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Old Posted Apr 11, 2007, 12:24 PM
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Donovanf Donovanf is offline
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1,000 jobs in province if talks succeed

Wed Apr 11 2007

By Mia Rabson
A Japanese corporate giant is looking at setting up shop in Manitoba.

Mitsubishi, known primarily for making cars, is negotiating with the province to establish a wind blade and tower manufacturing plant in the province, with as many as 1,000 new jobs.

The discussions -- underway since the province put out a call for proposals for additional wind power last fall -- are struggling, however, because the company is asking for more corporate welfare than Premier Gary Doer is willing to provide.

"The incentives are too high for the taxpayers of Manitoba," said Doer during question period Tuesday.

Doer had little choice but to acknowledge the negotiations with Mitsubishi when asked about the issue by Conservative Leader Hugh McFadyen during question period.

McFadyen's party got wind of the discussions and he said he had been led to believe an announcement on the new plant was coming sometime in the next two weeks.
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By raising it in the legislature, McFadyen was likely hoping to prevent the government from making a splashy, "look at all the jobs we're bringing to Manitoba" announcement on the eve of a provincial election.

Following question period, Doer tried to downplay the negotiations, saying as exciting as the opportunity is, he has to ensure there is a cost-benefit to the taxpayer. He wouldn't divulge what the company had requested but said the discussions are continuing.

"I don't want to create any false optimism," said Doer. "There is no deal. Are there discussions still going on? Yes. But I would say it's got a lot of distance."

Mitsubishi did not respond to a request for an interview Tuesday.

McFadyen said he fears the company needs so many incentives from the government because there isn't a welcoming environment to business in this province.

Manitoba is falling far behind on job creation compared to other provinces, said McFadyen. There were 10,700 new jobs created in Manitoba between March 2006 and March 2007, the seventh best in Canada. Saskatchewan, said McFadyen, had double that growth.

And that's because Manitoba is "out of whack" with the rest of the West on taxes, making businesses wanting to invest here look for government handouts to ease the tax pain.

"We're saying the government should create an environment in Manitoba where private companies want to invest and create jobs here," said McFadyen. "I think if you have to go too far in terms of government incentives, that's an indication of a problem with your economic environment."
mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca
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