Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier Douglas Horne will represent the government of British Columbia at the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region's (PNWER) winter meeting in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, this week.

The meeting is an opportunity to promote key provincial issues to public and private regional partners such as B.C.'s clean energy, liquefied natural gas and the government's support for the Beyond the Border Action Plan.

Known as the Economic Leadership Forum, the Nov. 14-17 meeting brings state, provincial and territorial leaders from Canada and the U.S. together to discuss a variety of regional challenges such as cross-border trade, the economy, energy, transportation and invasive species.

The meeting will also be a chance to learn about other jurisdictions' priorities, strengthen relationships that have been built with these jurisdictions and cooperate on areas that further benefit B.C. and the PNWER region.

Through regular interactions with senior decision makers in Ottawa and Washington, D.C., PNWER helps the two federal governments understand the region's priorities and helps advance their work toward a safe and open border for the movement of goods and people.

Quotes:

Douglas Horne, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier -

"The B.C. government highly values our relationship with other PNWER partners and we're proud to work alongside our neighbours in the Pacific Northwest to find solutions to the issues and challenges that affect our regional economy. We will continue to work with these partners to promote B.C. initiatives so families and communities in this province continue to grow and prosper."

Quick Facts:

• Founded in 1991, PNWER has 10 jurisdictions: the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska, the provinces of B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan, and the Yukon and the Northwest Territories.
• PNWER is the only statutory, non-partisan, bi-national, public-private partnership in North America.
• PNWER held its 22nd annual summit this past July in Saskatoon.

Learn More:

For more information visit: http://www.pnwer.org/

Contact:

Government Communications and Public Engagement
Intergovernmental Relations Secretariat
250 356-5963