The COVID-19 global pandemic created great uncertainty for employment across Canada and internationally. News reports have noted job losses by different sectors, the unequal distribution of the impacts, and the gradual re-opening of some sectors. Victoria Agyepong, Ryan Gibson, and Ray Bollman recently published a report called "Rural Employment and Workforce Development: Impacts and Opportunities". The report takes a rural lens to understand the impac...
COVID-19 has greatly influenced rural communities throughout Canada. To better understand the impacts, recovery strategies, and how to build long-term resilience the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation is hosting a free online conference from October 1-2, 2020. The Supporting Rural Recovery and Resilience online conference will features a series of discussions enhancing our understanding of the impact of the global pandemic on rural communit
COVID19 did not prevent a celebration of recent graduates from the Rural Planning and Development program! On July 10, an online gathering celebrated the achievements of recent graduates. It was wonderful to see Louis Helps, Koren Lam, Sarah Parish, Gursewak Singh, and Vinit Yadav recognized for their hard work over the past two years. The gathering included comments from the graduates, Dean of the Ontario College of Agriculture, President of the Ontario P...
A new publication focused on infrastructure investments to support COVID19 recovery in rural communities was released by the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation (CRRF). As part of CRRF's Rural Insights on COVID-19 Series, the publication examines how rural communities can employ green infrastructure to address post-pandemic recovery and climate reliance. The report emerges from the Building the Future research initiative funded through the Ontario Agr
Ashleigh Weeden (PhD Candidate, Rural Studies), believes the future of local government will look very different from its past and, in an interview with Municipal World's CEO and Editor in Chief, Ashleigh argues that this future requires recommitting to core values of inclusion, diversity, and integrity. The interview was recorded as part of Municipal World's new MW Shares podcast series and highlights Ashleigh's five years of contributions to Municipal Wo...
On February 25, 2020, in partnership with the Ontario Good Roads Association, the Building the Future research team launched a survey for rural municipal officials and staff to learn more about their experiences in planning for and connecting infrastructure initiatives and economic development strategies.
Ashleigh Weeden (PhD Candidate, Rural Studies) launched the survey to a standing-room-only session of more than 75 delegates at the 2020 Ontario Good
Three graduate students were recently profiled by the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation (CRRF) as emerging rural scholars! The February 2020 CRRF national newsletter highlighted the research being conducted by Victoria Agyepong, Koren Lam, and Ashleigh Weeden. The research themes are noted below:
Victoria Aygepong: Bringing People to the Centre: Governance of Digital Circular Food Economy in Non-Metro Ontario.
Koren Lam: Rural Telecommuters in
Helping Indigenous communities in Northern Ontario create comprehensive community plans is exactly the job that Shannon Labelle was searching. Shannon Labelle, a recent graduate of the Master of Science in Rural Planning and Development program at the University of Guelph, was recently interviewed in LIBRANNI. Shannon provides insights into the work she is doing with the Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund. You can read about Shannon's work in Northe
The Philippines is ranked as the fifth most mineral-rich country in the world, with approximately 30 million hectares of land in the country endowed in metallic minerals, including but not limited to, gold, nickel, copper and iron ore (Lindon et al., 2013). San Roque Metals Inc. (SRMI) is a large-scale nickel mining company located within the Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor, one of the country’s Key Biodiversity Areas in Mindanao, Philippines (Ibane...
