Whereas provincial policy development tends to be focused on research obtained from the larger urban areas; And whereas there can be a lack of consideration for the impact to the provinces rural communities when adopting legislative changes and policy: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM petition the provincial government to adopt an act or policy that places a statutory duty on public authorities to have due regard to rural needs in the development of policy and legislation.
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Government is committed to understanding the unique perspectives and interests of rural communities when it makes decisions that affect those communities. For example, government is now reviewing applications from rural communities for its Rural and Northern Communities Fund. Upon completion of this review, the fund will provide up to 90 million in funding to meet the unique infrastructure needs of rural communities. This program responds to specific infrastructure concerns that have been raised by rural communities in the past e.g. broadband connectivity, energy efficiency, local public transit etc.. More broadly, rural local governments are encouraged to make government aware of particular policy concerns by raising those concerns through UBCM andor directly with the appropriate Minister. UBCMs work as an advocate for all local governments serves as a key source of information when government makes decisions that affect rural communities. For example, UBCMs executive structure ensures rural representatives can provide regular input to the Minister and have a key role when government consults on statutory amendments or other key policy decisions affecting rural communities. As well, Convention provides rural representatives with a regular opportunity to meet directly with Ministers, and the resolution process provides a rich source of information about rural issues that the Ministry regularly utilizes when making decisions affecting rural communities. In the past, the Ministry has worked with UBCM to ensure these ongoing engagement processes adequately represent the broad range of UBCM members perspectives. If rural communities have specific concerns that their interests are under-represented in these processes, the Ministry is open to working with UBCM to explore opportunities for improvements.