Ladies and gentleman, I would first like to thank you for your invitation to Solidarité rurale du Québec to present our position on ways to maximize the number and types of jobs for Canadians.
I would first like to point out that Solidarité rurale du Québec is first and foremost a coalition of Quebec organizations that has been promoting and advocating for the revitalization and development of rural areas and their communities and villages for the past 23 years. In 1997, the Government of Quebec recognized the unique characteristics of rural life and made Solidarité du Québec a rural advisory body for all of Quebec.
Solidarité rurale du Québec has always maintained that the social and economic development of rural and remote regions and communities requires a vision and understanding that takes into account all aspects of rural life. In our opinion, this is the first thing the federal government must have in mind if it wants to implement conditions to increase their prosperity.
In other words, community size, population density, the type of natural resources to be found, remoteness from major centres and accessibility to services and infrastructure create very different realities from one rural area or community to another. The government's decisions must take these factors into account to maximize the number and types of jobs for Canadians.
How? By providing a modulatory clause in development and employment assistance programs, whether it be programs to provide training or support for innovation in business. The rules could be flexible and allow small or remote communities to qualify for assistance, venture capital or expertise.
The government must also put conditions in place to allow people in rural and remote areas to develop employment, on their own, that meets their local realities. These essential conditions include making high-speed Internet available. We recognize that efforts have been undertaken, but there are still too many underserved areas. All businesses and self-employed workers outside of urban centres should be entitled to a connection allowing them to be competitive, at a reasonable cost, which is not currently the case.
In addition, it is important to develop programs and tools allowing rural and remote residents to innovate by developing value-added products locally. A diverse economy is the basis of prosperity and the creation of diverse jobs.
We also believe that the government must protect those agricultural products that will be subject to the new open market rules with Europe. The very act of protecting agriculture and the agri-food processing industry protects Canadian jobs. Cheese makers in Quebec in particular come to mind.
Finally, the government must give rural communities the tools they need to foster their development. In this case, we could talk about forest biomass, which is something that can support rural communities. The government alone cannot solve employment challenges in rural communities and must, from now on, learn to support, mobilize and trust.
Communities must have levers to influence their development and mobilize their resources rather than waiting for a multinational to announce hundreds of jobs or foreign investments. We therefore recommend that the Government of Canada adopt, as part of a possible federal rural policy, a measure similar to the rural pact in Quebec's national policy on rurality.
I should point out that, in 2010, the OECD called this policy the most advanced in the world. The rural pact is a decentralized financial support measure. It is essentially an agreement between the government and each regional county municipality to strengthen and support rural development in these areas. The measure can support local and regional initiatives based on the will of the community. The rural pact, along with its budget envelope, is a real driver for job creation in rural areas. Such a pact would allow rural people across Canada to take control of their prosperity.
Thank you.