The Gazette from Montreal, Quebec, Canada • 20

B3 THE GAZETTE montrealgazette.com TUESDAY, JUNE 5, 201Z BUSINESS Feds defend streamlined' ean deadline looming: Sabia He said if year-end differences are taken into account, the Caisse is still ahead of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board ($162 billion of assets at March 31) in total assets under management and the top spot among Canadian pension funds. But in the longer run it will take second place because the CPPIB invests surplus contributions from a larger base. Sabia said the Caisse has to navigate in a turbulent and changing world. "Globally, deep structural changes are at work as the West's dynamism declines and the emerging economies accelerate their growth. The market volatility is often exaggerated but the Caisse must react while keeping its eye on longer-term object workings today" But he said another 2008 crash cannot be ruled out because the "window" remaining to find the solution is very brief.

Sabia said stock markets in the second half of this year hopefully will not repeat their performance of late 2011 when highly volatile prices cut into virtually all pension fund managers' performances. The Caisse cut back its equity holdings at mid-year and built up cash. It capitalized on investments in bonds, private equity, property and infrastructure. It came up with an average four per cent return for all 2011 and targets a better performance for all of 2012 despite the international uncertainties ahead. continent to solve Caisse CEO warns A solution to relieve the Spanish banking crisis and Greece's participation in the eurozone is just the most urgent issue and rising uncertainty could quickly spread all of Europe and the world economy, he said after addressing the Canadian Club Montreal.

Asked whether lack of concerted international action could risk another late-2008 banking and financial market meltdown, Sabia replied: don't think it's likely since governments and administrators understand more about the financial system's IrzazA -J, 1 review plan for projects LYNN MOORE THE GAZETTE Federal Industry Minister Christian Paradis was in Montreal Monday, touting his government's plan for resource development, saying it would help Quebec move ahead with major projects. The $l-billion Rabaska LNG deepwater port project near Quebec City was cited as an example of how a "streamlined review process" would help the provincial economy It took almost two years before the federal panel even began its review of the pro ject, which included a new 50-kilometre pipeline. The highly controversial project was described Mon day in federal handouts as a continuing venture but the venture was shelved in early 2010. Sophie Brochu, CEO of Gaz Metro, a partner in the consortium thatalso involved Enbridge Inc. and Gaz de France, said then that low natural gas prices in North America led to the indefinite postponement of the tanker terminal.

After the project was an nounced in 2004, natural gas prices plummeted as a drilling strategy to tap into shale gas formations became widespread. Also widespread was strong public opposition in Quebec to the terminal, partly because of worries about LNG tanker collisions and security risks. The project was to be located in Levis, across the St. Lawrence River river from Quebec City. Low gas continue to keep the project sidelined, consortium spokesperson Simon Poitras said in an interview Monday.

Asked if the long delay in getting federal approval might have prevented the construction of an underused or unprofitable white elephant, Poitras replied, Yes and no." "If it had gone faster, maybe we would have had a signed contract with the supplier and it would be up and running," he said. "On the other hand, I can speculate what would have happened but gas prices are too low at this time for the project to go ahead. That is for sure." Paradis was among Prime Minister Stephen Harper's cabinetministerswhofanned out across the country Monday in response to a "blackout" campaign urging the federal government to back down from using its budget to rewrite Canada's environmental laws. Ministers touted the gov ernment's budget plan and its supporting legislation that would rewrite several environment laws and signifi Ubisoft Entertainment representative Nicole Johnson is dwarfed by a poster for the company's highly anticipated game to be introduced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. games grab Expo ives," he said.

China is debating its future economic roadmap, but the emerging economies will remain powerhouses of global growth but at a slower pace than in the past five years. Sabia also spoke of the Caisse's $l-billion equity investment in Montreal-based IT systems firm CGI Inc. to help it finance a major European takeover. "It's an investment that meets our policy of supporting Quebec companies' international growth." He also cited the Caisse's $850-million (U.S.) pipeline investment, public transportation and the proposed $5-billion iron ore railway in Quebec-Labrador, the Cham-plain Bridge and office and commercial projects in Chicago and Rio de Janeiro. 'A JONATHAN ALCORN BLOOMBERG NEWS Assassin's Creed 3, the most spotlight non-violent option.

