22 November 2019
Hon. Blaine Higgs, Premier
Province of New Brunswick
Chancery Place, P. O. Box 6000
Fredericton, NB E3B 5H1
Via email: blaine.higgs@gnb.ca
Dear Premier Higgs:
Re: Fredericton Cyber Centre
We are writing on behalf of our nearly 1,000 member business and organizations to advise you of our strong support for the Cyber Centre currently in development by Knowledge Park as the top infrastructure priority of Fredericton’s business community.
The Cyber Centre is being recognized nationally as a leading model for private-public partnerships in Canada. Furthermore, it presents a strong ROI case for the Government of New Brunswick, considering the equity position Knowledge Park has produced to bring the project to fruition and the anticipated interest revenue that Opportunities New Brunswick will realize as a result of their repayable loan to Knowledge Park to get the project off-the-ground.
In addition to the strategic and economic impact this project will have, the Government of New Brunswick is anticipated to realize $18M in revenue by virtue of interest payments on the $30M loan provided to Knowledge Park by the provincial government to bring this project to life- a very significant ROI on taxpayer dollars! In effect, the province will gain critical infrastructure to further the significant economic growth through cyber security by private industry investment from Knowledge Park.
As the largest representative organization of small- and medium-sized businesses in the province, the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce members anticipate significant downstream economic benefits as a result of the project as well as positioning our community and province as forward-thinking and global leaders in the new economy.
The Cyber Centre is a 145,000 sq ft, purpose-built, level 2 security building that will become home to multiple corporate leaders in cybersecurity as well as academia and government. The building is designed with the ability to operate in isolation for up to 96 hours in post-disaster scenarios and features several duplicate and backup systems including separate electrical rooms serviced by separate substations as well as two stand-alone power generation sources for backup power.
The project will serve national security interests and fits within the federal government’s National Cybersecurity Strategy and Innovation Agenda. Furthermore, the Cyber Centre will distinguish New Brunswick as a national leader in cybersecurity, specifically for critical infrastructure protection.
By engaging private, public and academic institutions with expertise in this sector into one shared and streamlined operating centre, this infrastructure will also attract new investment, skilled labour, and economic benefit to our region. The project will enable growth for existing corporations in our region such as IBM and Siemens, who have been strong supporters of the initiative. In fact, CyberNB anticipates the creation of more than 700 highly skilled and paid positions as a direct result of the Cyber Centre.
By integrating New Brunswick’s Emergency Measures Organization within the Cyber Centre, the province will not only enhance its critical infrastructure and disaster recovery capabilities in the digital age, but also serve as a national example of what private-public partnerships look like in this space.
These are just some of the reasons why the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce and other local partners such as the City of Fredericton, University of New Brunswick, and Fredericton International Airport, see the Cyber Centre as Fredericton’s number one infrastructure investment priority.
We sincerely hope that the Government of New Brunswick, under your leadership, will continue to support this vitally important project which holds the promise of economic rejuvenation for our region.
Sincerely,
Karen Grant, President Krista Ross, CEO
Fredericton Chamber of Commerce Fredericton Chamber of Commerce
cc: Hon. Mary Wilson, Minister of Economic Development & Small Business, Minister responsible for ONB
cc: Ernie Steeves, Minister of Finance
cc: Stephen Lund, CEO, Opportunities New Brunswick
cc: Tyson Johnson, COO, CyberNB
cc: Larry Shaw, CEO, Knowledge Park