Legislators and business leaders from five U.S. states and five Canadian provinces and territories are meeting in Saskatoon this week.

Members include Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

The Pacific NorthWest Economic Region develops policies on a wide range of cross-border issues, such as trade, water management, drones, livestock health and First Nations economic development. PNWER has a total of 22 working groups.

PWER has influence with the decision makers in both Ottawa and Washington, D.C.

The organization is a ”bipartisan” effort, according to Larry Doke, the current PNWER president and SaskParty MLA for Cutknife-Turtleford.

“We have issues with pipelines and whatever, but at the end of the day, we are able to sit in a room and have very constructive meetings and respect each other’s areas,” says Doke. “It is sort of a lobby group, but we are more connected than most lobby groups.

The PNWER Summit will open Monday morning with a panel discussion involving three former ambassadors.

(CJWW)