Pan-Northern initiative seeks Saskatchewan market: more than $100 billion to be spent in Saskatchewan within the next decade.

• Author: Larmour, Adelle
• Position: SUDBURY

More than $100 billion is expected to be invested in Saskatchewan over the next decade and some Northern Ontario businesses want a piece of the action.

Twenty-two businesses from across northeastern Ontario have united in a pan-Northern initiative under the auspices of Ontario's North Economic Development Corporation (ONEDC), a non-profit corporation representing the five major Northern Ontario cities.

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ONEDC (pronounced One DC), created to implement pan-Northern economic development initiatives, has been working with the support of the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry (MNDMF) and in-market consultants to help facilitate business opportunities for Northern Ontario suppliers.

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To gain market intelligence about the various industries in Saskatchewan, and provide such information to the 22 Northern Ontario companies, Lester Cey, a consultant with LPC Consulting, was hired in May 2010.

Cey, a 30-year veteran of the Saskatchewan communications industry, spent the last decade as an account executive in the mining industry His experience provides the networking capabilities to link suppliers to the Saskatchewan markets.

On Dec. 1, Cey was one of several consultants that participated in a series of presentations to Northern Ontario supply and service businesses on export development opportunities, sponsored by ONEDC and MNDMF.

Saskatchewan is the world's largest producer and exporter of potash and uranium, its two main mining industries.

"Potash is about food, and uranium is about energy," Cey said. "We have two huge players on a world scale that are right in our backyard."

Investments of approximately $11 billion in brownfield expansions and $12 billion in new potash mines are underway. Saskatchewan also produces 22 per cent of the world's uranium.

Camera's uranium Millennium Mine project will be the province's first greenfield mine in 40 years. Three billion dollars is invested in the oil patch annually, another potential market poised for growth. The agriculture industry is worth $500 million and is anticipated to hold its own. There are plans to spend about $2.7 billion over the next decade on infrastructure development for roads and a gas turbine power plant.

With a population of 1 million, Cey said there are some gaps that need to be filled, and Northern Ontario suppliers have the expertise and products to fill them.

Cey's suggestions to get a foothold in the Saskatchewan market...