OTTAWA – Members of the large caucus of rural Liberal MPs are getting uneasy about what they see as a bias against rural Canada in the policies of their own government.
During a recent meeting in Kenora, Ont., they vowed to try to make influential government ministers more sensitive to rural concerns.
“I think we agree that rural Canada got hit harder in the last budget than it should have,” said southern Ontario MP and rural caucus chair Bob Speller.
As offices have been closed and programs cut, rural sites are often the first targets, he said. Rural employment centres, unemployment insurance offices and post offices have been stripped from many rural communities in recent years.
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“We have to sensitize the people who make these decisions, who live in big cities, what impact it has on a small community when the Canadian flag is taken down and the doors closed.”
More than 20 MPs from across Canada attended the meeting in northern Ontario. They heard from the Canadian Mining Association and the two national railways, as well as other groups with an interest in rural policy.
When Parliament is sitting, as many as 30 of the more than 100 Liberal MPs with rural constituents gather on Parliament Hill every Tuesday at lunch to discuss their common concerns and occasionally, to grill a minister about policy decisions.
Put on pressure
Speller said before the next budget, they plan to work on finance minister Paul Martin, among others, to try to win a commitment for favorable rural policies. He said the government should make rural economic development a priority in action, as well as in words.
It was a sentiment quickly endorsed last week by Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Jack Wilkinson.
“There’s no doubt that rural development needs more consideration and more resources,” he said in a statement issued by the federation.
Part of the problem, he said, is the lack of rural representation at the cabinet table. Agriculture minister Ralph Goodale is expected to speak for rural Canada, although the policies of many ministers affect rural areas.
The other problem identified by the federation is the lack of bureaucratic support.
Rural issues are dealt with by a small secretariat within Agriculture Canada. Wilkinson said it needs more resources and a higher profile, although he is not advocating a separate rural department.
