by Rural Ontario Institute
1. November 2011 10:01
The Rural Ontario Municipal Association has released a discussion paper “A Voice for Rural and Northern Ontario” in which it renews its call for the Province to consistently apply a rural lens as policy proposals are being developed by various Ministries and taken to Queens Park for consideration. Largely drawn from a previous report from 2007 the call is timely now as every party reflects on how to make a minority parliament work and how they can be seen to support initiatives that will demonstrate they can govern in the best interests of all Ontarions regardless of urban, rural or northern geographic representation. With the fiscal challenges facing us here in the province such a move to reject polarization and consider all perspectives would be welcome. This goes beyond new legislation. With the forthcoming release of Don Drummond’s report we know that important reconsiderations of where the province can reduce public expenditures and what requires continuing investment is going to be on the agenda – any reallocation should be looked at from every angle and how that might impact different communities in the province.
The discussion paper can be accessed at this link.
Norman Ragetlie, Director, Policy & Stakeholder Engagement