Floods, fires on agenda for Western premiers talks

Disasters such as floods and wildfires that have affected much of the west will be discussed during a meeting of western premiers next week.

The talks, which will be led by Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger, will be held in Yellowknife and also attended by Northern representatives.

Selinger said in a statement that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is prepared to work with interested provinces and territories to develop a new long-term natural disaster mitigation program.

"We are looking forward to getting this work underway as soon as possible," Selinger said.

Northwest Territories Premier Floyd Roland will host the annual Western Premiers' Conference, which runs June 20-22.

Among the other premiers attending the talks will be: Saskatchewan's Brad Wall, Alberta's Ed Stelmach, Nunavut's Eva Aariak, B.C.'s Christy Clark and Yukon's Darrell Pasloski.

Selinger said that aside from discussions of disaster mitigation, the problem of unseeded acreage is on the agenda. Another priority item is the issue of clean and renewable energy from Manitoba Hydro.