AMAZON NEARING CANADIAN OFFICE EXPANSION DEAL.

Big additions in Toronto and Vancouver

Amazon.com Inc. is close to finalizing deals to expand its office footprint substantially in both Toronto and Vancouver, moves that indicate its growing presence in the Canadian marketplace.

Ross Moore, a senior vicepresident with Cresa Vancouver Commercial Real Estate Services, said industry sources indicate the Seattlebased company has a deal to take 147,000 square feet in a new building planned by Oxford Properties in downtown Vancouver at 401 W. Georgia St. that would double its size in the city. He said Amazon is also finalizing details on space in Toronto's Scotia Plaza.

“I've heard this more times that I can keep count. We are all walking around knowing it but nobody is saying it,” said Moore, about plans for the new Vancouver office being developed by Oxford, which is a subsidiary of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System.

Officials with Oxford would not comment, but a separate source indicated Amazon and the real estate company have a tentative deal in place in Vancouver that has not closed.

Another source indicated the company has lined up 112,000 square feet in Scotia Plaza. Real estate company Jones Lang LaSalle, which has been working with Amazon, would not comment.

An Amazon spokesperson would not comment on pending details. “I don't have anything to share with regard to new office spaces coming up in Toronto or Vancouver at the moment. I can tell you that we find exceptional talent in both cities and are growing! As of today we have over 100 open roles (job postings) in Toronto and over 300 open roles in Vancouver,” according to an emailed statement from the online giant on its growing presence in Canada.

Heyman said a storage facility and marine terminal in Burnaby are on private lands, but the majority of the pipeline either passes through First Nations territory or public lands.

Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. president Ian Anderson said in a statement that they take the comments of the B.C. government seriously and will meet with the it to work through the concerns.

“We have undertaken thorough, extensive and meaningful consultations with Aboriginal Peoples, communities and individuals and remain dedicated to those efforts and relationships as we move forward with construction activities in September,” he said.

Heyman said the province is also committed to further consultations with First Nations on the project, including the impact it has on Aboriginal rights and title.

Fifty-one First Nations have signed mutual benefit agreements with Trans Mountain. Heyman said some do not necessarily favour the pipeline but want to ensure their people benefit if it proceeds.

“We want to consult with them on a range of other economic opportunities,” he said.

Attorney General David Eby said the legal challenges against Ottawa’s approval are expected to be heard this fall.

The Squamish Nation has also filed a lawsuit against B.C. over its environmental certificate, putting the new government in the awkward position of having to defend the approval of a project it opposes.

Eby said the province has filed its response and is working closely with Berger, a renowned lawyer whom the attorney general praised as a “living example of modern First Nations law in Canada.”

The province’s position won support from environmental groups and the Green party, which has signed an agreement giving its members’ backing to the minority NDP government in the legislature.

The B.C. Liberal Opposition said the announcement by the NDP government drives the message home to investors that the province is not open for business.

“This project, which was approved by the Trudeau government after lengthy review, would create thousands of jobs across British Columbia and the B.C. NDP has just told those workers they won’t have a job,” said Opposition Leader Rich Coleman.