Do BUSINESS with MANITOBA,
derive BENEFITS MANIFOLD- Premier Gary Doer

Manitoba is among the most developed provinces not only of Canada but of the entire North America. To a large extent, the credit for Manitoba's overall economic growth goes to the conducive policies of its government, headed by Premier Gary Doer. In an exclusive interview ahead of his state visit to India, Premier Doer talks to Trade-Links Managing Editor Satya Swaroop about his mission to forge a lasting bond between the business communities of India and Manitoba. Excerpts:

India and Canada have always shared common economic interests, which get strengthened from time to time during the visits of top government leaders as well as captains of industry and commerce. In this context, could you talk about the overall mission and specific purpose of your visit?
As India is one of the world's fastest growing economies, we are eager to introduce Manitoba to the Indian marketplace. Our trade mission includes more than 45 business and education leaders representing over 30 different companies, institutions and organizations from Manitoba. The province of Manitoba is a diverse, multicultural society with a prosperous Indian community. We saw an opportunity to build on those strong links that exist between our province and India for the benefit of our businesses.
Manitoba has a diverse economy with strong sectors in energy and environmental industries, agriculture and food, life sciences and biotechnology, aerospace and infrastructure development. Manitoba companies with expertise in areas vital to India's current and future economic development are interested in partnering with Indian companies.
We would also like to showcase Manitoba to Indian business and industry leaders as a prime destination for investment. Manitoba offers a strategic, mid-continent location, with a central time zone and easy access to Canada, United States and emerging markets in the Americas. We have modern communication and transportation networks that include convenient air, rail and overland trade routes. Our comparative business costs are lower than many other major cities in North America, including the lowest published hydro-electric power rates, and we have a stable, parliamentary government.
Manitoba's industry is very diversified, a similarity that India shares with your region, with the manufacturing segment playing a pivotal role in economic growth. Do you have any agenda to boost the two-way export-import of industrial and capital goods and technology in order to boost the overall bilateral trade between India and Canada?
We are one of several Canadian provincial governments, including Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec that recognize the potential to increase two-way trade and investment with India. These missions also support the October 2003 joint plan released by the national governments of Canada and India, which lays out a framework for increasing trade and investment between our two countries.
Manitoba's two-way trade with India totaled to about $45 million in 2004, so there's obviously room for growth on both sides of the ocean. This mission is one of four business-focused programs that the Province of Manitoba has led to India in the past 12 months. An overall objective of our strategy is to introduce Manitoba to India and ensure that the expertise of our companies is recognized by Indian businesses seeking joint ventures with Canadian partners. We also think it is very important to deliver this message in person, from Manitoba to India. Any strategy for increasing two-way trade must start with face-to-face contact and building a working relationship between India and our province.
The growth of private capital investment in Manitoba has been remarkable and remained so for a record 14 years in a row, thanks to conducive government policies, highly developed infrastructure and availability of electricity at the cheapest possible rate. What are the chances of Indian companies with a global vision to set up base in Manitoba in both manufactured goods and services?
Manitoba is definitely wide open for business of Indian companies looking to set up a base in North America and that is one of the strong messages we will be delivering to Indian industry leaders during our visit.
Manitoba's low electricity rates, which are the lowest published rates in North America, are particularly attractive to businesses in the manufacturing sector, and these affordable rates have helped us attract manufacturers from outside our province. The cost of land and buildings are affordable, and we have abundant fresh water supplies, a key raw material for a variety of manufacturing processes. Our location at the heart of North America not only offers cost advantages for shipping, but provides logistical advantages in terms of access to key North American markets and in times required to reach those markets.
These advantages have been borne out in repeated studies by KPMG of business costs in leading international cities. These studies have ranked Manitoba's business costs very favorably in comparison to other jurisdictions in North America. The most recent edition of the study in 2004 compared business costs across 17 industries in 120 cities in the G-7 nations. The results of the 2004 study showed that Manitoba had an average cost advantage of 5.6 per cent over the U.S. across a variety of manufacturing sectors. The cost advantage in knowledge-based services like biomedical R&D, clinical trials, electronic systems testing, and digital content development was even more dramatic between 14.2 per cent and 27.5 per cent.
Manitoba's commitment to welcoming foreign business investment is demonstrated through programs like our Provincial Nominee Program for Business, which specifically works to attract exceptional business people from around the world who are able and willing to establish new businesses in Manitoba.
Manitoba is strong in Research and Development of agri-foods (food processing) and biotechnology, in which India is also strong and trying to catch up with the developed West. What are the chances of large-scale collaboration and exchange of research results for their commercial application?
Collaborations with India involving agri-food and biotechnology are among the real possibilities we will be exploring while in India. Manitoba has a thriving biotech sector, one of the fastest growing in Canada, and is also home to the Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals at the University of Manitoba, and the Canadian Centre for Agri-Food Research in Medicine, both in Winnipeg.
Our agricultural related biotechnology expertise includes the development of crops with enhanced qualities and improved pest resistance, and identification and extraction of high value materials from crops. Manitoba enjoys a global leadership position in the development of cereal and oilseed crop varieties. The University of Manitoba's Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences is recognized for the leading role it played in developing canola. On the commercial side, Manitoba companies like Cangene Corporation have conducted clinical trials in India.
Manitoba is a centre of excellence in the areas of infectious disease identification and management. A significant concentration of the province's activities in these areas resides in the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the International Centre for Infectious Diseases. The Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health is the first and only global centre with level 4 bio-containment capability for the study of both human and animal disease.
