DRUGS, BORDER CLOSURE, TO TAKE TOP BILLING

Lloydminster will roll out the red carpet next week for provincial and
territorial leaders converging for the highly anticipated Western
Premiers Conference.

Lloydminster Meridian Booster -- Lloydminster will roll out the red
carpet next week for provincial and territorial leaders converging for
the highly anticipated Western Premiers Conference.

With Alberta and Saskatchewan celebrating a mutual centennial year,
the Border City was chosen as the location of the annual conference.
Seven premiers from Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia,
Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut will come together to discuss
issues facing their provinces. Among the items slated for discussion
this year are trade, energy, agriculture, and post-secondary education.

"To have this year's conference in Lloydminster is a clear recognition
of our province's two centennials. It's the ideal spot," said
Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert, who served as chair during last
year's conference in Inuvik.

Calvert said agriculture will be his top priority in the premiers'
discussions, with the ongoing U.S. border closures seriously affecting
Saskatchewan farmers. He will also discuss the funding formula for the
problematic Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization program.

"Another issue I will be bringing to the table is discussion on
crystal meth, because we're all facing this challenge," Calvert said.
"(The premiers will discuss) how we might work better together as
provinces, with a particular look at the interprovincial trafficking
that's going on."

Calvert said the agenda has not yet revealed any significant areas of
contention, but the current unrest in the federal government may play
a role in the premier's meeting.

BSE and health care were high priorities in last year's conference,
and although those issues continue to haunt the agenda, chair of this
year's conference Alberta Premier Ralph Klein says it is important to
keep moving forward.

"It is in the spirit of optimism, with an eye for the future while
remembering the past, that western premiers meet to discuss issues of
mutual concern," Klein said in a prepared release.

The conference, held May 4 to 6, will include a community celebration
at the Lloydminster Exhibition grounds, and in honour of the
centennial, a commemorative flag raising at city hall.