Have a Sustainable Holiday Season

Well after about a year of work the Individual Self-Assessment reports are going in the mail today! So every municipality that took part, all 250, will receive an individual report based on their session. The reports emphasize the fact that they are based on the results as discussed at each session and are not intended as an outsiders evaluation but are a real self-assessment.

No doubt some councils will not receive their report until early in 2009 but hopefully that will place issues of sustainability on the top of the priority list for the new year.

I have to say a special thank you to those councils who took part in the Pilot phase of the project as it will have been a year between the session and the report. I do apologize for the time lag but there were delays in securing the funding project in the initial phases. Never the less it is now complete.

Again, Thanks you to all councils, and staff who took the time from their busy schedules to take part.

In 2009 the CCRC will continue helping municipalities work together to enhance their sustainability and it will al be posted here and on the CCRC website.

Have a safe and happy Christmas.

Ryan

NLAMA ICSP session

On Friday Dec 12 NLAMA has again invited the CCRC to do a training session on ICSP development in NL. This will make the third session I've done with administrators on the topic. Each session has been slightly different and this upcoming one will have the most up to date material.

It will, of course, cover the basics of what an ICSP is and some general steps on how to develop one but the session will also cover the very likely ICSP options in NL and outline the plans of MNL to provide assistance to towns for ICSP development.

So if you're a municipal administrator and would like to know more get in touch with NLAMA ASAP and sign up for the session on Friday.

Cheers.

In the News

Two regionally related pieces in the news as of late.

First is the Bide Arm and Roddickton amalgamation due to be finalized in January 09. By all accounts everyone seems to see this as a positive move for the area.

Second:
Cell phone coverage and snow clearing are just a couple of the items up for discussion at a meeting this week of the Lower Trinity South and Conception Bay North Community Councils. The session Thursday night is in an effort to strengthen ties between the communities. CBN Joint Councils Association Chairman Frank Evely says snow clearing is just one of the issues they have in common. Evely says the 9:30pm cut-off for snow clearing just won't do. He says there are people heading to and from work after that hour.

Evely says there's strength in numbers...and hopes banding together will bring results.

As reported by VOCM

Wrapping up and moving on.

The Municipal Sustainability Self-Assessment project is quickly coming to a close and it looks like we will have approximately 90% participation. So the first order of business is to say a hugh thank you for every council that took the time to take part in the process. We have received fantastic feedback from around the province and it is a great sign for the next phase of the ICSP process.

Speaking of ICSPs we're hoping that very soon there will be more detail available as to the specific details for this province. Stay tuned for updates as soon as they're available.....

Councillor Survey Results Available

The detailed and demanding work of creating, circulating, collecting and compiling the results of the municipal councillor survey is finally complete! The results of the municipal census were released back in May at MNL's municipal symposium and we can now release the results of the companion municipal councillor survey.

See the press release here and a pdf copy of the results here.

The CCRC would like to say a special thank you to Matt Beck who completed a great deal of the collection and compilation for both the census and the survey. Thanks Matt!

Regional Cooperation at its Best

It appears to be the norm that the day-to-day activities tend to bog down the best of people. Faced with the onslaught of paper to be filed, calls to be made, deadlines to be met and complaints to be dealt with there never seems to be enough time, effort or resources to get done what really needs to be done in terms of planning for the future.

This is, in short, is the main idea behind the ICSPs that municipalities are now required to complete. As has been discussed here before the ICSPs are an opportunity to look to the future and the Municipal Self-Assessment is the first step in that process.

One group that is looking o the future, and looking for more information on ICSPs, is the Great Humber Joint Council. The CCRC was invited by the GHJC Chair Tony Blanchard, Mayor of the Town of Irishtown - Summerside to speak on long term sustainable planning for municipalities. The presentation was very well received with great questions and interest. The session was also attended by a representative from the Western Star who reported on the event here.

It is truly great to see municipal leaders take a proactive step in understanding the need for long term planning. It is not surprising to see that the GHJC is one of the groups attempting to be proactive as they are a very well established and active joint council. Without a doubt regional cooperation at its best!

Changeover issues continued.....

