The News
The latest articles and news relating to rural living...
More Funding, Better Use of Indigenous Practices Could Prepare Communities for Future Crises
First Nations and Indigenous communities in Canada need more support from the federal government to cope with future disasters related to climate change, according to a new report on Canada’s disaster resilience. Although people living…
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A new way of valuing housing density could lead to truly affordable housing
Patrick Condon doesn’t buy the argument that sky-high housing prices in Vancouver and Toronto can be pinned down to a problem of supply and demand. “A lot of people think that just by adding new…
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Local Immigration: Assessing the Policy Capacity of Smaller Communities
Who should decide whether a smaller community is ready to welcome foreign-born residents? Who should participate in the design and implementation of a local immigration strategy? There has been an increasing policy interest in encouraging…
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Rural Development Success Story
Originally Posted on: Nelson Chamber of Commerce Over the last five years, Canada has been a high-tech job creation machine. Year after year, the Toronto area alone has generated more technology jobs than San Francisco,…
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Supporting Small Independent Businesses in BC
Support Local BC was an initiative brought on out of necessity in 2020 due to the closures of many businesses in response to the Provincial Health Orders to stop the rapid spread of COVID-19. The…
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Rural-Urban Inequities in Palliative Care
Many rural communities have few or no palliative care beds. And as financial burdens increase, some health authorities are agreeing to staff new beds only if the local community pays for the design and building…
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Regulations Urged for Short-term Rentals
The Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) has made 13 requests of the province to consider in order to establish a regulatory framework for the short-term accommodations industry, similar to those in place for ride-hailing and…
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Yarmouth Organizations Team Up to Tackle Shortage of Doctors, Housing
A success story posted by Preston Mulligan of CBC Nova Scotia tells about how the housing shortage in Nova Scotia has created another hurdle in the struggle to attract doctors, but the business community in…
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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…
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House 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…
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Virtual care innovations in rural BC
Dr. John Pawlovich, UBC Rural Health Chair and a leading advocate of creating innovative, tech-driven solutions to some of the most vexing health & wellness challenges facing rural, remote, and First Nations British Columbians, describes…
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Fairy 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…
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How to Tackle Climate Change: A Youth Labour Force
You’re never quite sure what you’re walking into the first time you try something. That was certainly the case for 14 adventurous young adults who applied to be crew members of the inaugural Youth Climate…
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Nuxalk Housing Solutions — Utilizing Community Assets
The Nuxalk Nation in Bella Coola has done some amazing work in their housing and social development sectors. They have come up with innovative solutions to issues that face many First Nations. This 2-part video…
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State of the Basin Report — 2020
The State of the Basin initiative monitors and reports on indicators of environmental, economic, cultural, and social well-being in BC’s Columbia Basin-Boundary Region. The Columbia Basin Rural Development Institute (RDI) compiles the Snapshot report to…
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CDC Report on Rural Communities & Covid
While there are many distinct differences between the circumstances of rural Canadians and Americans, this overview from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention contains some useful information for rural British Columbians. About…
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BC 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…
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Grants 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,…
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BC Rural Health Hub Pilot Is a Go
If Covid has taught us anything, it’s that we’re all in this together. And that what we know — and think we know — matters. This places a tremendous importance on communications. Not simply top-down,…
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Shifting Into (Electric) Gear
Steve Elder was born in New Zealand and lived there until he moved to sunny Los Angeles in the 1970s, eventually finding his way north to greater Vancouver, which he now calls home. However, summers…
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Kaslo InfoNet’s Tim Ryan
Kaslo, BC, a small, isolated West Kootenay village surrounded by rugged mountains and a 120 km-long lake, is home to one of the world’s smallest community-owned and operated, fibre-optic-enabled Internet Service Providers — Kaslo InfoNet…
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State of the North Report
The 2020 State of the North Economic Report captures the most recent data available on Northern B.C.’s economy. It is the only report of its kind that captures regional and sub-regional data on communities, industries…
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