Air Canada, SNC-Lavalin, Canadian National and Bell Canada are among the large Quebec companies with the fewest directors who can speak French.
• Also read: Air Canada: CEO Michael Rousseau’s French is improving, says Legault
• Also read: Quebec company: CEO of SNC-Lavalin probably never bilingual despite French lessons
This is according to a compilation by Le Journal of the new disclosures made by several of Quebec Inc.’s heavyweights. and the major Canadian banks in the wake of a campaign by the Movement for the Education and Defense of Shareholders (MÉDAC).
“What is needed is for the language to formally appear on the list of criteria for selecting administrators,” says Willie Gagnon, Executive Director of MÉDAC.
Air Canada is the fool of the corporation. Out of a total of 13 candidates for the post of administrator of the airline, hardly two speak French, i.e. almost 15%.
SNC-Lavalin also makes a bad impression: two out of ten directors can communicate in French, that is 20%.
Canadian National and Bell Canada follow. At CN, three out of 11 directors speak French well, ie 27%, while at Bell 4 out of 14, ie 29%.
- Listen to Yves Daoust’s business segment on Richard Martineau’s show, discussing the big companies in Quebec with the fewest French-speaking directors QUB radio :
Toronto banks are doing better
Four of Canada’s top five banks, all run out of Toronto, are in better shape. This is the case for Royal Bank (33% of their managers speak French), Scotiabank (33%), Bank of Montreal (31%) and CIBC (31%). TD Bank stands out with a result of almost 14%.
Laurentian Bank (36%) and Dollarama (40%) are in the middle.
Topping the list are Quebecor and Transat, whose directors are 100% fluent in French. At the National Bank it is 93% and at the iA Finanzgruppe 86%.
Note that Bombardier is the only company approached by MÉDAC that has flatly refused to disclose the number of its directors who speak French.
Power Corporation and CGI, meanwhile, have promised to do so, but not until next year. It remains to be seen what other Quebec Inc. heavyweights not previously targeted by MÉDAC such as Alimentation Couche-Tard, Saputo, WSP Global, BRP, Nuvei, Lightspeed, Gildan and TFI International will do.
“Companies should be fully transparent about the languages spoken by directors,” Mr Gagnon said. The assessment is then up to the municipality.
Mastery of the French language within the CAs
- TD Bank: 14%
- Air Canada: 15%
- SNC lavaline: 20%
- Canadian citizen: 27%
- Bell Canada: 29%
- Bank of Montreal: 31%
- CIBC: 31%
- Royal Bank: 33%
- Scotia Bank: 33%
- Laurentian Bank: 36%
- Dollarama: 40%
- iA Finance Group: 86%
- National Bank: 93%
- Quebec: 100%
- deck chair: 100%