Iqaluit (Sep 29/03) - Ministers from all across the country were in Iqaluit last week for the release of a diamond strategy.

The ministers agreed that creating a written report on the diamond industry, exploring both the Canadian and international industries, is key to managing that resource and making it work for the North in years to come.

Representatives from Nunavut, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Yukon who attended promised to work together on the diamond strategy and other issues to ensure Northerners are active participants in the new economy.

The annual forum, now in its fourth year, brings Northern ministers together to discuss ways to build up Northern Canada.

Jim Antoine, NWT minister of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development, said dealing with Southerners on Northern development issues is like "talking to a wall sometimes," but this meeting gave him hope. "We're sharing ideas about bigger projects," he said.

Robert Nault, federal minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, said in his view infrastructure in the North is the most "pressing issue" facing the positive growth of Northern Canada.

There were no dollar figures announced during the press conference on Friday to accompany remarks from ministers, but Nault said Canada's economic future is tied "directly" to the success of Northern development.

The conference will be held in Northern Quebec next year.