Québec Carves Out Infrastructure Edge

Québec's success in attracting, and retaining, high-profile players is due in part to its inventive incentives and its willingness to invest in the kind of world-class infrastructure that attracts world-class companies and talent.
        Case in point: E-commerce Place in Montréal. Due to be completed in 2003, it was launched to stimulate new economy development in the city and affords tenants key tax breaks calculated according to the total wages related directly to e-commerce development activities.
        In Laval, one year after it was launched, the City of Biotechnology and Human Health of Metropolitan Montréal has confirmed over $110 million in investments. Ethypharm, a French company specializing in galenical preparations, is planning a $4-million facility expansion in Laval and Swiss-based Actelion Pharmaceuticals is building its Canadian R&D headquarters there.
        "We chose (Laval) because of the BIOPOLE's importance," said Actelion Canada President Benoît Huet. BIOPOLE, AGROPOLE and the E-POLE are "sectors of excellence" being developed by Laval Technopole, an organization focused on attracting and supporting sector investments, and on developing the City of Biotechnology and Human Health of Metropolitan Montréal, the Laval Science and Technology Park and municipal industrial parks.
        Laval's R&D environment is conducive to Actelion's development, says Huet, and the government's offer of tax advantages "will help maximize" its R&D. For Laval Technopole Director General Pierre Bélanger, Actelion's decision confirms that the major science center is becoming a North American hub for European scientific companies.
        Cities like Dorval and Montréal and Laval, with their high density of high-tech activity, allow companies to benefit from the synergies afforded by tight ties between universities, colleges and R&D centers. As Pierre Alary, a partner in the life sciences division of Ernst & Young, puts it: collaborative and cooperative energy create "an environment favorable to growth" and help ensure Québec maintains a high profile as a biotechnology capital.