RIM Loves Halifax

Has Halifax becomes the hot, new high-tech centre in North America? The
city certainly has to be feeling pretty good after convincing Research
in Motion Ltd. to create 1,200 jobs there over the next five years.
These aren't low-paying call-centre jobs but “technical service”
positions where people handle problems that the carriers' customer reps
can't resolve. The Halifax facility will also take care of RIM's
top15,000 corporate customers. So why Halifax? Aside from C$19-million
government aid,  the province of Nova Scotia has a strong
post-secondary education system, lots of people who want to stay in the
province rather than “go away” to Ontario, and close proximity to the
Eastern Seaboard. I suspect Nova Scotia will also bend over backwards
to ensure RIM has everything it needs to start doing business without
any bureaucratic  hurdles. Still, it's a big coup for Halifax
given RIM must have been swamped with attractive offers from Canadian
and U.S. cities for the new facility. (RIM already operates similar
centres in Waterloo, Asia and Europe). It's also a major public
relations/goodwill coup for RIM, which scores huge points with
Canadians and the federal government.