News
The State of Rural Canada Report 2021
The Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation recently released its annual State of Rural Canada report. The first edition of the State of Rural Canada described rural British Columbia (BC) as a dynamic and evolving landscape. This remains an apt description. Who and what are rural is not static. Read the latest report here.
Read MoreHouse Sales Are Booming in Rural BC
House Sales Are Booming in Rural BC — and Renters Are Getting Slammed A July 2021 article by Alex Cosh in “TheTyee.ca” discusses how increasing house prices in many smaller rural communities are causing problems for renters and long-time residents. Read the article here.
Read MoreFairy Creek blockades must go, B.C. Supreme Court rules
After eight months of camping out to protect old-growth forests from logging, Fairy Creek activists have been told their blockades must go. In its decision Thursday morning, the B.C. Supreme Court stated logging activities by Teal Jones Group are completely legal, and by denying access to cutblocks, activists are in fact the ones engaging in…
Read MoreBC Government Going Foward With Site C
Terminating project would cost at least $10.2B, B.C. government says The Site C dam on the Peace River in northeastern B.C. is estimated to cost about $16 billion, nearly double the originally approved budget of $8.8 billion in 2014. (Submitted by Amnesty International) British Columbia is forging ahead with the Site C dam — the largest public…
Read MoreGrants for BC Small Businesses — a conversation with Minister Ravi Kahlon
The Hon. Ravi Kahlon, British Columbia’s Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery, and Innovation, chatted with BC Rural Centre Communications Director Randy Morse recently. The conversation focused on Covid-19, its impact on small and medium-sized businesses, and steps the BC Government is taking to help those most affected, cope. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant…
Read MoreNew Support Programs for Small & Medium-Sized Businesses
Help BC small and medium sized businesses bounce back and build for the future with Government of BC non-repayable grants of up to $30,000 for eligible businesses, and up to $45,000 for eligible tourism businesses. Spread the word and apply at gov.bc.ca/businessrecoverygrant. For more detail information, click here.
Read MoreBC Rural Centre’s Last Year in Review
2020 was a certainly a memorable year. The COVID-19 pandemic drastically altered our lives and created significant social and economic challenges for many. Unfortunately, it also resulted in personal loss and grief for many BC families. To those families, our deepest sympathies for your loss. Despite the impact of COVID, 2020 was a busy year…
Read MoreLocal brewers craft for community
You are sitting at your favourite bar in town watching the bartender pour that familiar winter ale that always signals the beginning of ski season. As you wait for them to slide that frosty mug of beer down your direction, you probably aren’t thinking about hop farmers, or the ways the brewery is trying to…
Read MoreCommunity Paramedicine in rural BC, what it is & why it happened — interviews with Nancy Kotani & Amy Poll
BC’s Community Paramedicine Program, the first of its kind in Canada, provides rural residents with access to information and care previously lacking in many small, remote communities. Nancy Kotani, former Chief Transformation Officer for British Columbia Emergency Health Services, led the development and implementation of BC’s Community Paramedic project, the first province-wide initiative of its…
Read MoreParliamentary Secretary for Rural Development announced by Premier Horgan
BC Premier John Horgan and his new provincial Cabinet were sworn in on Nov 26, 2020. Roly Russell, MLA for Boundary-Similkameen was appointed the Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Development, supporting Katrine Conroy, the new Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Operations and Rural Development.
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