The Canadian National (CN) continues to be tormented by the Caisse de depot et placement du Québec (CDPQ) – one of its major shareholders – for having excluded Francophones from its board of directors. The institution points the finger at two administrators of the Montreal railway, which is subject to the Official Languages Act.
Posted at 6:29 p.m.
After describing the situation as “unacceptable” last month, the Caisse added another layer by opposing the re-election of two of the company’s eleven directors. They are Kevin Lynch, and Robert Phillips, members of the Governance and Nominating Committee – responsible for recruiting Board members. Aged 71, the two individuals are the deans of the board of directors.
Officially, the woolen stocking of Quebecers abstained from supporting the re-election of the two individuals, last Friday, on the occasion of the annual meeting of the Canadian National Railway Company. However, he went further on Tuesday, clarifying the substance of his thinking, even if CN promised to correct the situation.
“The CDPQ deplores the absence of French-speaking directors on the board of directors,” she said. Governance Committee Charter […] provides that its members are responsible for establishing the composition of the board. »
For each of the nominations, the CDPQ “opposes” the return of the candidates. In 2021, this committee had four members. The Fund did not directly specify why it had targeted MM. Lynch and Phillips, but they are “longtime members” of the governance committee, she notes.
This exit from the Fund is however symbolic. MM. Lynch and Phillips were re-elected and will be back. However, they had the highest abstention rates (5.4% and 4.77%). Last year, Mr. Phillips stepped down as chair of the governance committee, but he remains a director.
According to the most recent data from the financial data firm Refinitiv, the CDPQ ranks seventh among the main shareholders of the largest rail carrier in the country with a stake of approximately 1.8% (12.3 million shares). It was not possible to know the identity of the other major investors who abstained from voting for the re-election of MM. Lynch and Phillips.
Professor of the management department of Laval University, Yan Cimon, who specializes in governance issues, believes that the exit of the Quebec pension plan manager is a clear message to CN management.
“Abstaining from voting and letting the percentages do the talking is not the same as going out publicly,” he explained in a telephone interview. By coming out publicly, the message is very clear. The Caisse really wants to express its opposition. His voice carries because he is a major institutional investor. »
PHOTO PROVIDED BY LAVAL UNIVERSITY
Yan Cimon is a professor in the management department of Université Laval.
Since February 28, CN has been led by Tracy Robinson, a unilingual Anglophone who is currently taking French lessons to master the language. His predecessor, Jean-Jacques Ruest, was perfectly bilingual.
Along with this linguistic storm, The Press recently revealed that the language of Molière was also undermined in the workplace in Quebec. Since then, CN has said it is revising its linguistic methods.
Francophones wanted
Former Quebec premier Jean Charest was the last francophone to sit on CN’s board of directors. He resigned on March 31, months after being recruited, to run for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada. Despite the departure of Mr. Charest, the company has not retained any local candidate to sit on the Board.
Plunged into turmoil, the company has promised to add a Francophone to its team in the coming months. The services of a firm have been retained as part of the process, said Shauneed Bruder, the new chair of the board of directors, last Friday.
“CN takes this process seriously,” she said. It will be rigorous, honest and consistent with our governance practices. »
No timeline was provided. Mme Bruder did not explain why CN needed the help of a firm to recruit a French-speaking administrator. By kicking off the process on April 26, the company limited itself to saying that the appointment was expected “in the coming months”.
On the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday, CN stock fell 1.35%, or $1.94, to close at $141.30.
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- 22,600
- This is CN’s total workforce. The company has 4,000 employees in Quebec.
SOURCE: canadian national railway company