Steve: So is there a concern of money laundering and those kinds of things?
Bob: Of course there is, but the legislation is very strict in the fact that Canada has certain laws that I think gives people a lot of reassurance that everything is done above-board and within the law. We do compete with some of the other jurisdictions, and while we may not be able to compete because the twenty-two percent tax rate is not equivalent to a two or three percent tax rate that you might find in the Caribbean countries, or fifteen percent that you might find in Hong Kong or Singapore, but when you factor in the costs of doing business-employee costs, you know, rental costs, things of that nature-we are very competitive.
Steve: So what would be the sort of considerations for someone thinking of Vancouver? Would it tend to be more companies that are targeting the U.S. market? I mean, if someone is already in Asia, would they be more inclined to go to Singapore or Hong Kong? Is there a type of a profile of a company that would prefer Vancouver over the other options?
Bob: Not really. There are certainly a company that's got a North American scope of doing business, right across the entire-and perhaps even South America. Then it makes some since, because they can deal in the same day here. One of the advantages we do have in British Columbia is that during our business day, we can deal with Europe, North America, South America, and Asia all in our business day, which puts us in a strategic location that others cannot duplicate.
Steve: One last question here: has there been any opposition from people saying that, you know, the government is giving business a sweetheart deal? More from the people on the left side of the political spectrum, has there been much criticism, or has this been, generally speaking, well accepted?
Bob: I think it's been well accepted. I think everyone recognizes we weren't getting any tax income anyway, and while we may forsake it on the corporate side, if we can get people to come here and employ more and more people-one of the things I didn't mention in my speech was that the business schools at Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia, BCIT British Columbia Institute of Technology, they're all very concerned that their graduates from the business programs cannot find decent jobs in British Columbia. Many of them have to leave the province, and that's a shame when we spend a lot of money educating them and then they leave to seek employment elsewhere. So if we can create another Dublin, if we can create an Amsterdam, where there are lots of companies seeking business graduates and financial graduates, that's very important to the government as well. That's why there's been no real opposition to the legislation. Steve: Just on a related subject-there are a lot of immigrants to Canada, who come from Asia in particular, and who of course have Asian language skills, who may not be so strong on their English language skills, but who bring background from Asia and who have professional expertise in accounting or other specialized fields. Do you think that this could create some opportunities for these people that, at present, don't exist in our economy? Bob: Oh, I think very definitely, because they could be dealing with companies and organizations in their homeland, their previous homeland, in their own language, so they would be able to function here quite well, in that kind of an environment.
Steve: Well, it sounds like a win-win situation, and I wish you the best of luck, and thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us.
Bob: Not at all, it's my pleasure.
