BEYOND FREEFALL: HALTING RURAL POVERTY Final Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry The Honourable Joyce Fairbairn, P.C. Chair The Honourable Leonard J. Gustafson Deputy Chair June 2008 Ce rapport est aussi disponible en français Available on the Parliamentary Internet: www.parl.gc.ca (Committee Business — Senate — Reports) 39th Parliament — 2nd Session BEYOND FREEFALL: HALTING RURAL POVERTY TABLE OF CONTENTS MEMBERS.........................................................................................................................5 ORDER OF REFERENCE................................................................................................. 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................ 7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................ 9 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................................... 23 PREFACE......................................................................................................................... 35 SECTION I: PUTTING RURAL CANADA BACK ON THE POLICY AGENDA............ 1 CHAPTER 1: THE NEED FOR A RURAL VISION........................................................ 1 Why Does Rural Canada Matter? ............................................................................... 3 What do we Want Rural Canada to Look Like? ......................................................... 6 Five principals to guide rural policy ........................................................................... 8 1. Policy Needs to Respect Rural Diversity............................................................ 8 2. Policy Needs to Help Those Who Help Themselves.......................................... 9 3. Policy Needs to be Place-Based.......................................................................... 9 4. Policy Needs to Recognize that Rural Canada Doesn’t Necessarily Want to be Urbanized.................................................................................................................... 9 5. Rural Policy Needs to Eschew Magic Bullet Solutions...................................... 9 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 10 CHAPTER 2: A REVIEW OF RURAL POLICIES PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 13 Lessons From the Past .............................................................................................. 19 From ARDA To Regional Development Agencies .................................................. 21 Recent Rural Events.................................................................................................. 25 Designing A Rural Mandate ..................................................................................... 26 A Greater Federal Presence In Rural Canada ........................................................... 29 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 32 SECTION II: RE-INVIGORATING RURAL ECONOMIES TO REDUCE POVERTY 33 CHAPTER 3: AGRICULTURE AND RURAL LANDSCAPES.................................... 35 The Farm Challenge.................................................................................................. 36 Towards A New Agricultural Approach................................................................... 44 Addressing Poverty Among Farm Families.............................................................. 47 Farm Succession And Renewal ................................................................................ 51 Multi-Functionality – A New Way Of Seeing The Farm ......................................... 54 Planning For Climate Change................................................................................... 62 (a) Managing Risks ........................................................................................ 62 (b) Carbon Credits.......................................................................................... 64 i BEYOND FREEFALL: HALTING RURAL POVERTY Biofuels ..................................................................................................................... 68 Small, Local And Organic ........................................................................................ 73 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 75 CHAPTER 4: FORESTRY............................................................................................... 77 Catastrophe for Forestry-Dependent Communities .................................................. 77 Industry in Crisis....................................................................................................... 80 Recent Federal Initiatives ......................................................................................... 82 The Need for a Forest Strategy ................................................................................. 83 Private woodlots........................................................................................................ 88 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 91 CHAPTER 5: TOURISM IN RURAL CANADA ........................................................... 93 The Importance of Rural Tourism ............................................................................ 93 Concerns About Tourism.......................................................................................... 96 The Future of Rural Tourism .................................................................................... 99 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 103 CHAPTER 6: ADDRESSING THE RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE DEFICIT............ 105 Municipal Infrastructure In Rural Canada .............................................................. 107 Bridging The Digital Divide ................................................................................... 114 (a) Rural Broadband: Benefits and Challenges ............................................ 116 (b) The Importance of Policy........................................................................ 117 (c) The Way Forward................................................................................... 121 (d) The Special Case of the Community Access Program ........................... 122 Rural Transportation: Working Together ............................................................... 123 The Centrality Of Transportation In Remote Rural Areas...................................... 131 Rural Harbour Infrastructure................................................................................... 133 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 137 SECTION III : RETHINKING SOCIAL POLICY............................................................ 141 CHAPTER 7: ADDRESSING THE INCOME GAP ..................................................... 143 Devising a National Poverty Reduction Strategy ................................................... 146 Source: Adapted from Chantal Collin, Poverty Reduction Strategies in Quebec and in Newfoundland and Labrador, PRB 07-23E, Parliamentary Information and Research Service, Library of Parliament, Ottawa, 2007......................................... 149 (a) Building a Poverty Reduction Strategy Around a Guaranteed Annual Income152 (b) Making Work Pay and Helping Families................................................ 159 (c) An Enhanced Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB).................................. 161 (d) Easing the Tax-Filing Burden................................................................. 163 (e) Food Banks – Tax Measures to Encourage Donations ........................... 165 (f) Developing Better Measures of Rural Poverty ....................................... 168 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 169 CHAPTER 8: EDUCATION – SPEND EARLY, SPEND MORE................................ 171 The Early Years: Early Childhood Education and Daycare ................................... 174 ii BEYOND FREEFALL: HALTING RURAL POVERTY Rural Youth: Keeping Young People in School ..................................................... 177 Increasing the Range of Educational Services in Rural Canada............................. 183 Improving Access to Post-Secondary Education.................................................... 186 Helping Those Left Behind: Addressing Literacy and Education Issues Among Rural Adults ............................................................................................................ 192 CONCLUSION....................................................................................................... 196 CHAPTER 9: RURAL HOUSING – THE HIDDEN PROBLEM................................. 197 Reinvesting in Rural Canada’s Housing Stock....................................................... 199 Addressing the Need for Affordable Housing and Rental Units in Rural Canada . 203 The Impact of Low Rural Housing Prices on Rural Communities, Retirees and Seniors....................................................................................................................