News/Nouvelles : Rural Canada News Scan - May 2011

Source: Compiled by the Canadian Rural Research Network.
Compiled articles for the month of May, 2011. Click on the heading to access the online article.


Green postal boxes set to disappear from rural areas

The Nelson Daily – April 28, 2011
Green postal boxes in rural areas will be a thing of the past as Canada Post now looks to organize the country lanes of the regional district into distinct communities, says the RDCK’s chief administrative officer.


CRTC sets Internet speed target, deregulates home phone
Canoe.ca – May 3, 2011
By the end of 2015 all Canadians -- regardless of where they live -- will be entitled to broadband speeds of 5 megabits per second or higher for downloads and 1 Mbps or higher for uploads, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) said Tuesday.


Boil water advisory lifted in rural Ottawa
Yahoo News Canada - April 30, 2011
Officials have called off a boil water advisory issued as a precaution in a rural community on the outskirts of Ottawa.


Broadband Internet for all Canadians by 2015?
Northern Pen - May 9, 2011
Canada's broadcasting and telecommunications regulatory body has ruled that all Canadians should have broadband internet access by the end of 2015 "regardless of their geographical location."

Canada Post doesn't deliver all census forms
Chatham Daily News - May, 2011
A Wabash-area resident is surprised 2011 census forms are mailed back through Canada Post, but the federal corporation didn't deliver all of the 15 million forms.

Harper to visit Manitoba flood zone
CBCNews.ca – May 10, 2011
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is to travel to Manitoba's flood zone Wednesday, a day after the federal government committed more troops to the stricken area.

Federal rural minister needed in Ottawa
Hans Cunningham – May 5, 2011
For two generations, federal departments delivered new policies like sacks of seed and fertilizer, but no one was responsible for putting the pieces together to produce superior results.

Rural postal workers hours to be cut
Southern Gazette – May 17, 2011
The Canadian Postmasters and Assistant Association (CPAA) has received notice Canada Post Corporation plans to eliminate hours at rural post offices.

Hundreds forced from homes as winds fan Alberta fires
TheSpec.com – May 15, 2011
More than 1,000 people were ordered to leave their homes Sunday when strong winds fanned two separate wildfires that burned on either side of a northern Alberta town.

Telehealth program great for rural areas
Postmedia News – May 20, 2011
With a family history of breast cancer and herself a survivor of the disease, Donna Larade wanted to know if genetics had played a role, for her daughter's sake.

Xplornet connects with $230M financing deal
Ottawa Citizen – May 25, 2011
Xplornet Communications Inc. (formerly Barrett Xplore Inc.) says a $230-million financing deal gives it funds to finish a coast-to-coast wireless Internet network.