Far Cry 3, a first-person shooter which will be on sale Sept 4, features a four-player co-op campaign, which will allow gamers to team up with friends, or other online players, to complete missions. Monday was also a big day for Ubisoft's Toronto studio, which at about 230 employees has only about one-tenth of those in Montreal. That studio unveiled a gameplay dem onstration of its first-ever game, Splinter Cell Blacklist, which will be on sale in about a year. Although the core development team is based in Toronto, Montreal's studio has been playing a key sup porting role. "From 300 million gamers to 2 billion (players on smart- phones or tablet), if we can (get) even a small percentage of those newcomers, we'll be very successful," he said.

jmagder montrealgazette.com Twitter: JasonMagder standard old rateeorv. Tablet owner old category. Tablet owners are also on the rise, he said. Also on Monday, the Can adian Wireless Telecom municationsAssociationsaid a new study found that the country's wireless industry supports more than a quarter of a million jobs and billions of dollars in direct and spin off economic activity Based on 2010 data, the study said the wireless in dustry supported more than 260,000 jobs with an aver age salary of just more than $44,000. The study estimates the industry generated $43 billion in economic activity, includ ing direct and indirect em ployment as well as spinoff benefits to wireless custom ers.

Only weeks left for i if. i its Tinanciai crisis, ROBERT CIBBENS SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE EiSrope must find a lasting sotujion to its debt crisis in the next few weeks at most antf it will take lots of cour-age'and leadership to get the joh done, Michael Sabia, CEO the $158-billion Caisse de dejjot et placement du Quebec, said Monday public pension fii'n'd manager has many billions at stake in Europe, including investments in shares, airports and other infrastructure, shopping centres and office buildings. ot hi -ill 'fd Telus to invest $840M in Quebec CANADIAN PRESS Canada's second-largest telecom company, Telus says it will invest $840 million in" Quebec over the next three years as part of its 2012 capital spendingprogram. of the money will be used to expand the reach of its most advanced wireless network in the Montreal and Quebec City areas. "This year, Telus will further extend our 4G LTE the fastest wireless technology in the world to the Montreal metropolitan region and the Quebec City area, while bringing new wireless and broadband services to even more rural communities," said Francois Cote, president of Telus Quebec.

'iThe company said its ability to extend the fourth-generation technology into rpral areas will depend on the otitcome of the next federal auction of spectrum, which Telus will further extend our 4G LTE to the Montreal region." Telus Quebec's Francois Cote gives carriers rights to the radio frequencies that carry digital signals to devices. The $840-million plan also will be used by Telus to en hance its other infrastructure in the province, including ex pansion of the Optik TV and Internet services to several communities including Que bec City and construction of an Internet data centre in Rimouski, at a cost of $65 million. Vancouver-based Telus an nounced Friday that it would spend $650 million on advanced technology in Ontario over three years to support its wireless growth, resulting iri 900 new jobs. The spend ing plans are part of a biljion capital spending plan for'SOW that was announced mDecember. Wireless Alt agree cancellation UUL Id 1 1 I IIKUIC UUl J1 LuANN LaSALLE CANADIAN PRESS National standards for cellphone contracts would need to set out rules for early cancellation fees, often a source o( frustration for consumers, says the head of a wireless in-crastry'group.

Different rules for 13 provinces-and territories would be confusing and push up consumer costs, Bernard Lord, president of the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, said Monday "Thlot button issue to of "I the CEO of Ubisoft Montreal the largest of the Paris-based company's studios. "We have the strongest lineup ever at E3." Assassin's Creed 3 took three years to develop and involved more than 300 people in Montreal who worked with other teams in Quebec City, France, Singapore and Ukraine. A demonstration of the game was shown to reporters last week at Ubisoft's Montreal studios. The game takes place during the American Revolution, and the main character is Connor, who is half Mohawk and half British. Montreal's knowledge Montreal JASON MACDER THE GAZETTE Ubisoft's Montreal studios took a prominent spot on the first day of the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles Monday as it showed off two of the most anticipated games of the conference.