It turns out that not only were there email issues but also website issues.
So if you are looking for any documents from the CCRC section of the website and the links are not working give it a week or so and we should be up and running. If it's something you need ASAP please let me know at ccrc@municipalitiesnl.com and I'll get it to as soon as I can.

Contact Information Changes

Just a quick note that all email addresses within MNL have changed. Since we are no longer the NLFM our new addresses are in the format of "position@municipalitiesnl.com". So for the CCRC the new email is ccrc@municipalitiesnl.com. The website has also changed to www.municipalitiesnl.com.

If you have any problems contacting the office give us a call at 1-709-753-6820.

And a good time was had by all.....

So now it's over and we can start planning for the next one but the 58th annual convention was a great success! Despite one issue taking centre stage there were many issues discussed of high priority to municipalities in NL.

There were presentations on asphalt quality, community scale hydro possibilities, Long term sustainability planning(ICSP) and waste management. There was an announcement on the new branding of NLMEBinc. as Trio, and sessions dedicated to fisheries and Marine Atlantic. There was also the resolutions session where members passed resolutions supporting mandatory winter tires, continuing the revolution of the MNL convention, the creation of a Provincial land use advisory committee, support for the new TODS program, and a fixed link across the Strait of Belle Isle.

Also released was the results of the Municipal Councillor Survey which will be added to the CCRC website shortly along with many of the presentations from the convention.

Now that convention is over the CCRC blog will be updated on a more regular basis so check back soon!

ICSP Training with NLAMA

The CCRC has been engaged to provide some preliminary training on ICSP development by NLAMA during some of their Regional meetings. The first session was delivered in Clarenville back in June when we were still unsure how ICSPs would work for Newfoundland and Labrador. This coming Friday, September 19th in Cow Head we'll take another run at ICSPs. This session will be similar to the Clarenville session but it will contain up-to-date information on how ICSPs will for for NL.

Also included in the session will be some take home materials to help administrators prepare for the ICSP process and an update on the Self-Assessment project and it's links to the ICSPs.

If you are an administrator and are able to get to Cow Head on the 19th then give NLAMA a call and register for what should be a very informative session.

Convention is coming! Convention is coming!

With summer pretty much over and Halloween just around the corner all the signs point to the annual MNL Convention coming to the Pepsi Centre in Corner Brook on October 8th to the 11th.

This year's agenda is full to to brim with great educational sessions on most all facets of municipal life. Of course the one session you can't afford to miss is scheduled for Friday morning at 8:30. Yes it's the CCRC session and jokes aside you should be in attendance.

This year there will be three presenters for the CCRC session. To start the sustainability wheels turning we'll have Sarah Breen speaking on small scale local level hydro possibilities in the province. Next will be Steve Quintin, the Project Coordinator of the Self-Assessment project and he will provide an update on the project including trends that have been identified in the results to date. I will be the final speaker and my time will dedicated to talking about ICSPs and what's will happen over the next year and a half for all municipalities receiving gas tax funding. I (Ryan Lane) will also briefly cover general CCRC activities but for this coming year the issue of priority will be ICSP development. I'm hoping to provide a rough timeline as well as identify some support mechanisms that will be in place to help those who need it.

Hope to see you there!

ICSP......continued

While MNL, CCRC, NLAMA and the Department of Municipal Affairs (DMA) work together to determine the future direction of the ICSP process for NL there are resources that have been developed around the country that can be useful in preparation for developing your own ICSP.

The CCRC has recently added a page of ICSP resources compiled from various sources. Check it out here. Check back regularly as it will be updated as new resources and information becomes available.

Economic Development and the Cooperative Approach

In two weeks MNL will be hosting another Economic Development workshop in its series around the province under the Local Action for Developing Regions(LADR) program.

LADR WORKSHOP, ST. ANTHONY AUGUST 21 & 22
MNL’s LADR Economic Development Workshops are more popular than ever! They bring business leaders to a discussion with municipal leaders on critical economic development issues all over the province. The results have been beyond our expectations. The last session in St. John’s attracted over 70 participants. On August 21-22 we will bring LADR to St. Anthony.

