The 91原创 tech scene is abuzz after Facebook confirmed it is planning to open a temporary recruitment and training office in the city this spring.
鈥淲e have selected 91原创 as the site for a temporary office for new (software) engineering hires,鈥� said an emailed statement from the company鈥檚 91原创 headquarters in Toronto.
鈥�91原创 was chosen because of its proximity to our Menlo Park, California, headquarters and existing engineering office in Seattle, Washington, and because 91原创 is an attractive city for world-class talent to live and work.鈥�
The company has yet to sign a lease, but it will locate in downtown 91原创 and the opening is targeted for the end of May and last a year.
Facebook鈥檚 expansion to B.C. is linked to talks between the company and the Office of the Premier.
The B.C. Lobbyist Registry shows that lawyer Erin O鈥橳oole of Heenan Blaikie in Toronto was registered to lobby from November 16, 2011, to June 14, 2012, on behalf of Facebook鈥檚 Washington D.C.-based manager of global public policy, Sarah Wynn-Williams.
O鈥橳oole鈥檚 intended outcome was 鈥渁rranging meeting between an individual and a public office holder鈥� to 鈥渕ake inquiries with respect to economic development programs in the province.鈥�
The only target contact listed by O鈥橳oole, who was elected as a Conservative Member of Parliament in Ontario鈥檚 Durham riding last November, was Premier Christy Clark. The lobbyist registry does not show whether O鈥橳oole met Clark, but it indicates he contacted Dimitri Pantazopoulos, who was then Clark鈥檚 principal secretary, on November 28, 2011.
Pantazopoulos was appointed Clark鈥檚 Assistant Deputy Minister of Trade and Federal-Provincial Relations in February 2012. Pantazopoulos is on leave of absence to work on the BC Liberals鈥� May 14 re-election campaign.