Assassin's Creed 3, on sale this fall, is the fifth instalment of the franchise and the one with the largest budget. It was rated the top-anticipated game of the conference by video game blogging site Gamespot, with Far Cry 3, also designed in Montreal, rated No. 2. "It's going to be absolutely huge," said Yannis Mallat, TABLETS CONTINUED FROM Bl He said tablets have brought video games into the hands of many who don't own a console. But while that's potentially a new market for gaming companies, he believes it's the wrong move to deliver the same experi industry fees should be clear, IIUVY LU dllUIIIUIDII II HD important to hard-core gamers ence of an AAA game like Assassin's Creed, to a tablet.

"I see the hard-core gamers still pretty much on the console HD experience, unless there is some benefit to playing that on the tablet. The technological gap is slightly closing. Does that mean I want to have the exact same shines through in the weather patterns depicted throughout the game. The character must take into account how snow, rain and ice will affect his movement during different points of the game. Game designers also relied heavily on a historian, as they recreated the 18th-century cities of New York and Boston, complete with Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall.

Gamers can get some history lessons as they kill and maim British soldiers and American revolutionaries. The game isn't all blood and guts, however. This version of Assassin's Creed also has a strong emphasis on its experience, the same hardcore HD AAA experience on the iPad? Maybe not the exact same one. Maybe a different one." He added having games on a mobile device can expose Ubisoft to a large audience that may not be familiar with its games. "It could be several hundred dollars.

It's a misunderstanding with some consumers." The Canadian Radio-tele vision and Telecommunications Commission has asked for feedback on whether it needs to create a national wireless code to ensure that wireless customers are protected. Some provinces such as Quebec have put in legislation that limits cancellation fees and stops companies from automatically renewing cellphone contracts. Lord said almost half of all mobile users in Canada now own smartphones, with that number jumping to almost 70 per cent in the 18- to 34-year- struggles toward dards would state obligations to be paid off by consumers. cantly reduce the number of federal scientists monitoring Canada's air, wildlife, waterways and oceans. "Our natural resource industries energy mining and minerals processing and forest account for more than 10 per cent of our gross domestic product and provide close to 800,000 jobs in Canada," said Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver at an event in Gatineau.

Paradis uttered the same words. "Responsible Resource Development will ensure that our abundant natural resources are developed in a sustainable way for the benefit of all Canadians," they said. The public-relations exercise launched by the government coincided with a campaign launched by Canadian charities and some U.S. organizations that are blacking out their websites to protest what they say is a plan to fast-track oil-and-gas development, without reasonable oversight Streamlining the review process for major economic projects would save energy, time and taxpayer dollars, Paradis said. MIKE DESOUZA OF POSTMEDIA NEWS CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REPORT lmooremontrealgazette.com 2 to both customers and carriers, adding it needs to be a two-way street National standards would have to take into account the different ways that consumers buy mobile phones including three-year contracts that subsidize the cost of expensive smartphones and prepaid services.

"We don't want any legislation or regulations ornational standards to limit the choice of consumers," Lord said after a speech to the Canadian Telecom Summit in Toronto. Lord noted that provincial legislators have proposed that consumers pay a $50 cancellation fee, but often neglect that the amount owing on subsidized smartphones has seems to be the early termination fees," Lord said in a phone interview. "Let's have one set of consumer standards across the country If we have rules that are different, it just complicates everything for everyone." Canada's major telecom companies Rogers, Bell and Telus and consumer advocacy groups all support the idea of national standards that would apply to wireless devices, however they don't all agree on how those rules would work. Lord said national stan-.