This will be a great opportunity for municipal leaders from the Great Northern Peninsula to discuss the critical economic issues facing their communities and how they can play a meaningful role in addressing them. Of course we encourage participation from across the province and look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at this exciting event. Space is limited, Call 1-800-440-6536 today to register

One of the unique aspects of the LADR workshops is that they are designed around the specific issues of the host region while still delivering general information that is broadly applicable. The presentations usually include the areas of various natural resources, tourism, funding and support programs and of course regional and/or municipal cooperation on economic development. There are growing examples of cooperation on the economic development front and the CCRC will be focusing on some of these examples at the St. Anthony workshop.

Registration is not costly and space can fill up quickly so call now to secure your spot 1-800-440-6536.

Rural Matters!

July 5th to 8th in Edmonton the AAMDC held a conference dedicated to issues on communities of rural Canada called Rural Matters! The exclamation point is important because it drives home the point that in this age of urbanization and population shift toward the cities it is the rural areas that continue to support the urban areas.

The conference included education sessions on rural diversification, rural-urban interaction, regional governance, green energy, capacity building and community based development organizations. As there were 9 sessions running concurrently for 4 sections this is just a short list of the opportunities available at the conference. Those sessions included speakers from rural areas around the country including from Newfoundland and Labrador.

Beyond the education sessions there was a long and distinguished list of keynote speakers including Sheila Watt-Cloutier, Dr. Mark partridge (economist), Dr. Patrick Moore (founding member of Greenpeace) and the Honourable Mike Harcourt ( former May of Vancouver and former Premier of BC). Despite this impressive list the only speaker to get 2 standing ovations was Newfoundland and Labrador's own Rex Murphy. Rex spoke with such passion and first hand knowledge of rural issues that he brought the crowd to their feet each time he spoke. Rex mentioned the need to recognize the contributions that rural areas make to urban areas and the symbiotic relationship that exists between city and county areas. Despite his reputation for using large words and complicated phrasing he spoke with such simple elegance that those in attendance could not help but be moved.

Two issues to note: First there were workshops that focused on creating specific goals that could be passed on to the FCM for action and Second there was discussion around the idea of holding a rural conference on a regular basis to ensure that rural issues remain at the forefront.

By the end of Rural Matters! those who attended at least had a better understanding that rural issues were just as important in Ontario as they are in Newfoundland and Labrador.

A Full Summer Ahead

Despite the regular trend of municipal business slowing down a little during the summer months the CCRC is chugging full steam ahead. We have finally started our Sustainability Self-Assessment project and we have retained Mr. Stephen Quinton as our Project Coordinator. Stephen will be responsible for all the logistics and reporting for the project and he will be in contact with every municipal office over the coming months to arrange a time for each council to go through the Sustainability Self-Assessment tool kit.

The process should take about 3 or 4 hours and we are flexible to arrange these sessions around the schedules of councillors and staff. Summer is a difficult time to start a project of this nature but we have to get it off the ground now and it will run for approximately 5 months. We are asking that all municipalities take the time to engage in this process because it is a great opportunity to step back and take an honest look at long term sustainability issues and it is a first step toward developing ICSPs as mentioned in previous posts.

If you would like to be proactive you can give Stephen a call here at the MNL office at 709-753-6820 and he can begin setting up meeting times that work for you. Otherwise expect a call form him in the near future.

The CCRC is also continually involved in the Functional Regions research project as mentioned here. That project involves multiple researchers and research assistants including Ann Marie Cashin working out of the MNL office under the direction of the CCRC. She is conducting some follow up work on the 2007 Census that the CCRC completed recently.

Beyond those two projects is the work on regional cooperation that the CCRC is continually involved with and the work related to building our resource centre and having it searchable online. Unfortunately it is not yet searchable from the CCRC website but we're working on it.

Cheers to a safe and happy summer all around.

What's in a plan?

Dwight D. Eisenhower is reputed to have once said that "Plans are worthless, but planning is everything."

The intent of the message is not lost on those who have shelves of pans but no method to implement, monitor or revise them. Instead they sit, collecting dust and providing nothing but a distant reference point to a conversation that includes "Yeah we've got one of those plans.......somewhere around here." Municipal operations are no different. Many times legislation simply requires that you have a plan but nothing more. Enter the Integrated Community Sustainability Plan.

