The Rural Secretariat is a focal point for the Government of Canada to work in partnership with Canadians in rural and remote areas to build strong, dynamic communities. Located in Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, it provides leadership and coordination for the Canadian Rural Partnership; facilitates liaison and creation of partnerships around rural issues and priorities; and promotes dialogue between rural stakeholders and the federal government.
Key activities of the Rural Secretariat include:
- seeks input of rural Canadians through the Rural Dialogue so the federal government can better understand and respond to local and regional issues;
- conducts an Information Outreach program to promote awareness of federal programs and services for rural Canadians;
- promotes use of the "Rural Lens" to ensure that rural concerns are considered throughout the federal government;
- conducts and supports research and analysis of economic and social issues affecting rural Canada;
- coordinates a partnership approach on rural issues across the federal government, through the provincial and territorial Rural Teams;
- provides one-stop access to information of particular interest to rural Canadians through the Canadian Rural Information Service.
The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food is responsible for the Rural Secretariat.
Famous quotes containing the word rural:
“We realize that we are laggards from the past century, still living in what Marx kindly calls ‘the idiocy of rural life,’ and we know that our rural life is like that of the past, not like that of much of the present.”
—For the State of Vermont, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)