(BlackburnNews.com file photo)(BlackburnNews.com file photo)
Midwestern

Rural Ontario Communities Share Common Problems

The incoming vice chair of the Huron County's Economic Development Board says the recent Kingsville Economic Development Conference was a real eye-opener.

Maureen Nummelin says the conference was all about the problems rural Ontario communities are facing.

What she learned is that most communities in rural Ontario are struggling with the same issues. Those issues include the lack of a voice at the table with policy makers, an under-appreciation of the contribution rural Canada makes to the Canadian economy, and in many cases a lack of awareness of where the different counties are located.

Nummelin says the solution lies in rural Ontario communities collaborating and co-operating with each other and speaking with a common voice. She believes working together is the only way rural Ontario will be heard.

"So rather than re-inventing the wheel all over rural Ontario, if we collaborated and co-operated more and developed more synergy, I think we'd have more horsepower together because I think by working together rural Canada can have a much stronger voice," says Nummelin.

The first chair of Huron County's Economic Development Board stepped down at Monday night's meeting. Jim Lynn served as chair for three years and his term and that of fellow board member Steve Sparling had expired. The new chair is John Marshall and the new vice chair is Maureen Nummelin.

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