Canadian Rural Partnership
Rural Dialogue



Dialogue with Young
Rural Champions Report

Beresford, New Brunswick
March 22, 2003

Publication # 2204E
©Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2003
Cat. No. # A22-331/2003E-HTML
ISBN # 0-662-34721-8

This report is a summary of the discussions that took place during the Dialogue with Young Rural Champions, held in Beresford, New Brunswick, on March 22, 2003. No limits were placed on the participants during discussions that took place in brainstorming sessions. In order to present a true report of the free-ranging discussions, recommendations made by participants that fall outside federal jurisdiction are also included. Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Government of Canada.

The Dialogue with Young Rural Champions was part of the Rural Dialogue, an ongoing, two-way discussion between the Government of Canada and Canadians from rural, remote and northern regions. Launched in 1998, the Rural Dialogue is a key citizen-engagement component of the Canadian Rural Partnership (CRP) Initiative. The CRP is designed to support rural community development by adopting new approaches and practices that respond to rural, remote and northern priorities. The Dialogue process helps the Government of Canada to understand local and regional priorities, and provides rural, remote and northern citizens with an opportunity to influence Government of Canada policies, programs and services that affect them.

The event brought together over 30 young Francophone, Anglophone and Mi'kmaq participants from across rural New Brunswick. The Dialogue was sponsored by the Rural Secretariat and Rural Team-New Brunswick, which includes representatives from several federal departments and agencies, and provincial ministries.

The objectives of the Dialogue were to:

• document determinants that encourage youth to remain in rural New Brunswick;
• single out the challenges that face youth living in rural areas of the province; and
• identify initiatives that governments could undertake to help youth stay in New Brunswick's rural communities.

The event included the following activities: an opening session; a round table with the young rural champions during which other participants had an opportunity to contribute; a presentation by a speaker; thematic workshops; and in closing, a plenary session. Prior to the Dialogue, participants were asked to draw up their job profile, identify their activity sector and highlight those factors that played a determining role in their decision to remain in rural New Brunswick or to settle in a rural area.

During the roundtable, four young champions presented the challenges of their business and/or the career challenges they had faced in rural New Brunswick. A guest speaker, Mr. David Hawkins, a very successful New Brunswick businessman, outlined the challenges and opportunities he found when he went into business in a rural area of the province. He stressed the fact that there are as many opportunities in rural New Brunswick as elsewhere in the world, citing as examples the McCain and Irving companies. He also stressed the "power of intentionality" and the capacity to create an environment in which success is possible if a goal and objective have been set. Moreover, he felt there was as much creativity in New Brunswick as elsewhere in Canada and the world.

Afterwards, participants broke into four groups to discuss the four families of determinants motivating them to remain in rural Canada, which had been identified from the questionnaires they had filled out earlier. These were: (a) quality of life; (b) family network; (c) business or job opportunities; and (d) community development. Participants also had to indicate the challenges facing youth living in rural areas and the initiatives governments could put into place to help them remain in rural communities.

(A) Access to Government of Canada programs and services

• Governments should provide more information and data to potential young entrepreneurs on rural opportunities. For example, a toll-free number to obtain business-related answers and information (e.g. to find out how to set up a business in a rural area, develop a business plan, learn about the resources available, etc.) could be established. This number could function as a single window for directing callers to the appropriate people and resources.

(B) Access to financial resources for rural business and community development

• Funding programs and the manner in which financial institutions operate should be improved and adapted to better respond to the situation and market needs in rural areas. A number of participants expressed that access to financing in rural areas is one of the major concerns. They suggested that easier access to low-interest loans for business start-ups or loan guarantees, and even the creation of a system of community bonds could help small businesses get off the ground.
• Governments should find formulas by which they could pay part of the salary of young graduates working in a rural area to improve their job access. This would also lighten the burden on rural businesses that are facing challenges in securing financing.
• Business incubation formulas (e.g. mentoring, incubators, etc.) should be put in place for rural areas.

