News/Nouvelles : Rural Canada News Scan, October 2010

Source: Compiled by the Canadian Rural Research Network.
Online news on rural Canada from October 1, 2010 to October 31, 2010. Click on the heading to access the online article.


Post offices, prison farms boon to rural Canada
The Interlake Spectator – October, 2010
MP James Bezan (Slekirk-Interlake) has sent me literature asking if I think his government is on the right track in Ottawa…Since [these] topics are so important to rural Canadians I am forwarding the full articles to the editor of this paper as proof that the information was published in the media before.

Greyhound to axe rural Alberta routes
The Toronto Sun – October 2, 2010
Greyhound says it can't continue to operate as a money-losing passenger carrier in Alberta and is seeking to reduce the number of buses it runs on some routes.

Safety behind mail changes
The Sun Times – October, 2010
Canada Post will soon stop delivering mail to 73 private, end-of-lane boxes on Hwy. 6 near Shallow Lake. The decision is part of a Canadawide safety survey of 860,000 rural mailboxes, with almost 5,000 in the Georgian Bluffs area. It counted 170 cars using that stretch of highway over 15 minutes at about the time the mail gets delivered.

Western Financial’s struggles bring opportunity
The Globe and Mail – October 4, 2010
Starting a bank in Canada is no easy feat. Many have tried to do so, a few have succeeded and others have failed. The jury is still out on Western Financial Group WES-T .

Carrier bringing WiMAX to rural Canada
ComputerWorld – October 7, 2010
A Canadian carrier specializing in delivering fixed wireless broadband service to businesses and homes in rural Canada has begun upgrading its network to WiMAX.

Ottawa must act to improve rail service to resource industries: group
The Gazette – October 12, 2010
The Federal Government should take urgent action to force the two main railways to improve service to resource industry shippers in rural and remote areas, the Forest Products Association of Canada said Tuesday.

NDP offers 'fix' to rural bitterness over long-gun registry
Postmedia News – October 7, 2010
A New Democrat who formerly opposed the federal long-gun registry will table a private member's bill Friday that he hopes will make the database more palatable to rural Canadians by decriminalizing failure to sign up.

Center for Rural Affairs opposes Keystone XL Pipeline permit
The Wauneta Breeze – October 15, 2010
The Center for Rural Affairs announced the organization’s opposition to a federal permit this week that would allow Trans-Canada Corporation to build the 1,980-mile Keystone XL Pipeline, a 36-inch pipeline that will carry up to 37.8 million gallons daily of tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and to the Texas Gulf Coast.

CRTC head, carrier spar over rural broadband target
Itwworldcanda – October 26, 2010
Many industrial countries see the need to set a minimum broadband goal to spur their economies, says the chair of the federal telecom regulator. However, he's facing industry resistance…

HSAS concerned about rural ambulance services
Yahoo Canada – October 26, 2010
The union representing emergency medical technicians in some rural Saskatchewan communities says not enough is being done to recruit and retain staff, to the detriment of ambulance services.

CRTC holds hearings on rural broadband
CBC.ca - October 27, 2010
Hearings into the future of broadband internet in rural and remote parts of Canada kicked off this week in Timmins, Ont., with the federal regulator looking at whether it should declare such access a basic service.

SaskTel seeking subsidy
Leader Post – October 28, 2010
SaskTel wants the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to enhance the national subsidy for high-cost telecommunications services to rural and remote areas to include high-speed Internet .

BCE allowed to use wireless for rural broadband
Reuters - October 29, 2010
Canada's telecom regulator will allow BCE Inc's Bell companies to use escrow funds to deploy wireless broadband to rural communities, overturning an earlier decision and, rivals say, giving Bell an unfair advantage.