Energy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon has confirmed that Sophie Brochu’s successor at the helm of Hydro-Québec will be chosen by ministers without taking into account the decisions of the Board of Directors, as the law nevertheless provides.
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“Ultimately the government will decide,” the minister said during a press crowd on Wednesday afternoon, recalling that the government is a shareholder in the state-owned company. “The board is responsible for ensuring that it has resources capable of executing the government’s strategic vision.”
A journalist then reminded the minister that the Respect for the Conduct of State-Owned Enterprises Act required the cabinet to select a candidate from a shortlist dictated by the Hydro-Québec Board of Directors.
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Sophie Brochu
“No, it’s not in the law,” Mr Fitzgibbon said tit for tat. “The Council of Ministers elects the President. We’ll go from there.”
However, the law provides that “the president and chief executive officer of a company shall be appointed by the government on the recommendation of the board of directors, taking into account the profile of skills and experience approved by the board of directors.”
The government can appoint a CEO if the board does not recommend a person for appointment. Even so, he must have notified the members of the council.
discussions
The energy minister confirmed that he had held talks with potential candidates. The same applies to the prime minister.
“We spoke to different people, me and the Prime Minister. The Council of Ministers consists of many ministers and everyone has ideas there,” he said. “It takes someone who is well versed in energy, it will be important because the challenges in the future will be huge (…) Someone who is well versed in energy development … And that’s all over the world, not just in Quebec. The energy requirement is greater than our capacity. You have to be able to develop and understand the different energy sources.”
Quebec Sensitivity
Furthermore, Minister Fitzgibbon could not ensure that the next CEO will be a Quebecer, arguing that the person should however be Quebec sensitive.
“I think there needs to be Quebec sensitivity,” he said.
A Quebecer? “Maybe,” he concluded.
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