Hans Cunningham, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, says rural Canada deserves its own minister.
Over the years, Ottawa’s rural policy has looked more and more like a field without a farmer.
For two generations, federal departments delivered new policies like sacks of seed and fertilizer, but no one was responsible for putting the pieces together to produce superior results.
The federal government must quickly change its approach.
It goes without saying that rural Canada is at the heart of Canada’s economy. Despite the vital role our rural communities play in our economy and culture, they are struggling to secure a future in the country they helped build.
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All party leaders committed to support rural Canadians in the recent federal election: plans to improve access to family doctors, support for volunteer firefighters, national food policies and new agricultural support programs.
Rural Canada is well-represented in the House of Commons and the government has never abandoned rural Canada to market forces.
Good intentions aside, one government after another has been unable to turn its rural policies into a tangible plan to strengthen rural communities. Silos within the federal bureaucracy have forced policymakers to try to fix rural problems one region, one industry or one issue at a time.
Rural Canada is disappearing. Today, our rural communities represent less than 20 percent of Canadians. Rural Canada attracts only five percent of new immigrants to Canada.
Rural, remote and northern communities are caught in a downward spiral. Their shrinking local tax bases, limited revenue and deteriorating infrastructure limit their ability to provide basic services.
Without these services, they cannot retain residents or attract new business and the investment required to expand the Canadian economy and provide new employment opportunities outside of urban Canada.
What rural Canada needs is strong, sustainable communities to anchor new investment and opportunity. Building those communities requires changes in Ottawa.
More than a dozen federal departments are responsible for different rural issues. There is a growing danger that the best interests of rural communities will be lost in a web of well-meaning but unco-ordinated policies, programs and regulations.
Federal officials need the tools and the mandate to push a rural agenda that crosses all policy areas, including economic development, internet access, infrastructure investments, air routing, health services and environmental regulations.
The government’s rural secretariat is designed to do that, but it lacks resources and the dedicated link to the federal cabinet that is needed to do the job.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is asking the prime minister to give rural Canada a dedicated voice in Ottawa.
Specifically, the federation is calling for the appointment of a new minister for rural Canada, which would ensure all departments and officials develop policies, programs and services in a co-ordinated manner that respond to the needs of rural Canadians and help Canada benefit from our rural regions’ vital contribution.
To fulfill this mandate, the rural minister must have the authority and resources to put a national vision for rural, remote and northern Canada on the political agenda.
The minister must move this vision forward with Canadians, with Parliament, at the cabinet table and, most importantly, with well-meaning Ottawa officials.
This new minister must ensure the rural secretariat has adequate resources and more influence on government priorities.
A federal cabinet minister championing rural issues, with the political backing of the prime minister and Parliament, can help stop the rural downward spiral.
Most importantly, the minister can ensure rural Canada shares in the benefits and prosperity it produces for all Canadians.
