This will be a "fulfillment centre" and the federal government is allowing Amazon to build the warehouse in return for Amazon's promise to "promote Canadian culture and to hire its first-ever Canadian employees." UPDATE - Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Sony have agreed to "Agency" pricing to head off competition from Apple, who set the 'Agency' pricing allowing publishers to charge more.
Per the Winnipeg Free Press earlier:
' Under the Investment Canada Act, foreign investment in book publishing and distribution has been limited to Canadian-controlled joint ventures.It'll be nice if they can get publishers to make more books that are available in the U.S., also available in Canada, as that has been a sore point.
The Canadian Booksellers Association has been vocal in its opposition to the warehouse, arguing it could set a precedent allowing "American Goliaths" to become a commanding presence in Canada.
But Amazon.com called the argument that a foreign owned retailer couldn't be trusted to promote Canadian culture "preposterous."
As part of the deal, Amazon will invest more than $20 million, including $1.5 million for cultural events and awards and for promoting Canadian-authored books abroad.
Amazon's commitment also includes adding Canadian jobs, improving service for Canadian consumers, and increasing the visibility of Canadian and French-language products on its Canadian website.
Paul Misener, Amazon.com's vice-president for global public policy, said the company believes a local fulfilment centre will enable it to better serve Canadian customers as well as those in other countries who seek out Canadian books and cultural products. '
Amazon will also "establish dedicated staff to assist Canadian publishers and other suppliers of cultural products and make more Canadian content available on the Kindle e-reader" and is "creating a summer internship program for Canadian university and college students."
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