Mitch Garber in charge of attracting foreign investment to Canada

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Mitch Garber

Maxime Huard

Monday, 12 march, 2018 16:26

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Monday, 12 march, 2018 16:26

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OTTAWA – The montreal businessman Mitch Garber will chair the board of directors to Invest in Canada, a new federal agency in charge of attracting foreign investment to the country.

The minister of international Trade, François-Philippe Champagne, made the announcement Monday morning, when more and more voices to ensure that Canada remains competitive relative to the United States.

In the wake of the tax cuts put in place by the us administration, the Bank of Canada has said in fear, the last month, as more and more companies are forced to invest south of the border.

“Investors are not people who will be watching over the next two years, they look to the decades ahead”, stressed Mr. Champagne at a press conference in Ottawa. According to him, the Canada offers financial stability, a diverse workforce and a greater access to international markets, all of which are attractive to foreign companies.

Global Mission

Invest in Canada will be used to promote Canada internationally and to simplify the procedures to encourage businesses to move to the country.

“My goal will be to promote Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver to compete with Cleveland, Pittsburgh, London, and Tokyo. And we need to win,” said Mitch Garber, who also heads the board of directors of Cirque du Soleil, in a press briefing.

The federal government had announced in 2016, funding of $ 218 million $ for, among other things, to the creation of Invest in Canada.

According to world Affairs Canada, foreign multinationals based in the country, employing 1.9 million workers canadians. Foreign investment in Canada amounted now to $ 800 billion $.

Leaders

The director-general of the organization shall be the British Columbian Ian McKay, that is since September 2013 as president and ceo of the economic Commission in Vancouver. It has been, from 2010 to 2013, the national director of the liberal Party of Canada.

“I’m sure that Mr. Garber and Mr. McKay have the experience and leadership necessary to guide the development and success of the Invest in Canada and to make Canada the top destination for investment,” assured the minister Champagne.

Mitch Garber, who was known on the show “Dragons” of Radio-Canada, conducted from 2006 to 2009 the business of online gaming PartyGaming, based in Gibraltar, a tax haven.

Both PartyGaming that Optimal Group, another company led by Mr. Garber, have already had to pay millions of dollars to have accepted illegally the money of Americans for online gambling. The allegations made against Optimal Group took place from 2004 to 2006, while Mitch Garber was the head of the company.

Last year, the “Journal de Montreal” has also revealed that two companies run by Mr. Garber, Caesars Interactive and Caesars Acquisition, were placed at the heart of a restructuring where creditors feel they have lost billions of dollars.

The case had to be conducted in 2016 to a mégapoursuite against a series of companies related to Caesars Entertainment, a giant in american casinos. Mitch Garber was not sued personally in this folder.