Canada’s minister of National Revenue, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the Atlantic Gateway says he’s impressed with the work being done by a high-tech firm based in the capital.
Fredericton MP Keith Ashfield toured local software giant Caris on Tuesday in what was described as an information exchange visit.
“They are a world-class company, and I am quite impressed with what they’re doing,” Ashfield said in an interview.
Caris, a family-owned business, can trace its roots back to 1979.
It develops and supports geomatics software for customers in the land, marine and software development sectors of spatial information management. Its 4,500-square metre headquarters on Waggoners Lane employs 140 people.
The company also has offices in the U.S., Netherlands, Australia and Great Britain, as well as supporting a network of more than 20 authorized Caris representatives, providing expertise and first-line support in more than 90 countries.
Ashfield said because Caris is a Fredericton-based company, he not only had an interest in it but was curious about the type of work it was involved in.
“It intrigued my interest to get in here and see what was going on; it’s a fantastic facility and great work that they are doing here,” the minister said.
Ashfield said ACOA has worked with Caris in the past and is always interested in seeing the work it’s doing.
Hopefully, it will generate more economic activity and create more job within the province, the minister said.
Ashfield also used the visit to explain the government’s tax strategy with regard to job creators.
Mark Masry, spatial products research and development manager for Caris, said he wanted to acknowledge the effort government is making to help and work with the company at the technology level.
“It’s very beneficial of him (Ashfield) to take the time to come to visit us,” Masry said.
“We feel very much a part of the province and we hope that we benefit from being here.”
Masry said information was passed back and forth between the two parties and that Tuesday’s visit was designed to further the relationship between them.
Ashfield, meanwhile, who has been at the centre of a number of provincial announcements over the last few days, including making federal assistance available for a runway upgrade at the Fredericton International Airport, said he wasn’t in campaign mode.
While it’s important for Canadians to understand the direction the government is taking, it’s normal for him to be on the ground and meeting people, Ashfield said.
“A lot of days, I do seven or eight events in a given day. I am into a day and a half and only five (events). That’s pretty good,” the minister joked.
Source:http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/1382818
