VANCOUVER — If Prime Minister Mark Carney and his team are successful, Canada could be chosen as the site of the new Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, a NATO-led international institution.During an event hosted by the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade on Wednesday, Defence Minister David McGuinty said he was optimistic Canada would be given the honour. When asked by GVBT President and CEO Bridgitte Anderson which city he'd like to see it located in, however, he did not answer.."Canada is a leading nation to be awarded this bank through negotiations that begin next month, and now the prime minister will decide, if Canada is awarded the bank, could it be hosted in Vancouver, or Montreal, or Toronto," Anderson said. "Speaking about geographical strengths, we here feel very strongly that we are a strategic choice given a number of factors including we are the 'tri-continental bridge' to the EU, Asia-Pacific, Arctic."McGuinty replied by explaining to the audience what the bank was, and how it came about, noting that he's been on a mission to get more nations to sign on. He hopes to bring it from 12 states to 30 or 40."Once that critical mass happens," he eventually said, "every Canadian charter bank has signed on to support it, Canada will be in a really good position to say it's time to really give rise to this bank; create it, hopefully headquarter it in Canada — which I think we can do — and then it'll be a question of where to site it."McGuinty went on to note that there could be "multiple locations" around the world, á la the World Bank..Both BC Premier David Eby and Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim have argued that the city is the "best spot" for the bank."BC has what the world needs, as well as major ports and strong relationships with NATO nations and allied partners," Eby said in early February. "As the economic engine of the new Canadian economy, we are ready to seize the economic and strategic advantages in hosting a global institution of this scale."Sim pointed out that Vancouver is "the only city in Canada that can conduct business across the Indo-Pacific, Europe, and Arctic time zones within a single business day," describing it as a "critical advantage in a rapidly shifting global environment.""Vancouver already has the secure space needed for the DSRB and the robust consular corps and private sector needed to support its ongoing operation," he added. "Put simply, Vancouver is the city with the readiness, strategic location, private-sector strength and secure, trusted access to world markets make the DSRB effective on day one."
