Premier Christy Clark and eight B.C. ministers are promoting sound economic development and fiscal responsibility combined with world-leading actions on climate change and environmental stewardship at the 24th annual Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER) Summit in Whistler.

The July 20-24, 2014, summit brings together 600 business leaders, legislators and government leaders from PNWER’s 10 states, provinces and territories to collaborate on a variety of cross-border priorities. B.C. will be advocating its position in key areas that include liquefied natural gas exports, energy development, forestry and cross-border trade.

“The PNWER Summit is a great opportunity to promote British Columbia's vision and top priorities,” said Premier Clark. “To make this happen, effective engagement with other governments and the private sector on topics such as inter-provincial and national borders, climate action and LNG is a critical success factor. I’m excited to attend PNWER to advocate for B.C.’s key priorities and work with other governments and private sector leaders to find solutions to the issues we all face.”

Premier Clark will be delivering the opening keynote address on July 21, 2014, and B.C. government ministers and ministry staff will be participating in a number of working group sessions throughout the duration of the summit. Keynote speakers on other days include Montana Governor Steve Bullock, U.S. Ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman, and Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Gary Doer.

The PNWER Summit also provides a unique opportunity to advance government’s engagement with the U.S., building on the Premier’s mission to Washington, D.C. in October 2013, the signing of the Pacific Coast Collaborative Action Plan on Climate and Energy with the Governors of California, Oregon and Washington in October 2013, and the Premier’s mission to California in February 2014.

Quick Facts:

• Eight B.C. ministers attending PNWER include:
  • Minister of Agriculture Norm Letnick
  • Minister of Natural Gas Development Rich Coleman
  • Minister of Advanced Education Amrik Virk
  • Minister of Environment Mary Polak
  • Minister of Energy and Mines Bill Bennett
  • Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson
  • Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens' Services Andrew Wilkinson
  • Minister of State for Tourism and Small Business Naomi Yamamoto
• Established in 1991, PNWER is the only statutory, non-partisan, non-profit, bi-national, public/private partnership in North America.
• PNWER is comprised of 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 Northwest Territories.
• PNWER tackles regional issues through its working groups, each headed by one public and one private sector chair. Examples of working groups include energy and alternative energy, agriculture, border issues, water policy and workforce development.

Learn More:

For more information on the 2014 Annual Summit visit: http://www.pnwer.org/2014summit.html

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

Media Contacts:

Sam Oliphant
Press Secretary
Office of the Premier
250 952-7252