Mr. Speaker, since the speech from the throne and the commitment to rural economic renewal, federal departments have been working together to focus efforts.
A great variety of programs and services currently can assist rural development, yet these are not widely known. The first step has been to ensure that rural Canadians are made aware of what is already available. Communications activities are under way to provide concrete details of programs and service information to rural Canadians.
Among the many programs, the Canadian adaptation and rural development fund, noted in the House on February 6, is putting more than $100 million over the next four years into the hands of local adaptation councils across Canada.
A further $50 million capital infusion to the FCC announced in the budget will assist growth and diversification in the farm sector. The government is also pursuing further opportunities to improve the range of financial products and services available to rural Canadians.
The community access program is helping rural and remote communities access the information highway. In January a further 429 projects were funded, making a total of over 700 rural communities across Canada now being assisted.
In the 1996 budget speech, the government provided for a fund to assist 1,500 communities by 1998. In this year's budget, it sets aside another $30 million over the next three years to help some 5,000 rural communities gain access to the Internet. These community access points-