Mr. Speaker, in May 1998 Industry Canada made a $5.7 million investment under Technology Partnerships Canada in Research in Motion, RIM, Advanced Wireless Technology to develop the next generation of RIM's two-way messaging products.
The result is the small hand-held device called the Black Berry. This device was selected as the ultimate mobile computing tool of 1999 by Info World magazine for providing easy and timely wireless access to e-mail.
RIM, founded in 1984 in Waterloo, is the world leader in wireless technology. RIM is a great example of Canadian companies that compete and win on a global scale. Not only do we get back the $5.7 million investment, we also get royalties. Technology Partnerships Canada also helped in the creation of hundreds of new jobs.
I congratulate Research in Motion and Industry Canada.