Small municipalities can generate big ideas. Even more importantly, they are able to convert these ideas into action when the opportunity strikes. The 13 municipalities in the Haut-Saint-Laurent often demonstrate creativity and resourcefulness when it comes to leveraging government funding to tackle major challenges such as climate change, food security, and community engagement with innovative projects.
In many ways, smaller municipalities have a more intimate or nuanced understanding of community needs and are more able to experiment with new ideas or approaches. For example, the municipality of Dundee has long been considered a “food desert.” The closest convenience store is in Cazaville, and residents must drive to Saint-Anicet or Huntingdon for groceries. A comment from one resident that it would be nice if Dundee had a depanneur was enough to spark a revolution. Dundee now has an automated self-serve convenience store. Running out of milk late at night is no longer a huge inconvenience, and citizens are happy.
The funding available through programs such as the Fonds Régions et Ruralité, administered by the MRC du Haut-Saint-Laurent, has allowed local municipalities to dream up solutions to concrete issues. The community kitchen that opened earlier this year in Huntingdon is another example of the power of a smaller community working on a grand scale. Open to everyone, the fully equipped kitchen represents another avenue for combatting food insecurity from the ground up.
The municipalities are also learning to work together to make the most of their limited resources through creative partnerships. Franklin has just opened a regional ecocentre in collaboration with five other municipalities. A second intermunicipal ecocentre is in the works in Sainte-Barbe. Both projects will allow the municipalities to address waste-management issues in a more environmentally friendly way while increasing ties between communities.
Small municipalities are powerful when they look outside the box for solutions. It is easy to become overwhelmed by some of the larger issues facing our communities today. Instead of giving up, our municipal councils, mayors, and administrations continue to demonstrate that being small doesn’t mean you can’t think big.
Sarah Rennie