Rural Canada ~ Ready to Grow

The 2013 Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation (CRRF) annual conference will be held in Thunder Bay, Ontario, October 24th-27th, 2013. The conference is being co-hosted by Lakehead University, the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA), and the Nishnawbe-Aski Nation (NAN).

Rural Canada is in a constant state of flux, reflective of and responding to political and economic changes at the regional to global levels. In recent years, many rural areas in more northern and remote portions of the country have begun to experience positive changes in their regional economies due to resource developments of various kinds. In this sense, these are rural areas ready to grow. With growth however, come questions related to value-added regional development, resource management, governance and co-governance of resources at local/regional levels and with Aboriginal (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) people.

If rural Canada is going to be ready to grow, the following questions become critical:

 -How do we ensure that some of the benefits of the natural resource industries remain where the resource is extracted?

 -What policies and practices need to be in place to ensure that there is a real and lasting positive legacy?

 -What governance structures will best ensure positive outcome for those residing in these regions?

 -What are the social ramifications of resource development and how can we mitigate those that are negative and build strong, resilient communities?

The aim of the conference is to develop the tools to start answering these questions.

The conference will also include an opportunity for paper and poster presentations. Researchers, policy makers, and community leaders are encouraged to submit a presentation abstract on rural or northern issues.  A call for abstracts will be announced shortly.  For more details visit www.crrf.ca

CRRF is a charitable institution committed to bettering the lives of rural Canadians.