University of Saskatchewan professor Greg Poelzer, author of a recent MLI paper titled “The Next Northern Challenge: The reality of the Provincial North”, was interviewed on 1310News radio in Ottawa on Thursday, to talk about the plight of people in the northern region of Canada’s provinces.
He pointed out that “most of the resource wealth in the country” actually lies in the northern regions of the provinces, rather than the Arctic. But north of the 60th parallel, the devolution of authority to the territories has created much better governance and often better conditions than the northern parts of the provinces.
He told host Ed Hand that “it is Canada’s forgotten North” and that the region is losing out on potential resource development. He points to Norway as a model for northern development. “In many ways Canada as a country is incomplete” he concluded. He called on the federal government to “partner up” with provincial governments on the north because this is an issue of “national interest”.
To listen to the interview click here.
