The Honourable Lyle Stewart, Saskatchewan Minister of Agriculture, was sworn in as the president of the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER) executive committee at the 2012 Annual Summit in Saskatoonlast week.
This will be the first time that a representative from Saskatchewan has been elected to this year-long position since the province joined PNWER in 2008. Prior to his promotion, Minister Stewart served as a PNWER vice-president.
"We are pleased to welcome Minister Stewart to his new role as president," Chief Executive Officer of PNWER Matt Morrison said. "Minister Stewart has contributed much to the organization over the past two years in his role as vice-president. The PNWER president heads the executive committee, which is the decision-making body of PNWER. The president also represents the organization in annual visits to Washington, D.C., Ottawa, and state and provincial capitals within the region. The PNWER president and vice-president must be elected officials. These two posts alternate annually between elected legislators from the United States and Canada.
Formed in 1991, PNWER is a non-partisan, public-private partnership that includes Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon and the Northwest Territories in Canada; and Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, Washington and Montana in the United States.
The partnership represents a regional combined GDP of $1 trillion and is committed to regional collaboration, enhanced competitiveness, economic growth, and the reduction of trade and regulatory barriers.
For more information on PNWER or the 2012 Annual Summit, visit the website at www.pnwer.org/2012annualsummit.
