Sask. premier says $765K for COP28 pavilion space has been worth the price tag
Scott Moe says it won’t be an annual occurrence
Saskatchewan's Premier Scott Moe says he has no buyer's remorse about a pavilion space the province purchased at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly called COP28, in Dubai, U.A.E.
Saskatchewan spent $765,000 on the pavilion space at COP28, which began last Thursday and runs until next Tuesday.
The province also spent $238,000 on an advertising campaign that will run until Dec. 31 and appear at the Dubai Airport and Expo City Metro.
Saskatchewan's Opposition NDP has been criticizing the trip for some time.
"Does the minister want his legacy to be that he led the charge on the most expensive foreign trip in Saskatchewan history?" NDP critic for trade Aleana Young asked during a question period session last month.
Moe said Wednesday that there is a strong Saskatchewan presence in Dubai and he is happy with how people have engaged with the pavilion through the six first days of the conference.
"I think it's been a great conference and an opportunity for us from not only Saskatchewan, but from Canada to engage with, you know, about 200 countries around the world on what we're doing in industries that create wealth in our province and in our nation," Moe said on Wednesday.
There will be deliverables: Moe
The pavilion has hosted information sessions about Saskatchewan's agriculture, mining and energy generation industries.
Moe said every session has been well attended.
"What Saskatchewan is communicating is not only are we part of the world's aspirations for food and energy security, but we're telling the how, and how we're producing those products," Moe said.
Moe said it's been good for Saskatchewan's delegation — which is made up of 55 companies and universities, many of which are out-of-province — to talk with people from other countries about what is and isn't working in their jurisdictions.
He added there will be "deliverables" that come from having a strong Saskatchewan presence at the summit, but did not specify what they were other than an agreement signed at the conference to triple the world's nuclear footprint.
"We know the role Saskatchewan is playing, not only in fuelling those reactors with our four uranium companies and many northern and Indigenous communities that are involved in that industry in Saskatchewan, but also more recently involved in the actual nuclear power and nuclear delivery services as well," Moe said.
NDP criticizes trip
Saskatchewan's Opposition NDP has criticized the trip's price tag and the number of out-of-province delegates who will be using the space the province is fully paying for at the conference.
"Saskatchewan pavilion out-of-province businesses and organizations will outnumber Saskatchewan nearly two-to-one," Sask. NDP critic for trade Aleana Young said earlier this month.
"How does the University of Guelph help sell Saskatchewan businesses in our own pavilion?"
Moe defended having out-of-province delegates use the pavilion. He said they all have connections to Saskatchewan
"Some of those connections are research-based, training-based or other companies that have very direct connections to Saskatchewan and I would say opportunities for even larger connections in the future," Moe said.
Moe said the province won't have a pavilion at the COP conferences every year, but decided to do so this year because of its relationship with the United Arab Emirates — a country where Saskatchewan has a trade office.
Moe said he plans to meet with the federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault at COP28 to discuss grievances about what Moe called Ottawa's overreaching into provincial areas of jurisdiction.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Kyle Bakx