Talk of a northern economic corridor was on the agenda last week when Alberta Wildrose Party Leader Danielle Smith spoke to a Saskatoon business association.
Smith told the North Saskatoon Business Association that a corridor running from northern Ontario through the Western provinces could do a lot to stimulate economic activity.
She says the economic corridor could include a rail link, pipelines and a new TransCanada highway.
La Ronge Mayor Thomas Sierzycki says while a northern national corridor sounds good in theory; he is surprised to hear the Wildrose Party Leader raising the issue in Saskatchewan when Alberta has yet to complete its portion of a road linking La Loche with Fort McMurray.
“I know that Saskatchewan and La Loche, the community of La Loche, has been a long term proponent of completing the road to Fort McMurray,” he says. “I can’t speak for La Loche but I know the Alberta side is not completed. So, it’s funny that Danielle would say that especially when the link hasn’t been made from Alberta at this point.”
Smith says politicians should take the lead on such a corridor to ensure it does not get bogged down in the regulatory disputes the Northern Gateway pipeline is currently experiencing with industry leading the way.
The La Ronge mayor says he is also not necessarily in favour of meddling with regulatory processes.
“I think regulations are in place for a reason and whether it’s a company doing due diligence as well as the province and the federal government, everyone has a key role to play. I’d don’t think I’d be comfortable saying that politicians should take the major role, especially when you should have independent scientific base to the regulatory process.”
The Wildrose Party leader spoke to an NSBA luncheon last Wednesday.