Federal politicians were vowing last week to make it clear to rural Canadians that their government and politicians care about them.
“I think there still is a perception in rural Canada that it often is forgotten when government makes its plans,” Andy Mitchell, secretary of state for parks, said last week after testifying about rural issues before a Commons committee.
“It is important that government keep rural Canada in mind when policies are created and explained.”
Northern Ontario Liberal Brent St. Denis, chair of the Commons natural resources committee which held hearings on rural issues in the last Parliament, agreed.
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“I think we have a real challenge in rural Canada,” he said. “We want rural Canadians to know there is a commitment. We want them to realize that Ottawa cares.”
To help the cause, the politicians are doing and planning several strategies.
In early February, agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief announced cabinet has agreed that all future federal policies will be “scrutinized through a rural lens” to determine their impact and application to rural Canada.
Vanclief also is co-ordinating a response to a report from the natural resources committee on the need for government action to preserve and revitalize rural Canada.
“That will be an indication of the government’s overall rural strategy,” said Mitchell, who chaired the natural resources committee in the last Parliament as it toured rural Canada and issued its Think Rural report.
The government response is expected to be tabled in Parliament in March or April.
Meanwhile, the committee plans to hold new hearings this spring, once the federal report is published.
“I think we want to institutionalize this, to set aside time each spring to travel, to be visible in rural Canada,” said St. Denis.
He said one issue that should be explored is how to stop the depopulation of rural Canada.
Or maybe the question should be whether the depopulation can be stopped.
“I guess at some point we have to wonder if the exodus is inexorable and if the population is falling below a critical mass where communities begin to disappear,” St. Denis said. “Right now, it is a theoretical question. It soon might not be.”
The issue, Mitchell told the committee, is that government must realize there is a different type of economy in rural Canada which often requires policies and program design. Rural Canada is not simply urban Canada with fewer people.
But he shied away from attempts to pin him down on specific policies.
One Liberal asked if there should be transportation subsidies to move rural products to market.
Mitchell said transportation is a vital issue in rural areas and policies ranging from subsidies to tax breaks for short-line railways must be considered.
Another Liberal asked if the government had an obligation to invest in rural telephone systems so rural businesses have access to the internet.
Mitchell noted the federal government has a policy to help rural communities set up internet sites. However, some areas have party lines or no telephone service and the internet is impossible there.
