A message worth repeating

While the Globe and Mail gave its front page to the continued demands of CEOs, Conservative Senator Hugh Segal delivered a message which far more Canadians need to hear...and which the NDP would do well to pick up for itself:

"The most important issue I think Canadians have to come to grips with is that two million of our fellow citizens in rural Canada are living in poverty," Segal told reporters following his presentation to the third annual Saskatchewan Institute of Public Policy luncheon in Regina.

These men, women and children, he said, are living without adequate shelter, access to needed medical and social services, and sufficient or wholesome food, and have little or no hope of finding meaningful employment without leaving their homes, their histories, their families and their communities.

"They don't have enough money for any kind of quality of life and there is no quality of opportunity," Segal said.

And Segal's statement wasn't limited to complaints without suggestions:

Segal suggests governments look at a cohesive national strategy aimed at decentralizing services to rural areas of the country to anchor rural communities and provide much-needed job opportunities.

"It is about an integrated policy focus that looks at and considers innovation, financing, tax, environmental and energy challenges in a co-ordinated and integrated way with an agricultural perspective," he said.

Segal also proposes the creation of a basic income floor that would ensure people living in poverty would receive sufficient income support to live with a measure of self-respect and dignity.

Now, some tradeoffs need to be made between a decentralization strategy and the efficiencies that may come from more centralized services. But in general, Segal's priorities reflect a worthy attempt to deal with issues which have been largely ignored in the public sphere over the past few election cycles - and which deserve far more attention than they've received.

I'm not optimistic that Segal's party leader will do anything to follow through on Segal's suggestions. But that doesn't mean there's no chance of making progress - provided that the NDP co-opts the message. A party message dedicated to fighting poverty in both rural and urban areas could potentially offer scope to cooperate with the Cons if Harper's willing to play ball...or more likely would offer a stark contrast against what seems likely to be a lack of focus on rural issues given Harper's apparent focus on appealing to bigger cities. And that could be just the ticket for the NDP to start winning back federal seats closer to its roots.