Chatham-Kent isn’t alone when it comes to issues like broadband connectivity, youth retention, and infrastructure.
Bernadette Jordan is Canada’s new Minister of Rural Economic Development, and says those issues are some of the most important facing rural communities rural across the country.
“We have such different infrastructure needs, I think that’s probably the biggest component” Jordan says. “Things like broadband connectivity, cell phone coverage. I think one of the things that’s really important in this file and one of the things I want to make sure we do is look at everything we do in terms of policy through a rural lens.”
The Nova Scotia MP was tapped to lead the new ministry during this week’s cabinet shuffle on Parliament Hill.
Jordan says she and other rural MPs have been advocating for a more rural focus in government, and she’s excited to see what the new ministry can do.
“Canada’s a big country,” she says. “Having sat on rural caucus with members from across the country, recognizing that a lot of the challenges that rural (communities) face are the same everywhere.”