By Patrick Book

Mining giant BHP Billiton moving jobs to Saskatoon from Vancouver

May 10, 2011 | 11:31 AM

BHP Billiton has announced that it's closing its Vancouver office and moving those operations to Saskatoon, another example of the good news in Saskatchewan's economy.

In a news release put out Monday, the Australian mining giant reveals it's moving its diamonds and specialty products division to Saskatoon. That division includes potash, the resource the company was seeking when it attempted a hostile takeover of the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (PCS) last year. It will mean another 30 jobs at the Saskatoon office on top of the 69 already there.

BHP's takeover bid was ultimately rejected by the federal government after Premier Brad Wall recommended it not be allowed to go ahead. He believed the deal wouldn't provide a net benefit to the province or to Canada as a whole.

In a phone interview from Toronto Tuesday morning, Wall insists the news vindicates that position. He notes that some analysts and business people warned that rejecting that kind of foreign investment would send the wrong message to the world, ultimately driving away other major companies in the future. Wall said that couldn't be further from the truth.

“The German company K&S wanted to look at a new potash mine in the province, Valet from South America also came forward, and now BHP, to their credit, have come forward and said, 'Not only are we looking at a new mine but we're going to increase our corporate presence.' It's very positive, not just for us in the province but for the country, to realize that on rare occasions the country can say no and we can continue to be the kind of country that attracts foreign investment.”

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He said he wasn't aware the move was being announced today but does point out that he had made the suggestion in previous discussions with BHP executives.

The move is happening as BHP increases it's focus on a proposed potash mine at Jansen Lake, east of Saskatoon. Should that site start to produce potash the company could claim a $100,000 tax credit from the provincial government for every employee that is relocated. Competitors like Mosaic are planning to do the same, as that company will be moving jobs to Regina once a new office tower has completed construction.

Ironically Wall is speaking at a conference put on by business giant Bloomberg in Toronto Tuesday.

The topic: foreign investment in Canada.

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