Rural Dividend Funding program cuts echo across Northwest

Doug Donaldson's notes on the
shift in funding allocation for the
Rural Dividend Fund

With the funding taps now turned off for the Rural Dividend Fund, communities across the Northwest are having to re-evaluate their plans for programs and projects that they had been hoping to fund through provincial program.

An initiative first introduced by the Liberal Government and then Premier Christy Clark in April of 2016 in order to help small and rural communities to address local concerns and access money towards a range of projects.

As we outlined last week, the hit on the Rural Dividend Fund came after the BC Government announced plans to provide financial assistance to hard hit forestry communities across the province, taking 25 million out of the Rural Fund and redirecting it towards the new Forestry assistance plan.

Doug Donaldson, the Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, was the Cabinet Minister designated to swing the axe and to tell the communities (many of them in his own constituency) that the money is on hold until further notice.

"Funding this essential programming for impacted workers has required that we temporarily reallocate funding in the Rural Dividend Program. 

As a result all applications received in this fiscal year's intake period June 15-August 15, 2019, are suspended until further notice in order to support workers and communities in the Interior as they face an unprecedented situation in the forestry sector economy. 

Applications submitted in the 2019 intake period will be retained for vetting and funding consideration at a future date"


During his UBCM closing keynote address of last Friday, Premier Horgan touched on the suspension of the Rural Dividend Fund, or the curtailment of it as the Premier put it.

With Mr. Horgan making note that it will return in 2020, though he offered no timeline for the municipal leaders as to when the funding machinery will begin to move forward again.

The Rural Fund notes were part of Mr. Horgan's larger shout out towards the work of the Northwest Resource Benefits Alliance, which noted that discussions were still in motion with municipal leaders as far as moving that initiative forward.

"We need to get an agreement in place that will stand the test of time': John Horgan speaks to the work ahead for the Northwest Benefit Alliance initiative.

And while the Municipal leaders await further instructions on how to collect on a larger share of resource revenue sharing, they for now will have to make do with less in the way of cash from a program that was fairly popular along the Highway 16 corridor.

In the week since UBCM wrapped up, the communities of the region have taken an inventory on the outstanding projects or programs and their fate.

In Burns Lake the hold back of funding opportunity will mean that they put plans for tourism planning on hold, with a planned grant request for 100,000 dollars on a tourism strategy and mobile visitor centre now awaiting the next move from the Province.

Governments blast NDP over funds switch

In Telkwa, a funding request for $10,000 dollars towards completion of parks master plan is now suspended, waiting until the NDP government re-opens the Rural Dividend Fund process.

Smithers had no requests in motion when the plug was pulled, but the Acting Mayor Gladys Atril told the Interior News she understood the need to help the communities that had been impacted by the Forestry crisis, but that she was disappointed by the decision to suspend the Rural Development Fund.

Telkwa Parks Plan on hold with cancellation of rural dividend

Neither Terrace or Kitimat have made note yet of any projects that they may have had in the works having to be put on hold.

Though at the moment,  they seem more focused on the impact of LNG projects in the Kitimat area, and how the province may look to lend assistance with a range of issues related to accelerated economic growth.

City of Terrace meets ministers to discuss impact of LNG boom at UBCM

Port Edward Mayor Knut Bjorndal appears to be the most understanding of the move by the NDP government noting for the Northern View how it was being suspended for the right reasons.

As for an impact on Port Edward, the Mayor observed that there are some projects proposed for the District that will have to be put on hold, but he did not expand on what they were.

Mayor Bjorndal says rural grant program suspension was "right thing to do"

Prince Rupert's Mayor Lee Brain has not made note of the Rural Dividend Funding cuts, and what programs or projects may be on hold for the City until the program is rejuvenated and back in service.

Instead, since his return from UBCM Mr. Brain has put his focus on the Premier's comments at UBCM on the work of the Northwest Resource Benefits Association.

Speaking to CBC's Day Break North the mayor hailed the Premier's speech as an indication that progress is being made on towards the ambitions of the regional group for a larger share of resource revenues.

Northwestern Mayors want more revenue from resource projects

For her part, NDP MLA Jennifer Rice has not had much to share on the theme of the curtailment of funding of the Rural Dividend Fund, that despite the program having been a popular and well used instrument in the past by communities along the North and Central Coast, as well as on Haida Gwaii.

For more items of note on provincial issues see our Legislature Archive page here.