Canadian National | Francophones excluded from the CA table

An “unacceptable” situation for the CDPQ

Julien Arsenault
The Press

The largest railway company in the country closes the doors of its board of directors to Francophones even though its head office is in Montreal and is subject to the Official Languages ​​Act. The situation is described as “unacceptable” by the Caisse de depot et placement du Québec (CDPQ) – one of the major shareholders of the Canadian National Railway Company (CN).

Despite a warning from the Legault government on the language issue launched a few months ago and whose The Press revealed the existence, the Montreal rail carrier has not retained any local candidate to be part of its team of 11 directors, which must welcome three new directors: two Americans and an Albertan.

“This lack of Francophone representation […] is simply unacceptable, says CDPQ spokesperson Maxime Chagnon. We are extremely disappointed that CN does not consider this important aspect in the composition of its Board of Directors. »

CN’s intentions are disclosed in the circular sent to its shareholders ahead of its May 20 annual meeting. We also learn that the five main executives of the company saw their total pay reach 29 million in 2021 – an annual increase of 19%.

The theme surrounding the mastery of Canada’s two official languages ​​among business leaders has returned to the public arena since the outcry sparked last fall by the President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada, Michael Rousseau.

Barring a turnaround, Tracy Robinson, enrolled in French lessons, will join a team where fluency in French is virtually non-existent. The former senior executive of TC Énergie will be the sole representative of Quebec on the board when she is officially installed in the metropolis. His predecessor, Jean-Jacques Ruest, who has just retired, was perfectly bilingual. CN would not say which of the candidates for a seat on the board was fluent in French.

Francophone exodus

Recruited as a director last January, former Quebec Premier Jean Charest has already resigned to run for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada. Mr. Ruest and Julie Godin, CGI’s senior executive, were the Francophone representatives on the Board for the past few years. M^me Godin left the board last fall.

“It is surprising, to say the least, that they were unable to find qualified French-speaking candidates residing in Quebec,” lamented the spokesperson for the CDPQ. However, we had spoken to them on several occasions and encouraged them to better represent their stakeholders. »

The woolen socks of Quebecers ranks tenth among CN’s major shareholders, according to the financial data firm Refinitiv, with its stake of approximately 1.7%.

In an email, the railroad said the three new members would bring “hands-on experience” of the rail industry to directors. On the question of French, the company confined itself to emphasizing the commitments of its new leader, adding that its “employees”, its “customers” and the “communities” it passes through could communicate “in the language of their choice “.

Ivan Tchotourian, a Université Laval professor specializing in governance, is surprised to see CN highlight certain diversity targets, such as gender among directors and senior management, but that the concept does not does not seem to apply to language.

On the Ottawa side, the response was more nuanced, but CN’s official languages ​​obligations were reiterated. The office of Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says it expects ” [les] officers, including members of the board of directors, [montrent] The example “.

The story was similar on the side of the Legault government, which stressed that it was “a mark of respect to address the business community of Quebec in its official language, French”.

A bonus to start

Although she was promoted by accepting the position of President and CEO of CN, Ms.^me Robinson nevertheless was entitled to a “compensatory bonus” on hiring of around 1.7 million. CN justified this payment by explaining that its new president had waived this sum with her ex-employer.

The company has set the total compensation of its new boss at 11.5 million for 2022.