WESTERN ENERGY ALLIANCE MEETING IN INUVIK

Industry and Resources Minister Eric Cline will be meeting with his counterparts from the other western provinces, Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut at a June 15th meeting of the Western Energy Alliance (WEA) in Inuvik, Northwest Territories.

"The West is Canada's energy treasure house," Cline said. "Saskatchewan alone accounts for 30 per cent of the world's uranium production with the largest high-grade deposits. We also have tremendous untapped oil potential. In addition, we're actively developing alternate, renewable energy sources such as wind power and ethanol."

Cline said that in a 21st Century economy, energy equals economic muscle. "The West is world class. It is no coincidence that the latest forecast from the Conference Board of Canada shows the western provinces with the four best provincial economic growth rates in Canada for 2005. The upcoming WEA meeting will focus on some of the challenges we need to address to build on our competitive advantage."

The Inuvik meeting will be the second of the newly-minted Western Energy Alliance of western and northern energy ministers. WEA was established following the Western Premiers Conference in July 2004, and the inaugural WEA meeting was held in February 2005 in Calgary.

WEA's general mandate is to promote the West as a secure, reliable supplier of energy resources and expertise to Canada and the world. WEA also looks at ways of improving regulatory consistency and efficiency between western provinces and territories, and effective means of making the West's voice more clearly heard in national and international forums.

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For More Information, Contact:

Bob Ellis Industry and Resources Regina Phone: (306) 787-1691