Northern Development Agreement (NDA)

The Northern Affairs Division plans and leads the delivery of provincial investments under the Canada-Saskatchewan Northern Development Agreement (NDA), in partnership with the federal government and northern partners. Those northern partners are represented through the Northern Development Board Corporation (NDBC).

The Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan each committed $10 million to the five-year Agreement, signed on October 17, 2002. Funding for the NDA expired March 31, 2008, and projects under it must be complete by March 31, 2009.

The purpose of the Canada-Saskatchewan Northern Development Agreement, now in its wrap-up year, was to promote and support sustainable economic development for northern Saskatchewan and encourage the full participation of Northerners in the Saskatchewan economy.

The agreement provided funding for projects that addressed five strategic priorities:

1. Economic Infrastructure: projects that support major new economic initiatives with significant benefit to Northerners; 
2. Innovation: projects that could lead to new discoveries, new products or new services in Northern Saskatchewan; 
3. Realizing Employment Opportunities: initiatives that will help Northerners to take advantage of employment opportunities, with emphasis on the needs of Northern youth; 
4. Capacity Building: support for organizations that enhance the capacity of Northerners to be self-sufficient; and, 
5. Investment Attraction: efforts taken to identify, research and promote specific investment opportunities in northern Saskatchewan, particularly value-added industries.

With the full $20 million under the Agreement now committed, the NDA has funded some 60 projects, including:

• Extending high-speed internet to 35 communities;
• Establishing a student residence for NORTEP/PAC in La Ronge;
• Training through Northlands College related to oilsands jobs,
• Apprenticeship programming, and the SIAST mobile training unit to teach trades in northern communities and mines;
• Training northerners in tourism and restaurant service, computer usage, child care, water management, and practical nurse training;
• Transportation studies, road improvements, heavy equipment training, and road-building jobs arising from the Northern Economic Infrastructure Strategy;
• Research into non-timber forest products including fiddleheads, burbot liver oil, essential oils, and chaga;
• Training for Economic Development Officers and Local Government Authority Officers.

Applications and proposals were accepted from a number of northern entities: non-profit organizations; post-secondary education institutions and school divisions; regional health authorities engaged in research; and municipal governments and related organizations. Commercial activities were eligible for funding only if the northern community benefitted substantially and the activity was consistent with the strategic priorities of the agreement. Other groups, such as boards, committees and First Nations organizations were encouraged to apply through a legal entity.

Northern Development Board

Projects supported under the NDA were reviewed and approved by a Tri-Partite Management Committee, consisting of two federal and two provincial government representatives and two members of the Northern Development Board.

The Board as a whole provided input in selecting projects undertaken under the NDA, and advised government on other issues related to northern development. The Board included representatives from all of northern Saskatchewan's leading political agencies: the Prince Albert Grand Council, Meadow Lake Tribal Council, Métis Nation of Saskatchewan, and the Saskatchewan Association of Northern Communities (New North), as well as the Athabasca First Nations.

For more information, call (306) 425-4261.