
Chair of Rural-Urban
Policy at Ohio State
UniversityDr. Mark Partridge
The priorities of
rural Canada
Governance
and Sustainability
Restructure power and authority to municipal government
Clearly define levels of
responsibility
Build capacity to address short- and long-term community needs
Institute long-term regional planning
Develop community plans that engage all stakeholders
Always consider a regional approach
Allow for municipal fiscal capacity
Infrastructure
Promote partnerships and cooperation with neighbours
Provide more sustainable funding and training programs
Increase revenues
Reduce the regulatory burden
Make use of new technologies
Pool educational assets
Improve communication and access to services
Showcase quality of life
Economic
Be fiscally responsible and innovative
Meet local needs to retain workers
Provide adequate physical, social and cultural infrastructure
Review appropriate levels of government taxation
Ensure industry development respects community standards
Reduce or eliminate barriers to growth and development
Organize and mobilize resources
Environment
Develop incentives for stewardship practices
Develop and adopt environmentally supportive polices
Reduce emissions through technology
Practice water conservation
Create effective policies and legislation to protect the
environment
Develop local solutions
Develop efficient solid waste strategies
Develop rural solutions for rural Canada
How to build a sustainable rural Canada
1.Increase
cooperation and partnerships among rural municipalities, senior levels of
government, industry, rural stakeholders and Aboriginal communities.
2.Increase
educational opportunities for rural Canadians by reducing the barriers to
access post-secondary opportunities.
3.Increase
high-speed connectivity in rural and remote regions of Canada to
ensure readily available access to critical information and promote
opportunities.
4.Ensure stable,
predictable funding for local and regional governments, not necessarily based
on population.
5.Establish a
federal ministry dealing solely with issues and opportunities of rural and
remote Canada.
6.Establish a rural
network to share best practices for rural economics, infrastructure,
environment and governance across all jurisdictions of Canada.
7.Communicate the messages from the Rural Matters!
symposium to decision makers, rural organizations and community
For more information about Rural Matters or the One Vision, Many Voices report, please contact the
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