With the "new deal for cities and communities" the Federal Government has designed a program to flow gas tax monies back to local governments for infrastructure projects. One of the issues is the desire to enhance the sustainability of communities and also to ensure that funding is spent on sustainable projects in sustainable communities. One of the ways to accomplish this is through the development of long term sustainability plans or ICSPs by all municipalities in Canada.

While it is an obligation of gas tax funding to complete ICSPs the most important note is that it is an opportunity to improve the planning processes and possibly even enhance some planning capacity in the province. ICSPs must be integrated and must be "living" plans that are continuously consulted, maintained and revised. They must be flexible and useable and involve goals and directions as developed by the community. Obviously this is a different approach that requires more community engagement and simply more work up front. However the advantages are exponential to the amount of work required.

Recently the CCRC arranged a session for the senior administrators from the municipalities in the province with more then 4000 residents. This session was intended to give these administrators an opportunity to speak with senior staff within the Provincial Department of Municipal Affairs and Infrastructure Canada regarding their perspectives on ICSPs and the specific requirements involved. The main points that developed from this discussion included the need for ICSPs to be a living document, the importance of building on existing planning processes and the importance of identifying infrastructure needs.

Also of note is the recent education session delivered by CCRC at a NLAMA session in Clarenville. The session was very well attended and the feedback from that session will help the CCRC work with the Department of Municipal Affairs to determine some of the specifics of ICSP development for Newfoundland and Labrador.

The CCRC is committed to ensuring that the ICSP process focus on planning as opposed to just developing a plan that sits on a shelf!

Stay tuned for further details.

A Proactive Approach

This past Saturday the Town of Harbour Breton held it's second Community Capacity Building Forum. The purpose of this forum was to engage the residents and local and regional stakeholders in the process of developing a strategic economic plan.

In May 2000 they held a similar forum and it became the basis for their 5-year Strategic Economic Plan which guided the Town's economic development activities for the following five years. On May 24th they began the process again. With representation from the Town, residents, local businesses, the Regional Economic Development Board, the Department of Tourism and the CCRC discussions were fruitful and a new planning process has begun.

Discussing the issues around Aquaculture development and the switch from a fish plant that closed in 2004 and is now operating to process farmed fish is a great indication of what can be accomplished in rural areas of the province.

One of the points made by Harbour Breton Mayor Don Stewart in his welcoming remarks that was repeated throughout the day was that they needed to be cognizant of the fact that they cannot survive as one community and it is the entire Coast of Bays Regions that must work together on these kinds of issues. That's the kind of talk the CCRC is hearing all around the province.

This event displayed great work and proactive thinking by the Town of Harbour Breton in taking the initiative and planning for a prosperous future within a functional region.

Rural-Urban Interaction and what it might mean for NL

This weekend representatives from the Regional Economic Development Boards from around the province are meeting in Labrador West to discuss current topics and trends within economic development. MNL Small Town Director and Mayor of Bishops Falls is attending to discuss the MNL initiative titled Local Actions for Developing Regions(LADR) which is the MNL economic development venue.

To help set the stage for the weekend there will be a short session on the Rural - Urban Interaction project. This project involves research on regional governance organization and labour market flows around the province. There are 3 pilot regions where more detailed work will be happening and those areas are the Irish Loop, the Twillingate - New World Island area, and the Labrador Straits. The project is ongoing and will include regular feedback sessions in each of the pilot areas. This blurb is taken from an earlier press release on the project:

Rural-Urban Interaction in Newfoundland and Labrador: Understanding and Managing Functional Regions.

The Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation (CRRF) in association with Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador (MNL), the Department of Geography and Harris Centre, Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Department of Rural Studies, University of Kentucky, with funding support from the Canada/Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Market Development Agreement, have launched a 30-month project titled Rural-Urban Interaction in Newfoundland and Labrador: Understanding and Managing Functional Regions.

The website for the project is contained within the CCRC webpage and under the link Rural - Urban Research. The presentation provided by the CCRC and the Project Coordinator Pat Curran this weekend will be uploaded to the presentations page of the site early next week.

We're looking for a few good people...

