Advocate lost | Employees of an agency that once had a $20 million budget are given notice
The federal government has scrapped the 15-year-old rural secretariat within Agriculture Canada with no fanfare or announcement.
In May during a series of job cuts, the department gave notice to the remaining 13 employees of the secretariat that funded rural research, acted as a rural policy advocate within government and worked with rural communities.
News of the demise of the secretariat was not well received by rural advocates.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities approved an emergency resolution calling on the federal government to work with FCM to develop “a practical, accountable policy framework for rural Canada.”
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The resolution noted the work the Rural Secretariat has done since 1998 to coordinate federal policies and programs “to ensure they respond to and support the needs of rural communities since 1998.”
David Marit, chair of the FCM rural caucus and president of the Sask-atchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, said the loss of any rural voice in the federal government is a setback.
“I think it did important work and gave us a contact,” he said.
“A key issue is that the political system is moving toward more urban domination so in rural Canada we are concerned about what happens now.”
Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Ron Bonnett said the secretariat’s role in managing rural issues “has not been a priority for the government in the past few years. The concern I have is that the need is still there but I just don’t see Agriculture Canada making it a priority.”
He said the Conservatives have been redefining the role of government and reducing its scope for years and that could be the motivation for ending the secretariat.
A year ago, the Rural Secretariat had 92 employees and a budget of more than $20 million.
Earlier this year it lost responsibility for co-operative policy when the co-ops secretariat was transferred from Agriculture Canada to Industry Canada.
When contacted for an explanation of why the Rural Secretariat was disbanded, Agriculture Canada re-sponded with a statement that stated the policy branch continues to use a “rural lens” when developing policies.
It suggested the secretariat’s work was done.
“The Rural Secretariat has laid the groundwork for communities to more effectively interact and take advantage of opportunities on their own,” said the statement.
“The agriculture portfolio continues to invest heavily in providing essential programs and services to farmers and the agriculture industry, much of which is based in rural communities across Canada. All departments are contributing to the prosperity of rural Canada by delivering programs and services that meet their needs.”
