The News
The latest articles and news relating to rural living...
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
New 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…
BC 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…
Local 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…
New rural journalism project launches in the Kootenays
Local media are sorely lacking in many rural communities. In the absence of reliable, shared stories and information, communities often miss opportunities to effectively address challenges and seize opportunities. The West Kootenay Eco Society is…
How can rural community-engaged health services planning affect sustainable health care system changes?
How can rural community-engaged health services planning affect sustainable health care system changes? That’s the question posed in a “pre-print” process description and qualitative analysis of data from the Rural Coordination Centre of British Columbia’s…
Community 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…
Parliamentary 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…
Healthy People, Healthy Communities — Mount Waddington Health Network
More than ever, rural/remote communities and First Nations across BC are grappling with serious health & wellness challenges. That is certainly the case in the sparsely populated Regional District of Mt Waddington. Through a series of conversations during the Island…
How can rural community-engaged health services planning affect sustainable health care system changes?
A process description and qualitative analysis of data from the Rural Coordination Centre of British Columbia’s Rural Site Visits Project Abstract Objectives The objectives of the Rural Site Visit Project (SV Project) were to develop a…
Brad Pommen and Smrt1 Technologies — an Example of a Rural Success Story
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, Seattle or any other U.S. city. Vancouver has…
Tomorrow’s Harvest
Tomorrow’s Harvest is the inspiring story of six BC farmers and their mission to nurture their communities in the face of impossible land prices. Click on the image below to access the video. …
An Investigation of BC Rural Citizen-Patient Priorities for Health Planning
The Rural Evidence Review (RER) project is a joint initiative between the Centre for Rural Health Research (Department of Family Practice, UBC), and the Rural Coordination Centre of BC. The project’s goal is to work…
Connecting Kaslo
High-speed internet is a luxury — or non-existent — in many rural, remote, and First Nations communities across BC. In this video produced by Connected Communities BC, the experience of the remote West Kootenay village…
B.C.’s top doctor doesn’t ‘foresee a situation’ where the school system shuts down again
In this Global News report (Sep.10, 2020), British Columbia provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says she does not foresee a situation where the province shuts schools down as was done in March. The province’s…
Policy Implications of Coronavirus Crisis for Rural Development
This OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development) report focuses on the implications of COVID-19 on rural development and the policy responses that OECD member countries are adopting. It first discusses the economic effects on…
BC COVID-19 Update, September 3, 2020
Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia’s provincial health officer, and Health Minister Adrian Dix provide an update on the province’s response to the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) pandemic.