Every day people make choices – should they leave home to go away to college or university, to find a better job, or to explore the world, or to shop in a larger town rather than at the small locally owned convenience store, or to buy potatoes that were grown in PEI rather than the ones produced right here – and every choice has a consequence. Why do people make the choices they do? Not everyone who goes to Alberta does so because they can not find work in Newfoundland and Labrador. Many go simply because they want to earn more money. Some people choose to stay here no matter what – why? Some people go away for a few years, and then move home – why? Some communities have begun sharing services or finding other ways to work together and some fight to keep services going despite the cost or with fewer volunteers – why? Some local businesses are expanding; others are closing down – why?

The Rural Secretariat wants to talk directly with citizens in communities across the Province about the personal decisions they are making every day. This is all part of what is called citizen engagement – a process to promote open discussions between government and citizens. The purpose is to ensure that people have a chance to talk about what affects them as individuals, as families and as communities, and to use this two way discussion to help make useful decisions about policies and programs.

This is not a consultation – so how is it different? Well, consultations are usually fairly formal and involve people who are in some way part of a specific organization in particular regions – like the local development groups, or school board or town council. The consultation is usually about a specific initiative that government is planning – like future energy needs or changes to a piece of legislation, and people get asked for feedback. While this is very useful, governments around the world are starting to take another step to ensure that citizens have a chance to have a say about the policies that affect their lives. This step is called citizen engagement, and Newfoundland and Labrador, through the Rural Secretariat, is leading the country in using this process to give people the chance to meet and talk about challenges, opportunities and what can be done to minimize one while maximizing the other.

The Rural Secretariat already has a structure in place to help engage citizens. Each region has a Regional Council with men and women from larger and smaller local communities. During the past year they have met at least four times to discuss their region and to look at how the changes we are living through today will affect us during the next 10 to 15 years. We need to do this to ensure that we make the right decisions over the next months and years so that our communities and regions can have a sustainable future. Just think back to the early 1990’s and how much has already changed: internet, email, digital cameras, and cell phones are used everywhere, but were not in common use just ten years ago. Think about how you use those things in your daily life. Think too about where you shop today compared to where you shopped 15 years ago, or where your children go to school compared to where you went to school. These changes are occurring all the time, and will continue to occur whether we prepare for them or not. But we can plan and that will allow us to help manage the changes. You should think about what kind of region you want to be living in 15 years time: do you think you will you be living in the same house or community? will you be working at the same job? what do you think your children will be doing? Just as you plan for what you and your family will be doing, so we all need to think about what our communities, regions and Province will look like in the not so distant future.

The Regional Councils are discussing the future of their regions. They are using this process to also look at what they think the priorities should be to ensure their futures. These are important discussions; however, the Rural Secretariat also needs to hear other voices in the region to help build that picture; one that includes what you want your future to look like and shares what changes you are willing to make to get there. Starting in the New Year, staff of the Rural Secretariat (there is a regional planner in each of the nine Regions – two on the Avalon) will be expanding the process of community engagement. It will be an ongoing process, and we shall be starting small. We want to talk with people who normally might not come out to a big public meeting – perhaps it’s members of the local church women’s group, or people living in the senior citizens home, or representatives from a local youth group. At some point, we shall also be interested in talking with the more formal groups like the local economic development groups and town councils. Everybody has thoughts about the present and the future of their regions. How young people see their region’s future opportunities may be different from how a senior citizen sees things – so we need to hear from both and everything in between.

And what will happen as a result of these talks? We hope both government and citizens will learn from them. It is the start, not the end, of a process of working together. Over time, these discussions, and the discussions that the Regional Councils will continue to have on issues of importance in each region, can help influence government policies and programs, and just as importantly help influence how individuals and communities work together in a region and the choices they make. Change is a fact of life: government and citizens working together can help influence how those changes affect us.

Remember, if you don’t know where you want to go, any road will take you there.