Rural infrastructure investments pave way for prosperity

By Mark Reusser, Vice President, OFA

Pushing for sound public investments in rural Ontario is a priority for the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA). We know that investments in our rural communities will jump-start growth, farming, agri-businesses, and in turn stimulate the entire provincial economy. And it’s our job to remind government of these necessary investments – in roads and bridges, broadband, access to affordable energy, schools, and healthcare.

OFA continues to advocate for strategic public investments in building rural Ontario’s infrastructure through our Producing Prosperity in Ontario campaign, securing distributed economic development throughout the province.

Our most recent opportunity came at the annual Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) conference earlier in January.

OFA representatives, including board members and staff, attended the conference and met with Minister Hardeman and representatives from the provincial Ministry of Finance.

ROMA is made up of rural municipal governments and, similar to OFA, directs their activities to policy, research, and advocacy. The organization focuses on matters that affect rural communities, bringing issues to the attention of provincial and federal governments.