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Report highlights rural municipalities’ challenges, contributions

Ottawa – The Federation of Canadian Municipalities has released a report detailing the important contribution rural municipalities make and outlining the unique challenges they face.

The report, titled Rural Challenges, national opportunity – Shaping the future of rural Canada, includes recommendations encouraging the federal government to tackle these challenges.

“When it comes to providing the infrastructure necessary to support a strong economy and high quality of life, rural governments are faced with two key problems-the challenge of serving dispersed communities and the limits of their fiscal and administrative capacity,” said FCM’s Rural Forum Chair, Ray Orb, in a news release.

The report provides three key recommendations:

• Applying a “rural lens” to all federal policies and programs aimed at empowering smaller communities to better support local needs.
• Designing future rural infrastructure programs that provide long-term predictable funding with flexibility to account for rural realities.
• Committing long-term predictable resources to expanding broadband internet access in rural, northern and remote communities.

“This report tells the story of the significant contribution rural municipalities make to the nation’s economy, but it also highlights the fiscal squeeze they face due to low population densities and the exodus of younger generations,” Orb said. “But as a key driver of economic growth, we know that investing in rural Canada means building a better country for everyone.”

FCM is leading the way in advocating for new tools that empower rural communities to build tomorrow’s Canada and has secured unprecedented federal investment in recent years. The full report is available here.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities represents nearly 2,000 municipal governments.