rural development Archives

BC Rural Centre’s Recommendations for Rural Development

What kind of provincial policies and tools would help us with rural development in BC? This is an issue the BC Rural Centre/SIBAC has spent a lot of time and effort researching. We have developed a brief document (see below) that provides a summary discussion of the top five recommendations the BC Rural Centre would…

Cooperation At the Heart of One Small Community’s Success

Community — pulling together collectively to affect real change — is often the key in small town turn-arounds. In this informative article written by Spotify’s Dayna Winter, we’re introduced to Almonte, Ontario, a town of 5,000 that has managed to revitalize itself through developing a collaborative consensus around development. Small towns exist in snow…

Digital Nomads Are Redefining Work in the Kootenays

A year ago, the Revelstoke Mountaineer noted that the workplace is changing beyond recognition, thanks to new technologies like web collaboration tools, smartphones, and next generation internet connectivity, freeing folks to work from wherever they want. We have entered the Age of Digital Nomads. Henning Schipper is amongst the new class of digital nomads freed…

Rural Schools Matter — a Brief Summary

Rural schools matter — a small town without a school is often a community without hope. This brief BC Rural Centre summary will be of interest to anyone who cares about the future of rural towns and villages whose schools are threatened with closure. For a more in-depth look at the issue of…

The Arts & Rural Revitalization

On November 28, 2017, the BC Rural Centre hosted its first-ever webinar, on the topic of the arts and rural renewal. Sarah Calhoun of White Sulphur Springs, Montana, and John Davis of Lanesboro, Minnesota discussed their respective experiences in helping bring positive change to small, remote communities. Sarah Calhoun Sarah has been called…

Arts and Rural Renewal

Sarah Calhoun of White Sulphur Springs, Montana, and John Davis of Lanesboro, Minnesota discussed their respective experiences in helping bring positive change to small, remote communities. Sarah Calhoun Sarah has been called a “revolutionary figure in rural business today,” and a “powerhouse of inspiration for women in business.” Her dynamic style and inspiring…

New Denver/Silverton Report Summary Released

New Denver/Silverton were recently the unsuspecting hosts for a contingent of “secret visitors” from Kaslo, who spent an October day checking out everything from the highway entrances to the two villages, to their take on the local economy. The project, called First Impressions, was carried out under the auspices of the BC Rural Centre with…

BC Rural Dividend Program Announces Fourth Intake

Applications for funding in the fourth intake of the BC Rural Dividend program will be accepted Nov. 15 to Dec. 15, 2017, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development Doug Donaldson announced today. “I encourage local governments, not-for-profit organizations and First Nations to get their applications submitted,” said Donaldson. “We’re committed to…

Ontario’s Rural Broadband Challenge

Ontario’s rural broadband challenge is highlighted in this article by Dave Reevely, originally published in the Ottawa Citizen. Running subsidized Internet lines to rural Ontario has an important thing in common with the provincial government’s plan to pay for new natural-gas pipes to the same places: There’s private money to be made. We can’t…

Do-It-Yourself Rural Internet?

Do-it-yourself rural Internet? Ramona Pringle penned this interesting opinion piece on rural communities who have stepped up to provide their residents with high-speed Internet for CBC News. If you live in rural areas of Canada, chances are you’ve developed a coping ritual for waiting for email attachments to load. Maybe you hit “download” and…