US embassy cable - 05HALIFAX248

UNCLAS HALIFAX 000248 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EIND, ECON, PGOV, CA, Technology 
SUBJECT: NOVA SCOTIA:  SUBSIDIES AND POLITICS ON DISPLAY IN HIGH-TECH 
ANNOUNCEMENT 
 
REF: HALIFAX 25 
 
1. Subsidies and politics took center stage at the November 25 
announcement that Research in Motion (RIM) would establish a 
technical support center in the Halifax area, creating 300 jobs 
initially and more than 1,200 over five years. RIM, the 
Waterloo, Ontario-based maker of the BlackBerry, had reportedly 
focused on four possible locations for the new center, and 
picked Halifax on the basis of costs, an educated workforce and 
provincial support estimated to be at least C$19 million. 
Provincial funding includes C$5 million for recruitment and 
training; the balance will come in the form of rebated payroll 
taxes based on the number of jobs created. 
2. With a federal election campaign looming, the initial plan to 
have Nova Scotia Premier John Hamm announce the RIM decision at 
his November 30 "State of the Province" speech was hijacked by 
federal Cabinet Ministers Geoff Regan and Scott Brison who have 
been busy in the province and region dispensing federal funding 
for various programs. Although there is no announced federal 
component to RIM's recent decision, Ottawa has long supported 
RIM and the company was happy to go along with the change in 
plan regarding the announcement. The company's CEO was effusive 
in his praise of the Premier's role in bringing RIM to Halifax, 
but unfortunately Hamm was on the other side of the continent at 
the First Ministers' meeting, unable to attend the event. 
3. The President of Dalhousie University, who was part of the 
provincial team that visited RIM to sell Halifax, told CG that 
workforce issues were key for the company. Instead of competing 
with Toronto and elsewhere for bright computer science and 
engineering graduates, RIM as an important regional employer 
will be in a position to draw in graduates from across Atlantic 
Canada who might otherwise have left the region in search of 
work. Furthermore, the company will likely contribute to Nova 
Scotia's immigration strategy (reftel) by providing job 
opportunities to immigrants with science and technology 
backgrounds. 
HILL