The CCRC is looking for people to help roll out the Municipal Sustainability Self-Assessment Tool Kit around the province. We need 1 project coordinator and 4 or 5 field staff facilitators to travel around the province and facilitate the tool kit delivery. Check out the job posting on the MNL website here.

The project will require between 4 and 5 months of work to meet with every municipality in the province with the exception of those 7 who already completed the Self-Assessment.

If you know someone who is an experienced facilitator or project coordinator and would enjoy working with the municipalities in NL then direct them to the job ads or have them send their resume to ccrc@nlfm.ca.

Census Report now online

The 2007 Census report is now available online at the CCRC website or you can get a copy directly by clicking here. You can view it online or right click and select Download file to get a copy on your desktop.

Thanks again to all those who took the time to complete the census.

Sustainable Symposium a Success!

This past weekend marked the annual MNL Symposium and this year the vast majority of sessions were related to the issue of sustainability. While there was considerable discussion around the real definition of sustainability everyone seemed to grasp the idea of long term survival of our rural municipalities.

The sessions on Waste Management and issues relating to ICSP development and the Gas Tax agreement were well attended. Questions to the panelists spurred great discussion on how municipalities can adapt to these new approaches. During the Waste Management session the audience was very adamant that enforcement must be a large part of the approach to prevent illegal dumping when the regional waste sites begin operation. The issue of site cleanup and transportation costs were also discussed as municipalities expressed concerns over rising costs and shrinking revenues.

The CCRC was involved in two sessions, the first of which was a report on the 2007 municipal census conducted by the CCRC and now available. It will be soon posted to the CCRC website and copies will be distributed to all municipalities in the province. The second session was dedicated to the launch of the Municipal Sustainability Self-Assessment Toll Kit (SSAK). This project has been in development for nearly 2 years and is tied very closely to the ICSP process as it provides a baseline for all municipalities to build upon in the planning process. The SSAK is now ready to roll out and the CCRC office will be putting a team in place to facilitate the tool kit over the coming 4-5 months. The CCRC office will be in touch with every municipality to make arrangements for these sessions that are expected to take 3-4 hours for each municipality. Once the process is complete each town will receive a short report outlining the results and a short list of recommendations in preparation for the ICSP process.

The CCRC is also working on a similar initiative to roll out next year for the completion of ICSPs for each municipality, or groups of municipalities in NL. Remember, the ICSP are a requirement of the Gas Tax agreement and a great opportunity to take advantage of additional planning capacity and expertise that may not exist in every municipality.

As Thomas Edison once said "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work"

Lets do the work and take advantage of the opportunity.

Budget Quickie

With the Provincial Budget released on Tuesday at the end of the section on infrastructure there are a couple of relevant notes for CCRC.

First is the investment of $1 million to "...help to eliminate barriers to merging..." in other words debt relief in cases of amalgamation. Even though amalgamation is still seen as a dirty word in this province it is being discussed in some areas and debt issues are often the main stumbling block so any funding to address this is good news.

Second is an undisclosed amount to finance a 5 year pilot project in regional governance! Obviously this is of great interest and relevance to the work that the CCRC does so we'll be keeping our ears open to learn more about this initiative.

Attack of the alphabet

Recent work in the CCRC seems to have unleashed an onslaught of acronyms. NLAMA, FIGI, BNJC and of course CCRC!

First is NLAMA the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Municipal administrators. They held their annual convention April 17th to 19th in Gander and the CCRC was glad to be on the presenters agenda to speak to the "doers" about regional cooperation and the Sustainability Self-Assessments that are coming soon to a council office near you.

Next on the list is FICI which stands for the Fogo Island Cooperation Initiative. This is a working group of sorts comprised of members from all the municipal councils on Fogo Island that are working with the CCRC to explore more enhance cooperation and potential merger for the councils on the island. They are currently awaiting an official response with regard to a resource request from the Department of Municipal Affairs. With the budget due to come down today a response should be forthcoming.

Finally on the acronym attack in the BNJC. These letters stand for the name of the newest Joint Council in the province: the Bonavista North Joint Council. Joint Councils are becoming more important as a means to provide a regional voice to municipalities around the province. The BNJC currently represents the towns of Musgrave Harbour, Lumsden, Greenspond, Indian bay, New-Wes-Valley and Centreville-Wareham-Trinity. The group is pleased to have a new way to communicate and lobby as a region. Cheers to them!

