The huge tourism and economic potential
Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce CEO Steve McLellan has a passion for the North.
His office in downtown Regina has pictures of soaring eagles, aboriginal spiritual figures and other northern handicrafts. His computer desktop "wallpaper" has a picture of some big Northern Pike caught on a recent fishing trip to Dore Lake with his son and his father.
And the native of Prince Albert never misses an opportunity to brag about the huge tourism and economic potential of the North, or wax lyrical about the raw beauty of its pristine wilderness.
But McLellan is deadly serious when it comes to the chamber's Northern Business Task Force and its recently released report, which contains a dozen recommendations to reduce the cost of living, increase the educational and economic opportunities and improve the quality of life in the province's northern region.
The task force itself is very much McLellan's baby. He led the initiative to take Saskatchewan business and government leaders on the first tour of the North in July and August 2012, including visits to Points North, Wollaston Lake, Stony Rapids, Black Lake and Fonddu-Lac.
A second task force tour was conducted in March 2014 and included visits to several of the communities on the 2012 tour (Points North, Wollaston Lake, Stony Rapids and Black Lake), two communities on the "west side' (Buffalo Narrows and La Loche), and Cameco's McArthur River uranium mine. A third trip is planned in June 2015 to expose more business and government leaders to the challenges and opportunities of Saskatchewan's northern region.