The subject of Harris’s ire was Liberal MPP for Etobicoke-North, Shafiq Qaadri, who tabled the petition and said the current policy was “handicapping, retarding and penalizing MPPs”.
Harris argued that BlackBerry is an “iconic” Canadian company and is used by world leaders across the globe, who employ the devices for their highly regarded security.
While its unclear whether Qaadri’s petition will gain any traction, it appears that at least two members of his own party won’t be supporting the motion.
“Our government continues to be a strong supporter of this iconic brand that’s transformed the way people connect around the world,” said Liberal MPP Daiene Vernille of Kitchener-Centre.
“I have only ever used BlackBerry and will only ever use BlackBerry,” said Cambridge Liberal MPP Kathryn McGarry.
BlackBerry CEO John Chen, in a post on the BlackBerry website, had strong words for Qaadri, arguing that he “wrong on so many levels”.
“Many of the dollars spent with BlackBerry go right back into the local and national economy,” said Chen. “BlackBerry spends more on research and development than any other Ontario company. The $1.3 billion we spend annually also makes us one of the largest R&D spenders in all of Canada. Some 90% of BlackBerry’s research engagements are with Canadian universities and we hire more than 1,000 co-op students from local institutions every year.”
Chen added: “As an Ontario-headquartered company, BlackBerry pays corporate taxes in Ontario on revenue generated from sales worldwide, not just in Ontario. Among many other things, we help support the operations of the legislative assembly — and that includes Mr. Qaadri’s salary.”
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Cantech Letter founder and editor Nick Waddell has lived in five Canadian provinces and is proud of his country's often overlooked contributions to the world of science and technology. Waddell takes a regular shift on the Canadian media circuit, making appearances on CTV, CBC and BNN, and contributing to publications such as Canadian Business and Business Insider.
Blackberry 10 devices are awesome!
I own the z30 and it has Amazon's Android app store and Blackberry's app store. I now have all the apps I need and want.
It should be probed how much this Gentle man Mr. Shafiq Qaadri received from Apple and Samsung. After all, he is a politician and they don't do things without motives and agenda (either good or bad. and in this case it is evidently clear it is a bad one). Shame on him making such a comment which is not only bad for BB but also discriminatory in nature towards our fellow mates who are differently abled.
Shame!!
Smart phones make no sense for dump MPPs.
Qaadri most probably IMHO got paid by Apple/Google/shortsellers in cash in pakistan
Is it possible that Qaadri i strying to help hackers because they cant hack BlackBerry?
Reminds me of Ed Milliband the recent defeated UK Labour leader now disgraced, he should have thought twice before panning BlackBerry devices :)
Following the company's first quarter results, Roth MKM analyst Chip Moore remains neutral on Generac Holdings (Generac Holdings Stock Quote,… [Read More]
View Comments
Blackberry 10 devices are awesome!
I own the z30 and it has Amazon's Android app store and Blackberry's app store. I now have all the apps I need and want.
It should be probed how much this Gentle man Mr. Shafiq Qaadri received from Apple and Samsung. After all, he is a politician and they don't do things without motives and agenda (either good or bad. and in this case it is evidently clear it is a bad one). Shame on him making such a comment which is not only bad for BB but also discriminatory in nature towards our fellow mates who are differently abled.
Shame!!
Smart phones make no sense for dump MPPs.
Qaadri most probably IMHO got paid by Apple/Google/shortsellers in cash in pakistan
Is it possible that Qaadri i strying to help hackers because they cant hack BlackBerry?
Reminds me of Ed Milliband the recent defeated UK Labour leader now disgraced, he should have thought twice before panning BlackBerry devices :)