THUNDER BAY - From being connected to feeling safe, people in Northwestern Ontario want to see more commitments in the upcoming federal budget that serve the unique needs of small, remote communities.
A pre-budge consultation was held on Monday with MP Don Rusnak and Minister Patty Hajdu and stakeholders from the city and across the region.
“It’s really important that as smaller northern areas that we get our voice in there and that we make our voice heard because we are competing against a lot more voices,” said Nipigon Mayor, Richard Harvey.
Several themes were repeated throughout the session, including infrastructure investments, education, and attracting people to the region.
“What we heard from the Chamber of Commerce, from Indigenous communities, from business, is that we don’t have enough people to fill the jobs that we have,” Rusnak said. “And the people we do have don’t necessarily have the skills that the businesses need.”
However, new themes were also brought forward that go beyond typical infrastructure investments such as roads and reach into innovations like broadband internet.
“We’ve heard that one, innovation, broadband strategy over and over again as a theme, making sure that all Canadians including those in Northwestern Ontario have a fair opportunity in today’s economy,” Rusnak said.
“A lot of what I hear is what I’ve been hearing every time I come back to the riding - we need to invest more into innovation, we know we need to invest more in innovation, we know we need to diversify the economy.”
According to Hajdu, one of the issues that always come up is the struggle of rural communities.
“There was a real concern about the aging capital infrastructure, things like fire trucks and snowplows, and how expensive those are and how on a very limited tax base can put a small community at risk,” she said.
This was one of the concerns brought forward by Harvey, who said he would like to see more flexibility in the budget for rural communities.
“Municipalities are very different,” he said. “One size does not fit all. That was a lot of what we were talking about in the funding to have more flexibility.”
“We are advocating with the minister that funding be made available to assist the smaller communities that simply, with our tax base, we cannot economically provide the emergency services that are necessary.”
Kim Krause, councilor in the township of Schreiber, said he would also like to see more assistance to seniors and people on fixed incomes living in rural and remote communities.
According to Krause, high taxes in small communities is leading to health problems, such as mental and physical ailments, and forcing people to sell property or businesses to make ends meet.
“That is a concern, especially in small towns,” he said. “I was pleased to hear they are looking into ideas to help senior citizens. I think a lot of people here had some really good ideas. They are saying what needs to be said.”
There was a sense that the concerns of those in attendance were being listened to and Rusnak and Hajdu said they will take the ideas brought forward back to Ottawa to advocate on behalf of the region in the upcoming federal budget.
“I think that is part of the reassurance is that we keep seeing good numbers of people coming out to these budget consultations and to me that is a reflection that they feel there is a value of them coming to speak to us,” Hajdu said.
Pre-budget consultations are being accepted online.
