Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jun 26/00) - No one really knows just how much money Northerners spend in Edmonton.

"In precise terms, no, (we do not have a number) but we know it's awesome," Economic Development Edmonton president Jim Edwards said.

It's a number important enough that the organization is considering measuring it.

Edwards said Economic Development Edmonton has access to Conference Board of Canada models for determining the economic impact of the North on Edmonton.

"We may do that."

Edwards was one of several Edmontonians in Yellowknife last week in connection with the planning of the 2001 Meet the North Share a Vision conference. The conference, a follow-up to the original Meet the North Build a Vision conference held in Edmonton in November 1998, is scheduled for April 2001.

At a Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce lunch, Edmonton Mayor Bill Smith said the conference is an opportunity not just for Edmonton.

"We can be a window for the North, (a place to) export goods. Edmonton is a market. I hope (Northern) businesses are taking advantage of the Edmonton market," he said.

Smith pointed to his Trade Cities program which helps a business from one city meet with business from another.

"The office (of the mayor) has an ability to connect people," he said. Then, the office steps out of the way and free enterprise takes over, he adds.

As for the last conference, Smith said one of the criticisms was that many Northerners were going to Edmonton to meet other Northerners. But Northerners wanted to meet more Edmontonians.

Smith expressed a keen interest in meeting criticisms with solutions.

He adds that the coming conference is "an opportunity to lobby political leaders who will be there."

On road infrastructure, specifically a bridge across the Mackenzie, Smith said, "Canada needs to understand there has to be investment here for infrastructure." The comment was met with a hearty round of table slapping.

He also said he does not know if Westjet plans to fly between Edmonton and Yellowknife.

But he did say he believes the market is big enough for a Westjet presence.

"The airlines will have to sort this out," he said.

If there are to be three or four more diamond mines in the North, that will likely translate into a big increase in air traffic, he said.

Growth in the North might open up the opportunity for an all-passenger aircraft.

Dale Monaghan, project manager for the 2001 conference, said Meet the North Share a Vision will be a forum for people who are dispersed across the North to gather and identify common issues, issues like infrastructure, technology and health care.