Little Red River Cree Nation in Northern Alberta. File photo.
On November 9th, the Government of Alberta is investing $6 million into a new program called the Small Community Opportunity Program.
The purpose of the program is to give a financial foundation for Indigenous and small communities to create more business opportunities and allow the local economies to thrive, according to the government.
“Small communities across the province are vital to our province’s economic prosperity. This (program) is designed for those small communities with populations less than 20,000. The grant application can be between $20,000 to $100,000,” RJ Sigurdson, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, said in an interview with Windspeaker Radio Network.
When talking about the purpose behind the program, Sigurdson said that the goal is community assistance.
“This program is a strategy to be able to assist those smaller communities, those Indigenous communities across the province to work on mentorship programs, skill-building programs, rural tourism strategies, we’re trying to keep it as broad as possible,” the minister said.
“Those small communities all have unique needs, so we’re trying to keep (the program) as broad as possible to allow them the greatest opportunity to access the grants,” Sigurdson added.
The future is all about “building back those communities,” according to Sigurdson. He says that providing a foundation for local projects to grow is the goal of the Small Community Opportunity Program, where a tiny economic boost can set off a chain reaction of growth.
“Providing some of these small grants really gives them a foothold to be able to start reaching out and working on some programs that can spur that rural economic activity in their small communities, and build capacity which is going to build that strength in those smaller communities across the province,” Sigurdson said.
Listen to the full interview with Minister RJ Sigurdson below:
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