(C) Opportunities, programs and services for rural youth

• Participants spoke of the "incredible" opportunities that were currently available in rural areas, in part due to the aging of the population and the rural exodus. However, providing further incentives to young professionals to encourage them to settle in rural areas should be explored. The health system's recruitment process could serve as a good model. Teenagers should be encouraged, starting in high school, to learn about the job opportunities that exist in their communities.
• Guidance counsellors should be better informed about existing job opportunities and made aware of the needs in their local community.
• The importance of getting the university, college or vocational training that would lead to a good job with a competitive salary should be instilled in rural youth.
• More job fairs should be organized in various rural areas of the province. This would bring employers and job seekers together to learn about and discuss opportunities that exist in rural areas, and would enable employers to obtain useful recruitment tools.

(D) Community capacity-building, leadership and skills development

• The number of work weeks of seasonal jobs, a significant number of which are found in rural areas, should be increased. Governments should explore increasing, through training and information, the ability of seasonal employees to utilize multiple skills. Ways to adjust the employment insurance eligibility criteria, which sometimes restricts access to ongoing training and development, should be found.
• Youth should increase their involvement in volunteer organizations at the community level to develop a sense of community belonging and responsibility. This could also encourage them to stay in or to return to rural areas.
• Award ceremonies for young rural entrepreneurs should be organized to highlight youth leadership.

(E) Infrastructure for community development

• Governments should offer incentives to head offices of major corporations to get established in rural areas. This could be advantageous as head offices move less often and frequently form partnerships with communities to build facilities which are beneficial to both their employees and the general population.
• It was noted that access to sports and recreational facilities is an excellent means to keep young people in rural communities. A strategy that ensures increased access to such facilities in rural areas should be developed and implemented.

(F) Knowledge-based economy/society and use of the technology

• Information and communications technologies provide opportunities for strengthening rural entrepreneurship. Governments should improve broadband Internet access.

(G) Strengthen economic diversification

• Governments should implement measures to diversify rural economies and to offset the effects of seasonal work, black market work, high staff turnover, and cyclical or one-time economic fluctuations.

(H) Access to education

• It was noted that the debt levels of young people from rural areas, who have to move to further their education, are higher than those from urban areas, who can continue to live with their families. Special financial incentives should be offered to rural students to help them pay off their debts and to also encourage them to return to and live in rural communities.
• Recruiting highly skilled and qualified employees, who are responsible and committed workers, to meet the business needs of entrepreneurs (especially in the manufacturing sector) in rural areas is a challenge. Better support for and greater access to training for employees and business owners who would like to receive ad hoc training in their community should be provided.

(I) Partnerships for rural community development

• A young entrepreneur wishing to launch a business could form a partnership with an experienced rural entrepreneur who has a financially solid company.
• Governments should encourage the development of mentorship or "guardian angel" formulas to help young people get into business in rural areas.
• Governments should focus more on amalgamating or merging small villages to attract companies that prefer to set up shop where more services or a service cluster is available in order to improve access to business services and products within communities.
• Governments should make significant efforts to encourage large companies to do business with small to medium-sized rural businesses (SMEs), and thus, remove the perception that SMEs are less important players.

(J) Promote rural Canada

• The active promotion of the realities and advantages of rural life was identified as the most important priority. Many citizens these days highly value the quality of life available, that is, a closeness to nature, personal security, low pollution levels, neighbourliness, a lower cost of living, support from family or the possibility of having a balanced family life, and the values of mutual help and support.
• It was noted that rural residents should be responsible for maintaining sound management of the determinants mentioned and that keeping rural values intact and promoting their own region would be to their advantage.

The Dialogue clearly indicated how attached the young rural champions were to their environment and how ready they are to promote it.

While participants feel that they have to tackle some major challenges to maintain their life choices, and sometimes feel isolated, they indicated their continued commitment to contribute to their area and to inspire other young people to make the same choice they have.

They expressed that the quality of life, the family network, the business and job opportunities, and the idea of playing a role in community development are the four families of major determinants, around which any promotional efforts should be built.

Participants also stated that there is still work to be done and made two specific recommendations in this regard:

1. That this type of dialogue be resumed at a future date, with a larger participant base, including teenagers.
2. That a young rural champions group be established to discuss new initiatives, share information on what is working well, and provide new ideas for rural community development to governments.