If you have any questions about setting up a joint council why not contact the CCRC (another acronym) at ccrc@nlfm.ca

Up next the provincial budget!

Rural Newfoundland and Labrador: An Underdog Story

For all the talk about the death of "Rural" Newfoundland and Labrador there are many leaders fighting for the survival of their communities.

The CCRC is involved with a research project that will examine what a functional region is, in terms of where people go for work, school, healthcare and shopping and what forms of governance organizations work well and which forms don't work well. The project is looking at three pilot regions in the province including the Irish Loop, the Labrador Straights, and the Twillingate - New World Island areas. The researchers are examining the pilot areas and mapping the functional regions with regard to labour flows.

This week the CCRC traveled to Newville to play our part as the liaison between the researchers and the communities. Expectations were simply that the researchers would present some of the findings thus far and the CCRC would help facilitate the discussion so that the communities involved helped determine the outputs. The presentation of research happened to be timed so that it coincided with the AGM of the local Rural Development Association. The province once had about 59 of these organizations funded by the Provincial Government and they directed the economic and social activities within their areas. As time passed they began to be overshadowed by the creation of the Regional Economic Development Boards and then the Rural Secretariat. Eventually government core funding disappeared and so did many of the RDAs. Currently there are somewhere around 25 to 30 remaining at varying levels of activity.

I was personally delighted to attend the AGM of a very active and successful organization obviously dedicated to the development of their region. Their annual report included a list of activities like Employment Assistance Services, a Community Partner Site, Visitor Information Centre, regional Unity Games and a Strategic Planning Committee. This organization is of interest to the CCRC because of its regional nature and the issues of rural sustainability that it continues to address. For continuing to fight for the survival of our rural communities I would like to say a heartfelt congratulations to the Twillingate - New World Island Development Association. Keep up the fight!

A "how to" for clean air

In the March edition of Municipal World there is an article on a new online tool to help municipalities adopt clean air policies and practices. The Clean Air Kit was developed as a collaborative project among BC Transit, BC Ministry of the Environment, and Environment Canada. Essentially it is a step-by-step guide to assist local governments to start a clean air program and though it was developed in British Columbia it can be easily adapted to any municipality.

The kit contains sections on the issues around government jurisdictions, available funding, and transit-friendly planning. There is quite a large section on ways to reduce engine emissions including a great guide to creating a anti-idling campaign. There's even a section on how to 'green' your events and meeting through more environmental practices. It's a great package and well worth a look.

While municipalities in NL deal with long term viability issues it does not mean that we can ignore the responsibility to develop policies and practices that are environmentally friendly. We can be thankful that on some issues others who have the capacity have taken some of the first steps. It is our obligation to follow their lead and take advantage of every opportunity to ensure that the Newfoundland and Labrador of our grandchildren's generation is just a beautiful and pristine as it is in our generation. One way to work toward that goal is to check out The Clean Air Kit and implement clean air policies.

Great Success

The recent meeting of the Combined Councils of Labrador was so successful that it deserves a second posting! The LADR portion of the weekend was very well received even though there were issues with a lack of speakers due to the weather. Attendees were actively involved in discussions around building the economic development capacity of municipalities and how long term sustainability is the goal for all small towns. The initial plan for MNL staff was to head back to St. John's after the workshop was completed but as usual mother nature had different plans and some of us were destined to attend the entire CCL AGM. This was indeed a good news story for those of us who would have otherwise missed a great AGM.

Seeing first hand how a regionally focused Joint Council deals with truly regional issues was worth the trip. It is certainly an eye opener to hear some of the more remote communities talk about issues around transportation, fuel costs, mail delivery and the cost of everyday products. These on the ground issues are of vital importance for the people on the North Coast of Labrador. The CCL provides a common voice for all of Labrador and despite the fact that weather prevented both provincial and federal ministers from attending it was a great event. It is also worth noting that money was raised over the three days to help multiple causes in the Port Hope Simpson area.

Keep up the good work CCL!

