B.C. Government Invites Rural Strategy Suggestions

If you’re concerned about the future of rural B.C.’s communities and First Nations, you’ll be interested in the following invitation from B.C. Government to share your ideas and suggestions. Note that the deadline for submissions is February 28.

The B.C. Government is committed to developing a new, long-term, durable Rural Development Strategy that works for all rural British Columbians. The purpose of this new Strategy is to support rural and Indigenous communities build economically resilient and sustainable futures.

Therefore, as an initial step, we are undertaking focussed engagement with Indigenous people and rural British Columbians to seek advice on the needs and priorities of rural communities.

We would like to invite you to make written submissions and participate in the online discussion through government’s engagement website at engage.gov.bc.ca/ruraldevelopment.  The online discussions and engagement will be open until February 28, 2018 at 4 p.m. We also encourage you to please help spread the word to your networks and communities, so that they can share their stories and ideas. Please feel free to display and distribute the attached poster to let people know about the engagement.

The information gathered will be used by the B.C. Government to build a framework for the Strategy. The framework will then support ongoing dialogue between Indigenous people, rural British Columbians and the Province, to finalize and implement the Strategy.

The results of the engagement efforts will also be compiled and posted to engage.gov.bc.ca/ruraldevelopment in Spring 2018.

Thank you in advance for your support and contributions.

Instructions for submitting a written submission

Please address formal written submissions to CitizenEngagement@gov.bc.ca.

Please keep written submission to a maximum of five pages. Word or PDF versions are preferred.  Please also ensure there is no third party information or personal information in the submission, such as personal telephone numbers or stories that identify specific citizens.

Here is a brief document highlighting the BC Rural Centre’s Recommendations for Provincial Government Action to Stimulate Rural Development.