November 10, 2018 - Prince Albert, Saskatchewan - Session 2

Date: November 10, 2018
Location: Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

Total participants

Key themes or ideas

1. Education and skills training is important as we get more technologically advanced.
2. Infrastructure – While advances have been made the world keeps advancing moving the north form 3G to 4G was one example.
3. Regionalization of programming – Having not only increased clarity of federal programs/departments but also programming closer to the ground which would including more federal authority regionally.
4. Improved organization and collaboration – This could include utilizing table or creating one similar to the Federal Labour Councils to engage on economic development or creating supports for regional economic development areas.
5. Procurement and defense spending.

Q1) What does a stronger western Canadian economy look like 10 years from now?

• We need to start with our strengths.
• We need to continue to invest in technology 3G to 4G.
• Over the next 10 years, we need to invest in skills training technology.
  • Artificial intelligence is catching up to us faster than we realize and this will affect training and re-training needs.
• There is nothing in the growth strategy material that suggests maximizing Indigenous tourism, which is an industry that is in excess of $25 billion in Canada.
• Renewable resources are being minimized for non-renewable resources.
• Food security is important.
• 10 years from now, we need to be more resilient and diversified.

Q2) What are the best ways to spur new growth in western Canada

• Data basing our assets, skills and capacity of communities would be useful in moving forward.
• There are opportunities in green energy for Treaty Land Claims in central and southern Saskatchewan.
• There is a need to develop capacity and infrastructure.
• From a regional economic development zone, like the old Regional Economic Development Associations (REDA’s) we get 80 percent of our opportunity from within this area.  There is no money in the zones due to funding being removed.  We could look at developing a tribal council economic development plan and funding for regional economic development zones.

Q3) What will help the Indigenous economy continue to grow?

• Valued added commercial farms such as wild rice and fish processing will move the economy forward.
• We need to find the low hanging fruit for training and jobs and then work with those beyond that.
• We need to decrease the amount of people on social assistance.  Can we move the social assistance savings in to economic development?
• How do we stop economic leakage, people coming down south to do shopping? Due to the lack of availability or lack of flexibility of funding some communities are repurposing resources as there was nothing available to create a service business for example.
• We need to get as close to the ground as possible with more regional programming versus national process.

Q4) How can we improve economic participation in the west of underrepresented groups, including women, youth, and new immigrants

• Women have more barriers to entry, childcare is one of those.  Additionally, there are some social issues that women are overcoming more readily than men are.

Q5) How can governments, industry, and western Canadians work together to grow the regional economy?

• We do not know who is leading the file for indigenous people. Who is our advocate and what are the roles of some of the government departments including WD?
• A restructuring or NRCan and the permitting process would help given our attachment to resources.
• Ottawa has to empower the regions. If the regions had more authority to leverage and work with First Nations group, it would smooth out the process.
• The government needs to put targets on companies for procurement.
• For defense, spending put on a multiplier.
• The Primrose weapons range is an area of displacement.  There needs to be a revisiting and re-evaluation of the agreement as it is not just the land but also the resources that were not valued.
• Could we develop something like the Federal Council meeting that has a common table?