The News
The latest articles and news relating to rural living...
New Community Investment Co-Ops!
Two new BC Interior-based community investment co-ops have recently been formed — the East Kootenay Columbia Investment Co-op, and the West Kootenay Boundary Investment Co-op. Both are for profit Co-operative Association registered in British Columbia. They…
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Youth Exodus to Art Epicentre?
What kind of future should a struggling rural town choose? In the town of Green River, Utah, population 950, a nonprofit called Epicenter aims to use art and architecture to bring youthful new energy, life,…
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Youth Attraction: Rural Challenges, Successes
Introduction We have become a culture of nomads. “Where do you come from?” is a question we now routinely ask one another because we rarely expect the answer to be “here.” Discovering where…
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Kimberley Embraces the Great Outdoors!
Anyone who has visited the South Island New Zealand town of Queenstown knows that building a local economy around outdoor adventure activities can work — and work well — for a small mountain town,…
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For Sale: One Deserted Village Left Behind In Rush To New Zealand’s Cities
Rural de-population is a global issue, as evidenced in this article from New Zealand by reporter Eleanor Ainge Roy. An entire village which has been deserted for three decades is up for sale in New Zealand.…
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Decline of Greyhound Service Mirrors Rural Canada’s Plight
What does the decline of Greyhound service have to say about the current state of affairs in rural Canada generally. Will Doig of The Guardian files this report. It’s 10 to midnight when…
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BC Municipal Election Results 2018
The 2018 local elections are over. Here is a comprehensive listing of all the results, courtesy of CivicInfo BC. https://bc.localelections.ca/results/index_m.html
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Website Expands Public Review of Crown Land-Use Applications
A new government website expands access to information and public engagement on applications for Crown land use in B.C. Applications for Crown land use range from recreational to industrial use. Given that 94% of B.C.’s…
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General Local Elections Tomorrow!
Don’t forget that tomorrow, Saturday, October 20, is local election day across BC. For some useful information, here’s a link to the Elections BC website.
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What’s Killing Rural Canada?
In this sobering Maclean’s article, Aaron Hutchins examines the challenges facing many rural Canadian towns. Crime, opioid abuse, boarded-up businesses and fleeing populations are destroying the country’s heartland. Can small-town life be saved?…
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Canada, BC Support Agriculture in Indigenous Communities
The provincial and federal governments have announced a new program to assist Indigneous communities in BC interested in expanding their agricultural businesses and supporting local food security. Under this new initiative, professional and qualified…
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Cannabis Clarity from the BC Government
Cannabis clarity is the goal of the BC Government’s official web page on the new cannabis situation. Given that non-medical cannabis is now legal in Canada, this is a useful resource for anyone in…
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Canal Flats Is Electric!
Canal Flats fell on hard times. When our communities’ circumstances change, we need to find new ways to prosper. Canal Flats was a lumber town; it’s primary employer was a sawmill. When that mill closed…
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Here to Stay
In this CBC podcast, host Manusha Janakiram looks at how Canada’s smallest, often remote communities are not just striving to survive — but to thrive!
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Rural Innovation — How It Happens, How To Inspire More
Rural innovation — how does it happen and how can it be encouraged? A researcher in the USA has received funding to zero in on these questions, as reported in the following article by Matt…
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Innovation In Small Town BC
There seems to be general agreement that innovation — the embracing of fresh new ideas and revolutionary new technologies — is crucial to the growth and health of urban economies. But what about our small…
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“Happy Valley”? Place-making in the Cowichan Valley
Charles Montgomery discusses”Happy Valley” — place-making focused on the future of Vancouver Island’s Cowichan Valley. Montgomery is an award-winning author, who helps people find new ways to change the world around them.
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Civic Engagement Goes Online in the Cowichan Valley
As we approach province-wide municipal and regional elections later this month, the subject of civic engagement looms large. Specifically, the common problem in rural communities across BC of a lack of civic engagement. How can…
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Civic Engagement on Vancouver Island — 2 Conversations
With elections looming later this month across BC, the challenge of getting folks involved in local and regional decision-making is a timely subject. If the goals of an effective rural regional or local government…
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Seniors’ Housing
Slocan seniors’ housing hosts grand opening Sept. 27 Years of hard work, stamina and emotion have gone into the creation and construction of Slocan City Suites, the new seniors’ housing that celebrates its grand opening…
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Innovation Can Transform Small Towns!
There are only two approaches to dealing with the often-wrenching changes sweeping over small towns these days — stick with the ol’ “tried & true,” and be overwhelmed by the tsunami of change that seems…
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Technology and Innovation provide Enhanced Rural Healthcare
Technology will play an increasingly important role in providing rural and First Nations citizens living in remote regions with adequate healthcare.
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Innovation & Technology Make a Big Difference in Rural BC
Innovation in rural BC — its importance, and how it can be deployed to help with everything from boosting local economies to coping with a changing climate — is an enormously important issue. We…
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Creating Community: Affordable Housing on the San Juan Islands
Creating community is a phrase that can describe and include many things — including ensuring everyone has access to a home. Community Land Trusts are uniquely positioned to provide affordable housing appropriate to the places…
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