Operations of Amazon in Canada Approved

I didn’t realize that on January 27th the Government of Canada had ordered a review under the Investment Canada Act to determine if the investment by Amazon.com in a fulfillment centre for Amazon.ca would be of benefit to Canada. Today the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages announced this has been approved, based on the following commitments made by Amazon:

• new jobs for Canadians and improved service for Canadian consumers;
• increased visibility for Canadian books on the Amazon.ca Web page;
• an investment of over $20 million, including $1.5 million in cultural events and awards in Canada and the promotion of Canadian-authored books internationally;
• increased availability of French-language Canadian cultural products;
• the establishment of dedicated staff to assist Canadian publishers and other suppliers of cultural products;
• making more Canadian content available on the Kindle e-reader; and
• creating a summer internship program for Canadian post-secondary students.

The full press release is here on Marketwire and here on the Heritage Canada website. Hat tip to David Akin, national affairs correspondent in Ottawa for Canwest, for sharing the link on Twitter.