Feature article November 18, 2004
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Province gets a rural plan
by Jeff Green
Saying it is listening to rural Ontario, the provincial government has launched its rural plan, entitled Strong Rural Communities: Working together for Success.
The plan, encapsulated in a 20-page document that focuses on the rural economy, healthcare and education, was presented last week in Kingston by John Gerretson, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
Our governments rural plan, , leverages the potential of our rural communities by improving the way we work with municipalities, residents, businesses and community organizations the people and groups that make up what rural Ontario is today and will be tomorrow, said Gerretson.
The plan identifies some broad goals, such as local economic development, modernised infrastructure, Better Access to Healthcare, Healthy Living, and Quality Education. It outlines some of the measures that have been taken, and then provides strategies for future action. There is no new funding attached to it.
Lera Ryan, the Acting Director/Rural Development Division of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, said in a telephone interview, The Rural Plan itself is a framework that sets out goals for strong rural communities, and provides, within government, the basis for co-ordinating government- wide programs with a rural focus.
Describing the plan as a living document, Ryan said the significant thing with this announcement comes with co-ordination of efforts. There is certainly not a new structure with this, but there is now a group of staff within the Ministry analysing rural situations, and having a role of working across government to raise awareness of rural situations.
Not all rural municipal politicians have welcomed the new plan, however. Mayor Bill MacDonald of Central Frontenac, for one, is sceptical.
I really and truly dont see where a whole lot of it is going to have an effect, he said. Weve got some real needs in Eastern Ontario in terms of bridges and roads. There is nothing in this plan that suggests we will be helped in dealing with those problems.
Expressing frustration with the provincial government, MacDonald said that since Central Frontenac was formed in 1998 there have been significant costs downloaded from the province, but in that time there has been little or no funding support coming from Toronto.
I cant spend promises, MacDonald said. The only thing I can spend is money in the bank, and the only money in Central Frontenacs bank has come from land taxes. Thats our only source of revenue.
The Rural Plan makes reference to a pending joint federal provincial infrastructure funding program called COMRIF (Canada Ontario Municipal Reinvestment and Infrastructure) which has subsequently been announced, and Bill MacDonald expressed more hope about that than he did about the rural plan.
