NEWS RELEASES

November 29, 2001

GOVERNMENT OF CANADA AND GREATER TORONTO MARKETING ALLIANCE JOIN FORCES TO ATTRACT FOREIGN INVESTMENT

International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew and Industry Minister Brian Tobin today announced a $191 000 Government of Canada contribution to the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance (GTMA).

The contribution will specifically serve to implement an international marketing plan for the Greater Toronto Area in information technology and telecommunications, biotechnology and biomedicine, and the automotive and auto-parts sectors, as well as for various services such as call centres.

"Foreign investment makes it possible to introduce new technologies and innovative ideas and creates jobs for Canadian communities," said Minister Pettigrew. "That will help the Greater Toronto Area showcase its strengths and unique regional character."

"A highly skilled labour force, a business-friendly, innovative climate and the presence of high-technology clusters make this region an attractive place in which to invest," said Minister Tobin. "The Government of Canada is proud to be involved in partnerships that impact favourably on Canadian communities."

"Thanks to the support of the Government of Canada, the GTMA is positioned to be the primary marketing voice for promoting the Greater Toronto Area internationally and servicing prospective global investors," said Karen Campbell, President and CEO of the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance.

The GTMA'S goal is to attract foreign investment and new jobs. The GTMA is a public-private partnership between 29 municipalities and regions in the Greater Toronto Area, and also includes a broad cross-section of private-sector corporations from the real estate, financial, accounting, legal service and utilities sectors.

Financing for the project comes from the Program for Export Market Development - Investment (PEMD-I), established to help communities get ready to welcome investment and attract foreign investors. The program is administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and Industry Canada.

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Backgrounders are attached.

For more information, media representatives may contact:

Sébastien Théberge

Office of the Minister for International Trade

(613) 992-7332

Heidi Bonnell

Director of Communications

Office of the Minister of Industry

(613) 995-9001

Media Relations Division

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

(613) 995-1874

Daniel Marchand

Investment Partnerships Canada

(613) 941-9272

Karen Campbell

Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance

(416) 360-7320

This document can also be found on the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Web site at: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca

Backgrounder

GREATER TORONTO AREA INTERNATIONAL MARKETING PLAN

Resource person: John Jung, VP, International Marketing, (416) 360-7320, ext. 3228

The International Marketing Plan of the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance aims to promote to international markets the Greater Toronto Area's (GTA) competitive advantages in information technology and telecommunications, biotechnology and biomedicine, the automotive and auto-parts sectors as well as in various services such as call centres.

Program objectives

• To identify which sectors to promote and to which areas around the world the GTA can offer competitive advantages.

• To propose initiatives to attract foreign investors and encourage them to consider investing in the GTA.

• To evaluate on an ongoing basis the performance of the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance and the quality of services offered to sponsors and prospective international investors.

The various financial partners

The following partners have contributed to this $1 059 000 initiative:

Government of Canada $191 000

GTA partners (both private and public sector) $868 000

Backgrounder

PROGRAM FOR EXPORT MARKET DEVELOPMENT - INVESTMENT (PEMD-I)

Resource Person: Daniel Marchand, Investment Partnership Canada, (613) 941-9272

PEMD-I is the Government of Canada's Team Canada approach to help Canadian communities attract foreign investment. The objective of the program is to enhance the ability of Canadian communities to attract, retain and expand foreign direct investment and to increase total Canadian employment.

PEMD-I represents an expansion of the current PEMD to extend support to communities working in partnership with the private sector at the local level to attract new foreign direct investment.

PEMD-I is made up of two parts:

PEMD-I projects between $50 000 and $300 000

Aim directly at attracting investment to Canada;

Complement ongoing community economic development programs;

Work on a cost-shared basis -- applicants are eligible for Government of Canada support of up to 50 percent of the cost of their activities;

Are developed by larger communities and regional coalitions;

Involve a national approval committee chaired by John Gero, Assistant Deputy Minister for International Business and Chief Trade Commissioner for DFAIT;

Work with a total budget of $1.5 million per year;

Operate five to six projects a year.

PEMD-I projects up to $50 000

Help communities become investment-ready;

Assist in the implementation of modest program delivery -- cover training, database development, studies, development plans, and implementation of investment attraction initiatives;

Work on a cost-shared basis -- applicants are eligible for Government of Canada support of up to 50 percent of the cost of their activities;

Involve 10 approval committees in International Trade Centres across the country;

Work with a total budget of $3.4 million per year;

Operate up to 75 projects a year.