In addition to the research knowledge generated there, we have developed specific construction and engineering expertise related to bio-containment laboratories. Delegations from Japan, Mexico, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States have toured Winnipeg's Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health as they plan the construction of their own bio-containment labs.
There is a boom in consumerism and subsequent surge in retail trade in India. Companies from the West, especially the US have already entered or are keen to enter India to take advantage of this huge market of a billion people, of which 300 million are well-off. Shouldn't Manitoba, which is also strong in retail trade, take advantage of the Indian market through collaborations and franchises?
India's economic growth has been extremely impressive and shows no signs of slowing down. There's no question that India's growing middle class provides businesses with a new marketplace, and one of the goals of our mission is to introduce Manitoba companies to that marketplace and its emerging opportunities.
One of the concrete actions we are exploring is forming a partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). This partnership would provide our trade mission with a lasting link to India, allowing CII and Manitoba Trade and Investment to continue to work together to provide Manitoba companies with “on the ground” support and advice when trying to set up business in India.
Manitoba has recorded the highest growth in the residential construction industry among all provinces of Canada. Here in India there is a growing shortage of housing in the fast-developing urban centers, where there is big opportunity for investment and transfer of modern building technology. What are the chances of collaboration between the construction sectors of both countries?
Housing is one of several areas where Manitoba may be able to offer expertise to India, which has pressing infrastructure needs on a number of fronts. We are extremely experienced in energy efficient construction, which is as relevant for hot climates as it is for colder climates. This applies both to residential buildings and industrial/commercial/institutional buildings. Additionally, we have specific expertise in designing and building entire turnkey operations for focused industrial applications like grain handling, storage and transport. Whether it's setting up transportation systems such as grain handling, rail transport and aviation, to building modern educational facilities, Manitoba has much to offer India.
We are also leaders in energy efficiency and water treatment and these and other infrastructure issues will be an important part of our mission.
Your stated objective is to promote technology. Could you elaborate the specific issues that you would like to highlight?
Manitoba's traditional exports to India have included commodities like paper products and pulse crops. We will continue to market these items. However, India's rapid economic growth creates demand for new technologies, products and services.
As we have been discussing, we see expanding and emerging opportunities in a variety of areas, from infrastructure development, to agri-food processing, energy transmission technology, management and conservation.
For example, Manitoba Hydro International Ltd. provides expertise in the planning, design, construction, management and operation of generation, transmission and distribution facilities to clients worldwide. It has provided these services to more than seventy client organizations in over forty countries during its past seventeen years, and its expertise is available to Indian companies, government and institutions.
The Energy Services Alliance of Manitoba is another entity that offers a full range of services to clients in the energy industry ranging from initial demand assessment, through regulatory advice, environmental impact assessment, feasibility studies, design, construction and commissioning, to management, operation and maintenance of completed systems.
We are also excited about opportunities to partner with Indian educational institutions on curriculum development and joint-training initiatives. Manitoba has a thriving Indian community and we are keen to work with other universities and colleges to train our youth for the high-tech jobs of the future.
In the area of forestry, you have an enviable record at dealing with wildfires, mitigation and management of disasters. What kind of blueprint could you offer India, which is very vulnerable to disasters, both natural and man-made?
Manitoba has an effective, coordinated approach to managing “disasters” through our Emergency Measures Organization (EMO). Our EMO has been invited to other parts of the world to assist with flood recovery and prevention. One of the keys to managing through difficult, unexpected situations is having a central organization that is trained to deal with crisis, has well-developed contingency plans, and the authority to unite all the parties involved in a coordinated, quick response.
For example, with the recent threat of avian flu, we have modernized and updated our response plans throughout the province. As legislators, we can play a valuable role by listening to the advice of public health and emergency officials and providing them with the tools they need to properly deal with urgent situations.
Your region has been able to post positive growth in exports despite the highly competitive conditions prevalent in international markets. What has been your strategy to achieve this feat, which India could emulate?
Our province enjoys a diverse economy which has helped us weather the storms that may effect a particular sector at any given time. As a government, we have focused on enhancing and retaining Manitoba's affordability advantage. We have introduced policies that have kept Manitoba's energy costs low and are continuing with a long-term plan that has reduced both small business and corporate tax rates. Manitoba's business costs are very favorable when compared to other jurisdictions and this gives our companies a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. At the same time, we have top notch education and training facilities and a hard-working, highly-educated workforce.
We have also worked to diversify the international markets in which we do business. We have increased the proportion of our non-US bound exports from 19 per cent to 25 per cent of total exports, over the last 3 years. This diversification helps to mitigate against setbacks in individual markets, and helps to ensure that our exports continue to grow.
We have also focused on marketing Manitoba to other jurisdictions. In addition to affordable business costs, Manitoba offers a tremendous quality of life. The cost of living is affordable; we have quality schools and health care facilities, and as a province with 100,000 lakes, we have wonderful recreational opportunities.
Whether through trade missions such as this one, or invitations to visit Manitoba, or other points of contact, we are always promoting our province, its people and its potential. We believe Manitoba is the best place to live, work, raise a family, own and operate a business and we deliver this message at every opportunity.
Finally, what is your message to India's business community that could help it connect both countries more effectively than at present?
Every province, country, business, individual will find their own recipe for success. For Manitoba, it has been bringing a “can-do” attitude to work every day. I have been very fortunate to be premier of a province where people from all political stripes, the public and private sectors, business, labour, the multicultural community and non-profit organizations are keen to work together on initiatives that benefit Manitoba. Our goal is to continue to bring this approach to each and every opportunity that crosses our path.