The News
The latest articles and news relating to rural living...
Preserving Critical Rural Business Sevices
Many rural communities are experiencing the closure of retail businesses like grocery stores, hardware stores, and service stations that provide important services to their residents. From the newsletter put out our good friend and colleague,…
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Healthcare in Rural BC Gets a Closer Look
Overview In 2017, the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues (JSC) tasked the Rural Coordination Centre of BC (RCCbc) with visiting every Rural Subsidiary Agreement (RSA) community between 2017 and 2020. These visits will connect…
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First Nations Health Authority and Rural Coordination Centre of BC sign Memorandum of Understanding
The First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) and the Rural Coordination Centre of BC (RCCbc) signed a Memorandum of Understanding in late 2019 at the FNHA’s Northern Regional Gathering in Prince George. The MOU formalizes the…
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$50M available from B.C. government to improve rural Internet
The Province is now ready to accept applications from rural communities wishing to access some of the $50 million earmarked in the spring of 2019 to be used to connect rural, remote, and indigenous communities…
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Rankin MacSween of Cape Breton’s New Dawn Enterprises, on Community Development
Rankin MacSween, who gave an amazingly inspirational keynote speech at our 2015 conference, one that people still talk about, followed that up with an equally inspiring address at this year’s Keeping It Rural conference. For…
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Akbal Mund & Sheldon Louis: First Nation-Rural Community Partnerships
Akbal Mund of the City of Vernon, and Sheldon Louis of the Okanagan Indian Band provided some interesting historical and current background and information regarding the relationship between these two neighbours. …
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Blanca Surgeon — Small Places, Big Successes
Blanca Surgeon, based in New Mexico, is the Building Rural Communities Training Coordinator with the Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC). Blanca has worked with rural communities and Native American Nations across the western U.S. on…
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A Look Back at 2019
2019 was a successful — and important — year in the BC Rural Centre’s evolution. Perhaps most significantly over the past 12 months, we’ve succeeded in implementing a new governance structure, creating an Advisory Committee…
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Akbal Mund & Sheldon Louis: First Nation-Rural Community Partnerships
Akbal Mund of the City of Vernon, and Sheldon Louis of the Okanagan Indian Band provided some interesting historical and current background and information regarding the relationship between these two neighbours.
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Attracting Young People to Rural Communities
Many rural BC communities find themselves growing every greyer. The need to attract young, urban, entrepreneurial newcomers to communities facing a demographic crisis looms as increasingly important. In this presentation, BC Rural Centre communications director…
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Rural Health Care — Issues and Prospects
Dr. David Snadden, UBC Chair in Rural Health, leads a session on the current state of healthcare in rural British Columbia — and where it might evolve in future.
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The Forest Sector & Rural Communities
BC Rural Centre Executive Director Gordon Borgstrom and BC Community Forest Association Executive Director Jennifer Gunter discuss trends, challenges, and opportunities of importance to forestry-dependent rural BC communities and First Nations in this presentation. …
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BCRC Submission to the BC Provincial Government’s Interior Forestry Revitalization Engagement Process
The most recent downturn in the forest sector is creating significant challenges once again for many rural communities and families. Unfortunately, these most recent layoffs and closures add to an over twenty-five year trend of…
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Common Interests, Common Purpose
Splatsin First Nation councillor George William and Lumby mayor Kevin Acton discuss how their respective communities came together to create the Monashee Community Forest — and in the process began to build a greater awareness…
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Rural Islands Economic Forum a First!
“This is a critical and essential time for our rural islands and First Nations communities to come together to collectively address long-term community economic health all within the context of climate change.” …
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Keeping It Rural 2019 in the Books!
Keeping It Rural, our biennial conference focussing on issues of importance to rural and First Nations citizens was held on October 7th and 8th in Kelowna. An outstanding lineup of presenters tackled topics ranging…
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Keeping It Rural 2017
The second biennial Keeping It Rural conference was held in Kelowna, June 2017. Attendees from Northern BC to the US border, from Vancouver Island to the Rockies took in two days of inspirational speeches by…
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Social Enterprise & Community Development
Social enterprises are increasingly a tool in the community development toolbox. In November 2018, Drs. Natalie Slawinski and Blair Winsor from the Faculty of Business Administration at Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Harris Centre…
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Keeping It Rural Conference Coming in October!
Struggling to attract and retain young people to and in your rural community? Wondering how to convince doctors to stay and practice in your town or region? Do you wish your hometown had the capital…
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Workforce & Resident Attraction Strategies Webinar
Do you live in a beautiful, unique spot in B.C.? Or maybe your community has a budding industry or development opportunity and you’re finding it hard to get the word out there or to attract…
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From Conflict to Collaboration: the Tla’amin — Powell River Experience
The coastal town of Powell River shares several similarities with other rural communities in BC. Powell River was established and grew next to a historical First Nations community – in this case on the traditional territory of…
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Webinar: First Nation-Municipality Collaboration — the Tla’amin Nation & Powell River Experience
Webinar: Tuesday, June 25, Noon Pacific The coastal town of Powell River shares many similarities with other rural communities in BC. Powell River was established and grew next to a historical First Nations community – in…
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Tla’amin Nation & Powell River: Government to Government Collaboration on BC’s Sunshine Coast
The coastal town of Powell River shares several similarities with other rural communities in BC. Powell River was established and grew next to a historical First Nations community – in…
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