Local-area representatives with the Prince Albert Regional Economic Development Alliance were in Regina to accept a Partnership Award for promoting reconciliation. (submitted photo/City of Prince Albert)

By Charlene Tebbutt

Regional economic development

New regional economic development initiative nets award

May 8, 2019 | 4:20 PM

A new initiative aimed at promoting economic growth in the Prince Albert region has been recognized with an award for supporting reconciliation and collaboration with First Nations groups.

The newly-formed Prince Albert Regional Economic Development Alliance (PREDA) received a Partnership Award at the 2019 Intersections for Growth Conference in Regina. A memorandum of understanding to form the PREDA was announced in early March and includes the city, the Rural Municipalities of Prince Albert and Buckland, the Town of Shellbrook, Muskoday First Nation and Peter Ballantyne Developments.

The award was handed out by the Saskatchewan Economic Development Association and the Saskatchewan First Nations Economic Development Network. Verona Thibault, CEO with SEDA said it’s the second year the award has been handed out.

“We have few municipalities in Saskatchewan who have come together voluntarily to work together regionally for economic development with those regional economies of scale that are so important,” Thibault said. “So, we were really excited to see the group of First Nations and non-Indigenous communities come together, first as a region, and then of course on that level of friendship and partnership building.”

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The PREDA is still in the early stages, and hasn’t yet had its first meeting. Each community involved in the new initiative will have representation on the PREDA.

Prince Albert city council scheduled a special meeting for Monday to review a new list of local candidates for the board after the first raised questions amongst councillors because some people didn’t live in the city.

Heather Exner-Pirot, SFNEDN director, said the initiative is a great example of the benefits of regional collaboration.

“It’s not easy even to get to the point of an MOU,” she said. “Just getting to that stage is a real accomplishment; it speaks to the commitment that people had to overcome differences and work together.”

Exner-Pirot said regional collaboration can go a long way toward improving economic development in the region.

“It’s 2019 in Saskatchewan, and this is still a very new kind of a thing,” she added. “Saskatchewan is a largely rural place, compared to other provinces in Canada [and] so it is not going to work the old model, looking at what a First Nation does or what a municipality or a town or a village does. People need to start working together and pooling their resources.”

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Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt