Refundable tax credits, a well-educated work force and a provincial commitment to winning new industries make for an interesting knowledge-based industry mix.

"C

reativity, a little bit of deviance or disobedience, that is part of our character." No, that's not Bill Gates or Steve Jobs talking about their non-traditional corporate culture, though it certainly takes that kind of temperament to build a Microsoft or Apple. That's Invest Quebec President Louis Roquet's description of Quebec's appeal as a business location. He adds, "Maybe it's because we come from cultural traditions that are very different, and that kind of schizophrenia generates creativity."
      And perhaps this penchant for thinking outside the box explains Quebec's success in attracting knowledge-based companies, especially in the field of research and development. Quebec's world-class R&D activities are centered on its availability of a talented labor force that's much less expensive than in the United States.

      San Jose, Calif.-based ONI Systems Corp., a provider of optical telecommunications systems for metropolitan and regional markets, opened its Lightwave Design Center in Montreal in hopes of capturing some of that creativity. ONI Systems will conduct R&D and also develop manufacturing test solutions for its optical networking products. Initially ONI will staff the new facility with 50 people, but plans call for possibly doubling the highly skilled work force by 2003.
      "Of our 780 employees worldwide, we have a core of Canadian talent that has served us well," said Jalal Habelrih, senior director of the new facility, at the opening. "They encouraged us to look hard at Montreal for further expansion."
      Rusty Cumpston, ONI executive vice president of Engineering and Operations, added, "Montreal's technical talent pool provides an attractive location for R&D expansion. When combined with the pro-business support and R&D tax incentives of the federal and provincial governments, the choice was clear for us to pursue expansion into Montreal and the opening of ONI Systems
Canada Inc."