Morin promotes the North
NNSL August 1996

NNSL (Aug 27/96) - Premier Don Morin told provincial premiers if they want to solve some major issues, look North for solutions.

"We’re dividing one-third of Canada in the very near future with the creation of a new western territory and Nunavut," he said.

“And we’re hopefully going to meet the political needs of both east and west. They need to take a serious look at what we’re doing and how we’re doing it.”

Morin made those comments Thursday in a telephone interview from Jasper, Alta. where he met with Yukon government leader John Ostashek and 10 provincial premiers at the 17th annual Premiers’ Conference.

“We had (a group) lunch today and a majority of the premiers want to come North - we just have to figure out how to accomplish that,” he said.

Morin told the leaders the NWT is facing some major issues and working hard to become a full partner in Canada.

“The devolution of powers from the federal government to the territorial government are most important because we need the proper tools to move ahead and become more self sufficient,” he said.

The Jasper conference, one of the first premier conferences to draw on private sector funding rather than allowing the public to foot the entire bill, may wind up being the model for the 1998 Western Premiers’ Conference, which will be held in Yellowknife.

"Everything’s gone really well here, and I think it’s been conducive to getting down to business, while not being a stuffed-shirt affair,” said Morin.

Because of the limited amount of resources in the Northwest Territories to hold such a conference, Morin said he would like to see the private sector here become involved in the 1998 conference.

The last time Alberta hosted the annual premiers’ conference - which was in Edmonton in 1986 - it cost that province’s taxpayers a whopping $250,000.

Organizers expect taxpayers to foot less than $100,000 this time around, thanks to corporate donations from sponsors such as CN Rail, NOVA Corp., Telus and Canadian Airlines.