Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

NNSL (Mar 10/99) - With ties between Yellowknife and Edmonton expected to grow stronger in the new North, the central city of the Peace River region is looking to boost its business with the territorial capital.

Grande Prairie, Alta., located south of Grimshaw, Alta., will be linked to Yellowknife direct by air next week.

On Tuesday, Northwestern Air Lease will launch a scheduled flight between Yellowknife and Grande Prairie. The twice-weekly flight links into the carrier's Fort Smith-Yellowknife run.

The Yk to Grande Prairie leg, aboard a 19-seater Jetstream 31, takes just under two hours.

"They (Grande Prairie) are really keen to develop business in Yellowknife and Fort Smith," Northwestern Air Lease president Terry Harrold said.

Grande Prairie is looking to capture some of the business which occurs between Northerners and Edmonton, he said.

Two years ago, Grande Prairie took space at a Yk Chamber of Commerce trade show and last Wednesday representatives of the community were in Yellowknife at a local chamber gathering.

Yellowknife chamber president Gord Van Tighem said Monday Grande Prairie's interest "shows we have something to offer."

Grande Prairie Chamber of Commerce executive director Trenton Perrott said with this new air link, "business can only grow."

Grande Prairie, with a population of 35,000 people and a market area of about 200,000, already has connections with Yellowknife and the North, he said.

Perrott estimates 15 to 20 people from the Grande Prairie area work for BHP. Because of this new flight, those workers will not have to fly to Edmonton then on to Yellowknife, he said.

And a Grande Prairie firm is bidding on a BHP job, he adds. As well, some students at Grande Prairie Regional College are from Yellowknife.

Grande Prairie is linked direct to Vancouver via WestJet. Many NWT resource companies have offices in Vancouver.

Another front where ties could be forged between Yellowknife and Grande Prairie is health care. Grande Prairie's Queen Elizabeth II Hospital is expected to have an MRI machine later this year.

Perrott also said Northerners often drive through Grande Prairie so there is a tourism opportunity as well.