CCL, LADR and CCRC

This weekend marks an interesting event: the annual Combined Councils of Labrador meeting. This year the event is being held in Port Hope Simpson and MNL is tagging on a LADR workshop for the attendees. As is becoming usual for these events the CCRC is hosting a panel on cooperation and economic development as one of the sessions.

Each LADR workshop is designed to address specific concerns of the region it is based in and the South coast of Labrador is no exception. There will be a session on small towns and gas tax funding, general economic development and cooperation options.

It is quite appropriate that the CCRC be presenting since the CCL is one of the oldest and geographically largest cooperative effort in the province. No doubt the LADR workshop and the CCL AGM will continue the development of communities throughout Labrador.

Our version of Sustainability

February 14th to 16th in Canada's capital city of Ottawa municipal leaders from around the country gathered to discuss the latest successes and challenges of municipal sustainability. The sessions covered sustainable planning, climate change activities, local sustainability initiatives, Sustainable transportation, transforming brownfields and water management. These sessions were very well attended and contained many councillors and experts from around the country. The many examples of communities striving for sustainability provided an inspiration for other.

As the 'sustainability arm' of MNL the I was present along with President Letto to study the examples from around the country and determine what might work here in Newfoundland and Labrador. Once the sessions and discussions began it was obvious that the majority of attendees were using the environmental definition of sustainability. Delegates were surprised to here of the capacity issues that we face in NL and that for our communities we use a very broad definition of sustainability that almost equates to survival. This of course includes an environmental component but has a broad focus of long term community sustainability. While there were delegates present from rural areas of other provinces the vast majority of people were from municipalities that would be considered very urban in the NL perspective. Even the national definition of rural is considerably different from our own. All this means is that we have to work all that much harder to find the appropriate examples or to adapt the more urban initiatives to suit our situation.

To highlight the importance of municipal sustainability there was speaking time allotted to the National leaders of the Green party, the New Democratic Party, The Liberal Party and the Bloc Quebecois along with the Federal Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. Each of these leaders along with other keynote speakers focused on the need for sustainable development and leadership at the municipal level. As with many important issues the sustainable movement is coming from the grassroots level and it's the role of municipalities to manage this development with future generations in mind.

Cooperation News

Taken with permission from the Town of South River's January newsletter:

…Regional Services
A new board, The Bay-de-Grave Regional Municipal Services Corporation, has been formed to begin handling the demands of our growing towns, and to help us work cooperatively on issues such as fire protection. This is the first service which the RMSC has been mandated to provide. Plans to construct a brand new fire station are being finalized, with an agreement having been reached on a parcel of land at the top of Foley’s Hill. If matters proceed as planned, construction could begin as early as this spring.

Over time, the RMSC will develop into a more comprehensive service provider, with the potential to provide snow-clearing services, waterworks maintenance, garbage collection, and animal control, among other services. Regionalization is a great way to foster mutually beneficial relations between towns, and to ease the burden that small towns bear to provide big-town services.

This is the kind of cooperative efforts that can save money and enhance the sustainability of our rural communities. If you have any stories like this please let us know at ccrc@nlfm.ca

Economic Development and Sustainability: Hand in Hand

This past weekend marked another successful Local Actions for Developing Regions (LADR) workshop. This time the location was the City of Corner Brook.

The event was well attended and the feedback was very positive. For the Corner Brook workshop sessions focused on local issues. The first panel consisted of industry perspectives and impacts on municipalities including tourism, oil and gas, and forestry. There was also a sustainability panel on municipal sustainability research and options presented by the Center for Environmental Excellence, the Centre for Rural Municipal Sustainability and the Community Cooperation Resource Centre. Next was a planning session involving planners from Municipal Affairs, a municipality and the local Regional Economic Development Board focusing on the challenges and opportunities of municipal planning. There was also a funding and support session with presentations from the Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the Community Business Development Corporations and the Department of Municipal Affairs that covered the various funding and support options that exist for municipalities interested in economic development. During lunch MNL Executive Director Craig Pollett also gave a presentation on one possible pilot project that could help build planning capacity for municipalities.

CCRC activities around service sharing and regional cooperation are often connected to issues of economic development. The CCRC will continue to maintain a close relationship with the LADR workshops and highlight the opportunities for municipal cooperation in the area of economic development.

