Push Ottawa to boost Asian trade: Stelmach
Western premiers' co-operation sought
Premier Ed Stelmach wants his counterparts from Canada's western provinces and territories to help him convince the federal government to support construction of roads and pipelines that will facilitate trade with booming Asian countries.
The outgoing premier will make his pitch for co-operation over the next three days at the western premiers' conference in Yellowknife, N.W.T.
"Our future prosperity will be determined by our ability to tap into rapidly growing Asian economies," Stelmach said in a statement about the conference.
"If we are going to sell our products in countries like China or India, we need to be able to get those products to market.
"It is critical that we in the West work together to ensure the infrastructure we need -the pipelines, the ports, the railways -is in place and up to date."
Stelmach's spokesman Cam Hantiuk said the premier will talk about "just about every element that is required to broaden trade in Asia," including highways, pipelines and tanker traffic off the west coast of British Columbia.
"What we're looking for is a united and concentrated voice," Hantiuk said. "A lot of that is federal jurisdiction. It is most useful if you have two, three or five jurisdictions speaking together."
In particular, the province has been pushing for a new Enbridge pipeline to Kitimat, B.C., which would allow Alberta oilsands bitumen to be shipped to Pacific Rim markets.
In 2010, Canada's western provinces together exported $143.5 billion worth of goods. Combined, they rank about 30th on the list of the world's largest exporters, and 20th on the list of the world's largest economies, the Alberta government says.
Northwest Territories Premier Floyd Roland said he agrees Asian markets will play an important role in the future economic prosperity of Western Canada.
"We need to be better prepared to join up with them," he said. "The biggest hurdle will be the financial piece."
Like Alberta, the Northwest Territories will benefit from increased trade with Asia in the oil and gas sector, but also through tourism, Roland said. In addition, the territory has "rare earth" minerals crucial to the construction of solar technology and batteries, which Asian countries need to fuel their expanding manufacturing sectors.
He said the territory will be counting on Alberta to support the Mackenzie Valley pipeline, a natural gas line that will stretch more than 1,200 kilometres from the far northern region near Inuvik to Alberta, where it would feed into existing pipelines.
The pipeline was granted federal cabinet approval in March and the National Energy Board granted a certificate. No timetable has been set for construction, which is expected to be costly.
"If we do this right, it helps both jurisdictions out," Roland said, noting that if Alberta can increase its use of natural gas, it can decrease its coal consumption.
The premiers are also expected to discuss labour markets, community safety, family health and natural disaster funding.
On Tuesday, they are slated to fly to Fort Simpson, 650 kilometres east of Yellowknife. The community will host the premiers with special celebrations marking National Aboriginal Day, which is a statutory holiday for residents of the Northwest Territories.
The leaders will also travel to Nahanni National Park, which in 1978 became the first site to be granted World Heritage status by the United Nations. A further stop on the agenda is Virginia Falls, which has a vertical drop twice that of Niagara Falls.
Besides Stelmach and Roland, other premiers attending are Saskatchewan's Brad Wall, Nunavut's Eva Aariak, B.C.'s Christy Clark and Yukon's Darrell Pasloski.
kkleiss@edmontonjournal.com
The outgoing premier will make his pitch for co-operation over the next three days at the western premiers' conference in Yellowknife, N.W.T.
"Our future prosperity will be determined by our ability to tap into rapidly growing Asian economies," Stelmach said in a statement about the conference.
"If we are going to sell our products in countries like China or India, we need to be able to get those products to market.
"It is critical that we in the West work together to ensure the infrastructure we need -the pipelines, the ports, the railways -is in place and up to date."
Stelmach's spokesman Cam Hantiuk said the premier will talk about "just about every element that is required to broaden trade in Asia," including highways, pipelines and tanker traffic off the west coast of British Columbia.
"What we're looking for is a united and concentrated voice," Hantiuk said. "A lot of that is federal jurisdiction. It is most useful if you have two, three or five jurisdictions speaking together."
In particular, the province has been pushing for a new Enbridge pipeline to Kitimat, B.C., which would allow Alberta oilsands bitumen to be shipped to Pacific Rim markets.
In 2010, Canada's western provinces together exported $143.5 billion worth of goods. Combined, they rank about 30th on the list of the world's largest exporters, and 20th on the list of the world's largest economies, the Alberta government says.
Northwest Territories Premier Floyd Roland said he agrees Asian markets will play an important role in the future economic prosperity of Western Canada.
"We need to be better prepared to join up with them," he said. "The biggest hurdle will be the financial piece."
Like Alberta, the Northwest Territories will benefit from increased trade with Asia in the oil and gas sector, but also through tourism, Roland said. In addition, the territory has "rare earth" minerals crucial to the construction of solar technology and batteries, which Asian countries need to fuel their expanding manufacturing sectors.
He said the territory will be counting on Alberta to support the Mackenzie Valley pipeline, a natural gas line that will stretch more than 1,200 kilometres from the far northern region near Inuvik to Alberta, where it would feed into existing pipelines.
The pipeline was granted federal cabinet approval in March and the National Energy Board granted a certificate. No timetable has been set for construction, which is expected to be costly.
"If we do this right, it helps both jurisdictions out," Roland said, noting that if Alberta can increase its use of natural gas, it can decrease its coal consumption.
The premiers are also expected to discuss labour markets, community safety, family health and natural disaster funding.
On Tuesday, they are slated to fly to Fort Simpson, 650 kilometres east of Yellowknife. The community will host the premiers with special celebrations marking National Aboriginal Day, which is a statutory holiday for residents of the Northwest Territories.
The leaders will also travel to Nahanni National Park, which in 1978 became the first site to be granted World Heritage status by the United Nations. A further stop on the agenda is Virginia Falls, which has a vertical drop twice that of Niagara Falls.
Besides Stelmach and Roland, other premiers attending are Saskatchewan's Brad Wall, Nunavut's Eva Aariak, B.C.'s Christy Clark and Yukon's Darrell Pasloski.
kkleiss@edmontonjournal.com
Read more: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Push+Ottawa+boost+Asian+trade+Stelmach/4973636/story.html#ixzz1PsgxTHGD
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