Pacific Northwest Economic Region
Encyclopedia
The Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER) includes British Columbia
, Alberta
, Saskatchewan
, the Yukon
, the Northwest Territories
, Alaska
, Washington, Idaho
, Montana
and Oregon
. It is designed to improve cooperation and communication between member jurisdictions as well as improve communication between the public
and private sector
. The Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER) is a regional U.S.-Canadian forum dedicated to encouraging global economic competitiveness and preserving our world-class natural environment. PNWER is recognized by both the United States and Canada as the “model” for regional and bi-national cooperation because of its proven success. PNWER is a respected voice and resource for our region, and provides the public and private sectors a cross-border forum for unfiltered dialogue that capitalizes upon the synergies between business leaders and elected officials who work to advance the region’s global competitiveness.
Former BC cabinet minister and legal scholar Andrew Petter
describes the PNWER as one of North Americas most sophisticated examples of regionalist paradiplomacy
.
The proposal establishing PNWER passed with 701 out of 703 sitting legislators voting in its favor following a three-year process initiated by the Pacific NorthWest Legislative Leadership Forum (PNLLF) in 1988. Six working groups were established, including environmental technology, tourism, recycling, value-added timber, workforce training, and telecommunications; some of these merged into or were replaced in later years by new areas of concentration.
The original vision of establishing a collaborative region-wide organization to address common issues and interests was that of former State Sen. Alan Bluechel, WA. Bluechel grew up in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan and came to the Legislature with a keen sense of the bi-national region now encompassed by PNWER; he was aided in the pursuit of his vision by counterpart Jim Horseman, then Deputy Premier and Minister of Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs for Alberta. Bluechel served as PNWER's first president.
From the beginning, all state and provincial legislators were members of PNWER. The governors and premiers were added to the PNWER governance structure in 1993.
PNWER incorporated official private sector participation – including the non-elective public sector, and nonprofit organizations and NGOs in 1994; with that, a private sector council mirroring that of the organization's legislative delegate council was established and private and public sector co-chairs became part of the working group structure. Since then, funding for PNWER has been balanced by the public and private sector. The organization's current (2010) annual budget is U.S. $1.4 million, up from $900,000 in 2006, with approximately one third coming from state and provincial dues, one third from private sector sponsorship and dues, and one third from public and private grants.
The current president of PNWER is Alberta Minister Mel Knight.
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, the Yukon
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
, the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, Washington, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
and Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. It is designed to improve cooperation and communication between member jurisdictions as well as improve communication between the public
Public sector
The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
and private sector
Private sector
In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...
. The Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER) is a regional U.S.-Canadian forum dedicated to encouraging global economic competitiveness and preserving our world-class natural environment. PNWER is recognized by both the United States and Canada as the “model” for regional and bi-national cooperation because of its proven success. PNWER is a respected voice and resource for our region, and provides the public and private sectors a cross-border forum for unfiltered dialogue that capitalizes upon the synergies between business leaders and elected officials who work to advance the region’s global competitiveness.
Former BC cabinet minister and legal scholar Andrew Petter
Andrew Petter
Andrew J. Petter is currently President of Simon Fraser University. He was formerly the dean of the University of Victoria's law school. He served briefly as Attorney General of British Columbia under the New Democratic Party government of Ujjal Dosanjh...
describes the PNWER as one of North Americas most sophisticated examples of regionalist paradiplomacy
Paradiplomacy
The concept of paradiplomacy refers to the international relations conducted by subnational, regional, local or non-central governments on their own, with a view to promoting their own interests. This feature appears to be an aspect of the overall process of globalisation, under which a number of...
.
History
The Pacific NorthWest Economic Region was established in 1991 by statute in the organization's original seven legislative jurisdictions – Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska in the United States, and British Columbia and Alberta in Canada. The Yukon joined PNWER in 1994, Saskatchewan joined in 2008, and the Northwest Territories joined in 2009.The proposal establishing PNWER passed with 701 out of 703 sitting legislators voting in its favor following a three-year process initiated by the Pacific NorthWest Legislative Leadership Forum (PNLLF) in 1988. Six working groups were established, including environmental technology, tourism, recycling, value-added timber, workforce training, and telecommunications; some of these merged into or were replaced in later years by new areas of concentration.
The original vision of establishing a collaborative region-wide organization to address common issues and interests was that of former State Sen. Alan Bluechel, WA. Bluechel grew up in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan and came to the Legislature with a keen sense of the bi-national region now encompassed by PNWER; he was aided in the pursuit of his vision by counterpart Jim Horseman, then Deputy Premier and Minister of Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs for Alberta. Bluechel served as PNWER's first president.
From the beginning, all state and provincial legislators were members of PNWER. The governors and premiers were added to the PNWER governance structure in 1993.
PNWER incorporated official private sector participation – including the non-elective public sector, and nonprofit organizations and NGOs in 1994; with that, a private sector council mirroring that of the organization's legislative delegate council was established and private and public sector co-chairs became part of the working group structure. Since then, funding for PNWER has been balanced by the public and private sector. The organization's current (2010) annual budget is U.S. $1.4 million, up from $900,000 in 2006, with approximately one third coming from state and provincial dues, one third from private sector sponsorship and dues, and one third from public and private grants.
The current president of PNWER is Alberta Minister Mel Knight.