A SURVEY released March 13 says 98 percent of rural residents in the
four western provinces rate their quality of life as good or very good.
Those results may come as no surprise to farmers, ranchers and other
rural dwellers, who have chosen their vocation and location for their
own reasons. But how can others reconcile this quality rating with the
“doom and gloom” that often seems to permeate the agricultural industry?
For that, we must look deeper within the survey. We leave it to the
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survey experts to extrapolate, cogitate and fully analyze the data, but
a cursory reading reveals some evident reasons for the high quality of
life rating.
The survey was conducted by the Western Agri-Food Institute, a group
funded by the four western provinces to research and promote western
agriculture and rural development. It shows that 57.6 percent of farm
operations are sole proprietorships.
Rating reason one: the appeal of being your own boss.
The survey shows a high degree of satisfaction with some of life’s
basics – water and air quality. Manitoba and British Columbia rate
their water quality very highly, and Saskatchewan and Alberta slightly
less so. In the four western provinces, 88.5 percent rate water
quality as good or very good.
Regarding air quality, Manitoba and Saskatchewan rate it highly;
Alberta and B.C. slightly less so. Collectively, 93.4 percent of
respondents rated air quality as good or very good.
Rating reason two: The water is generally clean and the air is
generally pure in rural Western Canada.
The survey says western Canadian farmers have lived in the same
community for an average 34.9 years.
Rating reason three: roots.
The survey says more than four out of five rural residents are members
of one community organization or more. About 61 percent of farmers are
members of a farmer organization and close to one out of 10 farmers are
elected officials of local institutions. Further, when asked if, in
their communities, people tended to help each other, 98 percent said a
lot or somewhat.
Rating reason four: A sense of community and the opportunity to
participate in projects that may help others as well as yourself.
The survey says 64.3 percent of rural residents think they have some or
a lot of influence on local economic and political decisions.
Rating reason five: the opportunity and ability to exercise influence
in local decision making.
Beyond the good news on quality of life ratings, the survey provides
food for thought in the area of rural economic development and its
potential for conflict with environmental quality. As an example,
consider proposals to develop intensive livestock operations on the
Prairies and in B.C.
When conflict arises between developers and those who fear harm to the
environment, it is often portrayed as a battle of diametrically opposed
sides. The media, in efforts to report both those sides, contribute to
this idea of polarity. It typically quotes each end of the spectrum,
but those holding opinions in the middle are rarely given voice.
This survey, however, shows us the wide and well-populated middle
ground in such debates.
In a trade-off situation between economic development and environmental
values, the survey says 58 percent of western rural residents would try
to find a compromise. About 34 percent would oppose the project and
eight percent would accept or defend it on the basis of economic
benefits.
Perhaps it’s a simplification, but we’ll say it anyway: that
willingness to compromise shows the importance rural western Canadians
attach to economic development. And it shows they’re willing to find
ways of fitting it into their communities if certain provisions can be
met. That’s good news.
The survey isn’t all sunshine. It’s troubling that in all western
provinces, rural residents strongly agreed that farmers’ children have
to leave the farm to earn a living.
It’s troubling that more than 25 percent of rural residents are
indifferent to local economic development.
It’s troubling that 67.4 percent of Saskatchewan farmers diversified
within the last five years yet their farm incomes didn’t significantly
change.
And in the “some things bear repeating department” the survey says
this: 63.8 percent of rural residents agree that government should give
better support to farmers. Predictably, perhaps, non-farmers were a
little less vehement about that (59.8 percent) than farmers (67.7
percent).
In all, there is much to ponder and much to feel optimistic about
within this survey. In particular, satisfaction with lifestyle and
interest in western economic diversification are building blocks for
the future.
