So where would the various Canadian cities that applied rank for Amazon?...
So... how would you know how Amazon is going to rank the entries? Yes, they did publish some criteria along with other likely fanciful numbers, but what truth is there in that? We simply don't know what their real goal is. It's all guesswork, and fun guesswork at that
I don't buy the whole "Second HQ" story at all. Poor business practice. Thus, it's most likely a hedge against Trump dragging the US completely off a cliff. Same goes for the rented office space in Vancouver... just a place where Amazon Execs can reassign themselves to and get a Canadian visa quick.
Me... I think the competition is bogus and they already have a destination in mind, most likely Vancouver. The whole bidding process is just a way to extort concessions from various levels of government. That said, while all those other applications are just going to get binned, the Langford (Greater Victoria) bid offers a real alternative, one that stands a decent chance.
Then again, the whole thing might be nothing more than a lever to get Trump to roll over on something else. Let it blow up into a fight and then "let Trump win" by not losing 50,000 jobs to some foreign country. Meanwhile, Bezos gets something he wants out of Trump on the sly. Then, Amazon can make-believe they're setting up a second HQ in Denver or something but not really do anything of consequence until everyone forgets about the whole thing.
As I said, other than the Amazon Execs that dreamed up this little game, everyone is guessing. And, I'm quite sure Bezos fully intends to keep it that way.
But, besides all that, what I've come to realise is how great this whole exercise is for everyone participating. 200+ cities have gone through the same thing we're doing here... listing off all their advantages and disadvantages to setting up a big operation. Everyone here has learned a lot; there is value in navel gazing on occasion. It's not just advertising, it's realising that, hey, we've got a lot going for us.
I've come to realise just how beneficial it would be to have a real people-moving train service running all the way to Comox. Not some trundling dayliner, but a real commuter train. The Malahat is becoming as much a choke point as the ferries are and breaking through that would replicate the Langford expansion all the way along the line. Tech in Victoria is exploding, with people hardly even noticing. Imagine that spreading up the island. Do we really even need Amazon's games to do this?
David...
Edited by Fixerdave, 23 October 2017 - 11:06 PM.