LEED-ing the way

Green building design is beginning to play a larger role in making communities more environmentally friendly and the LEED program is one tool designed for that purpose.

LEED is a market-based rating system that facilitates and certifies higher energy and environmental performance of buildings and communities. The rating system is adapted to the Canadian market through an inclusive process that engages stakeholders and experts representing the various sectors of the Canadian industry. A rapidly-growing number of governments and private sector organizations are adopting LEED certification in their policies, programming and operations, aimed at achieving and demonstrating sustainability.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is organizing a series of one day workshops across the country on this issue. The workshop for this province is scheduled for March 28 in St John's. For more information on LEED check out this or at the FCM sustainable communities site here and for more on the workshop check out the registration info here.

From the latest Municipal Info Note

The CCRC is happy to announce that the pilot phase of the Municipal Sustainability Self-Assessment Tool Kit is drawing to a close. We would like to thank the following towns for participating in the pilot phase: St. Anthony, Change Islands, Come By Chance, Leading Tickles and Flowers Cove. With comments collected from these towns the CCRC will now evaluate the Self-Assessment process and make changes as required before moving toward a province wide roll out. This Self-Assessment process is an excellent first step in developing the Integrated Community Sustainability Plans (ICSP) that municipalities will have to complete by 2010 to have continued access to gas tax funding. The CCRC will remain involved in the development of the ICSP process and continue to keep municipalities up to date on the roll out of the Self-Assessment around the province.

On January 14th the CCRC facilitated a meeting that involved the towns of Musgrave Harbour, Lumsden, New-Wes-Valley, Greenspond and Centervill-Wareham-Trinity on the topic of regional cooperation in the form of a new joint council. Joint councils are becoming a popular form of cooperation around the province as towns discover that a larger regional voice is more effective and that joint councils provide an excellent opportunity to share concerns with limited commitment. These five towns and two Local Service Districts will now have the opportunity to become part of a regional cooperative effort to improve relationships and increase their lobbying efforts to the benefit of residents in the region. The CCRC is proud to continue our commitment to communities involved in cooperative efforts around the province.

Another Successful Meeting

This past Monday evening, January 14th, 25 municipal leaders met to discuss the possibility of froming a new Joint Council. The towns represented at the meeting were Musgrave Harbour, Lumsdon, New Wes Valley, Indian Bay and Centerville Wareham Trinity. Currently there are approximately 14 Joint Councils in most every region of the province. Petty Harbour Maddox Cove Deputy Mayor Sam Stack is the Chair of the North East Avalon Joint Council and he was also in attendance to describe to those present the activities and operations of his Joint Council. Also in attendance was Kelly Vodden who has researched Joint Councils around the Province and is also a resident of the area. Both Sam and Kelly are also members of the CCRC advisory Committee and their involvement and expertise was welcomed by the group.

Joint Councils are becoming very popular around the Province as they provide an excellent opportunity for neighbouring municipalities to communicate and advocate on issues of common concern. Another advantage that some see is that the level of commitment is entirely up the the towns involved as these Joint Councils have no legal standing and operate on a volunteer basis. There are other options available to towns interested in higher levels of cooperation but joint councils can provide considerable gain while still allowing towns to maintain complete control over their own affairs.

These towns now have the information necessary to make an educated decision as to their involvement in a joint council. Check back as the CCRC remains involved in the process and updates will appear here as they happen. For more information on Joint Councils or other forms of municipal cooperation please contact the CCRC.

2008 The year of Cooperation

Well it is for the CCRC anyway. This year we have many ongoing and planed projects to help municipalities work together to improve their sustainability. One ongoing project is our Municipal Self Assessment and I'm glad to report that another of the pilots has been completed. On January 7th the Town of Come By Chance went through the Self Assessment process and they seemed quite pleased with the process. I'm still trying to arrange the remaining pilot assessments but they have to be completed soon as the CCRC Advisory Committee has to review the entire pilot process before the project can be released across the province. As usual there are many projects the CCRC is involved with and that currently includes the possibility of a new Joint Council and continued work on Fogo Island assisting with their ongoing analysis of their existing municipal structure.

Cheers