The first steps towards what could be Saskatchewan's first international trade/transportation corridor were taken last week.
A multi-stakeholder forum regarding the potential corridor was held Jan. 16 in Weyburn. Thirty-eight municipal, business and economic development leaders were part of the meeting which organizers hope will lay the foundation for future discussions on a corridor.
Edie Spagrud, the CEO of the Saskatchewan South East Enterprise Region, the group which hosted the meeting and is spearheading the efforts to develop a corridor, said support for the idea was "overwhelmingly positive."
"We wanted to ensure there was a broad range of stakeholder type groups out at that initial information meeting," Spagrud said. "I would have liked to have had more people out but I also know people are really busy nowadays. Some of the municipalities along the corridor did not come out so I will be following up with them to see their level of interest."
Spagrud said with the creation of the Global Transportation Hub in Regina, the need for a transportation corridor is greater than ever. She noted the creation of the GTH should drive opportunity in the southeast as more traffic is steered towards Highways 39 and 6 and away from crossings in Alberta and Manitoba. It was also noted that Saskatchewan is the only province in the country that borders the United States and does not have direct access to the U.S. Interstate Highway System.
"I hope to see a major international trade corridor developed between connecting points in the U.S. on up to North Portal and on to Regina and spidering out from there," Spagrud said. "It's not just a highway, it's the commercial and industrial development all along the route. It's the planning, it's the communication systems, it's the harmonizing of permits and different transportation legislation to enable the transportation industry to make this a very economical route for them.
"Along with a trade corridor is a distribution hub and that is present in every province but Saskatchewan. Now that the transportation hub is being developed in Regina, I feel that this initiative is very timely and it will be a long-term initiative, but we've got to start somewhere and certainly with Saskatchewan's economy this is a prime opportunity to move this along."
Spagrud said there could be numerous positive spinoffs for southeast Saskatchewan should a transportation corridor become a reality. These include increased business development, community growth and tourism, but she added unless there is involvement from many of the stakeholders, the full impact will not be felt.
"When a major highway is developed and there isn't stakeholder participation, it could be just a road with a lot of traffic," she said. "By getting participation and pursuing this from an economic development perspective it could make major changes in southeast Saskatchewan and the province as a whole as far as the dynamics of economic opportunities."
Another significant outcome of developing a trade corridor would be the twinning of Highways 39 and 6 from Regina to the U.S. border. Spagrud said a major corridor is not just a single lane highway and if a proper business case could be made, the provincial government, which thus far has not shown any willingness to twin the highways, may take another look at the matter.
"I think the days are gone when you can just stamp your foot and say 'we deserve this' and expect things to happen. I think we have to take a much more business feasibility approach."
As for the next step, Spagrud said there will be a lot of "grunt work" as they contact stakeholders to gauge their level of support, create a task force and an action plan as well as a feasibility study to ensure they can build a business case for the corridor. She added they will also have to begin networking with their American partners but want to have all their work in place before they take that step.
