Canada urging Microsoft to move north

June 2, 2000 9:09 AM

Canada urging Microsoft to move north It's pretty obvious to everyone that the US government does not believe that Microsoft should be allowed to continue operating within their borders. No problem. We'll take em, as would most other countries. I for one, would love to see Microsoft leave the US. Wouldn't you?
posted by Calebos (22 comments total)

Nah, they're just going to move operations to a secret island base. I'm sure construction crews are carving the Big B's likeness into the side of the volcano already.
posted by harmful at 9:18 AM on June 2, 2000

Canada has a long history of encouraging trusts. Welcome to Canada, Bill!
posted by tranquileye at 10:01 AM on June 2, 2000

As long as Microsoft does business in the U.S.; the U.S. government doesn't care where the headquarters are.
posted by tpruett at 10:05 AM on June 2, 2000

It has been speculated that they (or another high tech firm) is slated to move into Vancouver's east side. The building that will house this "larger" high tech firm was once slated to become low income housing for the poor.
posted by frank spank at 10:13 AM on June 2, 2000

So in other words ... it will now be known as ...

The Microsoft Project.
posted by dhartung at 10:56 AM on June 2, 2000

This pretty much confirms my long-creeping suspicion that our neighbors to the north are, in fact, androids. Why else would they court the Borg? (I'm only kidding. No jingoistic flame mail, please.)
posted by highindustrial at 11:03 AM on June 2, 2000

It was Cisco (or another high tech firm) who was "rumored" to be looking into buying the old Woodwords department store site (the chain has been defunct for so long, for some reason I think I'm misspelling the name). (BCTV evening news last night)
posted by tomalak at 11:07 AM on June 2, 2000

(unfortunately necessary disclaimer: highindustrial, there's no bad feelings in here, I'm just joining in the jibing. :-)

No, no, you silly automaton, we're not androids, we're just bitter, cold, neglected folk with nothing to do but plot the eternal damnation of Americans.

We don't want to just visit Florida, we want to own it. Those aren't actually old people, they're genetically altered operatives who've slowly been amassing for a dual-sided strike.

All those stories about the "Brain Drain" in Canadian news outlets is actually a code name. We keep flooding you American types with Canadian actors and musicians, both as a distractionary technic for the above-mentioned dual strike, and to slowly lull the entire population into a bad pop culture-induced stupor.

(Hey, there's more of you. We have to play dirty)
posted by cCranium at 11:21 AM on June 2, 2000

I know nothing about international law. Could the US government legislate the breakup of a company that is headquartered outside of it's borders?
posted by Calebos at 11:27 AM on June 2, 2000

Calebos:

I highly highly doubt it, but they could regulate the way that company does business in the US.

Even now, the only country in which Microsoft would have to split up would be the US; they're probably quite legally allowed to monopolize the rest of the world, and hell, they probably will.

Microsoft International (to pull a name out of thin air, although I think such a corporate entity exists, somewhere) could easily have arrangements with MSApplications and MSOS and MSIE (or however MS gets broken up... although a seperate company just for IE -- a FREE product -- is pretty damn stupid if you ask me [which nobody ever does...] :-) to purchase all their software, and just rerelease it as MS software.

Actually, that would be a bit of a clusterfuck, both in theory and practicality, but I'm sure they'd be able to figure out some method in which to continue as one company outside of the states, if they wanted to
posted by cCranium at 11:35 AM on June 2, 2000

so you want to own florida eh? think it's sunny eh?

on international law - they can't break up the company there, but they can break up the company inside the US borders. e.g. nikon or any major japanese electronics/car company has a USA company wholly owned by the parent company (or stockholders here). The US can't breakup Microsoft UK or whatnot, but it could make it real difficult for microsoft to export to the US if they were outside the border.
posted by eljuanbobo at 11:37 AM on June 2, 2000

Woolworth's?
posted by daveadams at 11:37 AM on June 2, 2000

I just looked it up and it's Woodward's.

If MS moved to a country with some trading clout, they could always convince the government to start up a good old trade war with the US.
posted by tomalak at 11:51 AM on June 2, 2000

Well, that probably takes Canada out of the running, what with NAFTA and all... I doubt we'd be starting any kind of trade embargo with the states.
posted by cCranium at 12:11 PM on June 2, 2000

You know, everyone's reporting that as "a separate company for IE", but I *gotta* assume it's actually "a separate company for *MSN* and IE"...
posted by baylink at 12:53 PM on June 2, 2000

cCranium wrote:
>>I highly highly doubt it, but they could regulate the way that company does business in the US.<<

Too bad the same didn't apply to *in* the US. :/
posted by Calebos at 1:00 PM on June 2, 2000

If Canada (a nation of slightly more than thirty million souls) wants to subject itself to the rapacious power of a company that endangers the economic viability of a nation nearly ten times as populous, I say Au revouir Microsoft! Have fun enslaving...I mean, setting up business in the Great White North!
posted by Ezrael at 1:56 PM on June 2, 2000

>>rapacious power of a company that endangers the economic viability of a nation nearly ten times as populous<<

Oh, brother. Say, are you one of the Lone Gunmen? For a second there, I could have sworn I was listening to Byers.

;)
posted by Calebos at 2:29 PM on June 2, 2000

All I want to know is when I have to start using Netscape again.
posted by ZachsMind at 3:53 PM on June 2, 2000

MS moving to Canada is just the thing we need to kick start our pathetic Canadian dollar.
posted by Doomsday at 5:37 PM on June 2, 2000

Well, if I have to be one of the LG, I can handle Byers. Now, if you'd said Frohickey, I'd have had to be upset impotently, because there's nothing I can do about it. :)
posted by Ezrael at 8:10 PM on June 2, 2000

Not in my neighborhood!!!
I don't want to be near when they start sending out their drones...
But, I'll admit, that'd sure help the economy... maybe we can get our dollar up to half a $ US again... :
I know someone who could get me a job at microsoft, but I told him it's against my religion.

posted by Bane at 1:15 PM on June 3, 2000