Government and business leaders from British Columbia are participating in the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region’s (PNWER) 30th annual and first-ever hybrid summit, hosted from Big Sky, Mont., from Aug 15-19, 2021.

MLA Rick Glumac, Premier John Horgan’s official representative to PNWER, along with Bruce Ralston, Minister of Energy Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Roly Russell, Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Development, Brenda Bailey, Parliamentary Secretary for Technology and Innovation, and MLA Brittny Anderson will attend the summit virtually.

“During the four-day meeting, B.C. delegates will have a great opportunity to collaborate with  counterparts from across Western Canada and the Northwestern United States,” said Glumac, who also serves as PNWER Canadian vice-president. “B.C. is proud to be a member of PNWER. It’s a valuable forum to network and build partnerships, showcase and explore exciting innovations and opportunities, and seek solutions on a wide range of regional challenges, from economic recovery to addressing climate change.”

Leaders at the summit will discuss a number of topics that are important to B.C., including wildfire mitigation and response, COVID-19, border management, regional economic recovery, technology solutions to pandemic challenges and investment in broadband.

Ralston, Conroy and Fleming will each speak on panels alongside representatives from other jurisdictions.

Ralston will make a presentation on CleanBC and B.C.’s energy policies, highlighting electrification initiatives, zero-emissions vehicle incentives, B.C.’s recently announced Hydrogen Strategy, and Cleantech innovation. With its supportive energy and environmental policies, B.C.’s industries are among the cleanest in the world. B.C. leads North America with the highest rate of uptake of new electric, light-duty vehicles.

Conroy will address delegates about the importance of the Columbia River Treaty to both the U.S. and Canada, the current negotiations to modernize the treaty, and related work underway outside the negotiation process.

Fleming will speak about building back better from the pandemic, B.C.’s record $26.4-billion capital plan, and how the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is moving forward with six major projects. He will also discuss the potential of future high-speed rail transportation between B.C., Washington state and Oregon.

Formed in 1991, PNWER is a non-partisan public-private sector partnership that includes British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon and the Northwest Territories, and the U.S. states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

For more information, visit www.pnwer.org