This latest role as Chair of Canada’s Industry Strategy Council gives you a bird’s eye view of how Canada’s economy is being reshaped. What key influences and opportunities do you see?
ML: There were challenges and shifts before the crisis — the rapid evolution of digital technology, for example, and geopolitical issues, including the rise of China and the reorganization of the world order. The pandemic just accelerated the pace of these existing changes.
At the same time, we have some major strengths in Canada that we often take for granted. That is a major opportunity for us — the resource sector, our oil and gas resources, forestry, mining, freshwater and many more. These all represent a significant part of the national economy and are the envy of many countries. But for too long it was too easy to just be extractors of the resources. Maybe we we’re not as assertive as we should have been in terms of transforming those resources from the environmental, social and governance (ESG) perspective.
Other strengths are our good social policies and solid education system. So we have a sound foundation to put Canada in the forefront in many areas.
To get there, though, there are major shifts we need to recognize.
China, the US, Germany and Australia are moving ahead with different ways of putting together a national industrial strategy. The US has DARPA, the R&D agency of the Defense Department, and their “buy American” policy. In Canada we do not have that; we have a patchwork quilt of ideas rather than a unified industrial policy. We should establish a roadmap of challenges and opportunities and explore how we can make the investments, in both the public and private sectors, to strengthen the competitiveness and inclusivity of the Canadian economy.
What do we mean by a national industrial policy? In our report, we looked to the OECD for a definition. Basically, it is targeted government actions aimed at supporting production transformation that increases productivity, improves domestic capabilities and creates more and better jobs. It includes innovation, infrastructure and skills policies, plus interventions to boost specific sectors, activities or clusters of organizations.
There are some in Canada who do not believe in a national strategy. Some of them are wedded to free trade and market forces as the best solutions to the challenges we face. They want more neutral policies or no policy at all. In my view, that may have been a good approach a few years ago, but not any longer. An industrial policy is not about picking winners and losers, it is about building strong ecosystems, to look at the country as you would any organization and find out what are our strengths and where we have gaps.
We have significant gaps in our trade infrastructure, innovation, technology and talent, so we are not as competitive and productive as we could be. An industrial policy tackles these things holistically.
In our report, we identify four pillars that interconnect all sectors of the economy: become a digital and data-driven economy; be the world leader in ESG in resources, clean energy and clean technology; build innovative and high-value manufacturing; and leverage our immense capacity in agri-food to feed the world.
To achieve this, we need to break down silos. We have a historic opportunity to align ourselves, to come up with a national growth investment program, bridging gaps and correcting issues to coordinate public and private investment. We propose in the report a global investment plan of $100 billion over 8 to 10 years, which would enable us to accelerate GDP growth by 1% over that period.
EY: What role can ESG play in this transition? How can it make Canadian firms more competitive?
ML: On the ESG front, Canada has the potential to be a global leader. We have the space, the resources, the environment and the culture to be at the top. We have a world-leading post-secondary education system, a world-class financial ecosystem and robust R&D capabilities. The issue is not that we do not have strengths — it is that we are not taking the lead. We tend to think that we are doing fine and we can sit back. We need to be more ambitious, bold and action oriented. We need to push much harder. Boards of Canadian companies should be much more proactive and look at ESG as an opportunity, not a threat.
I am convinced that, if we are doing the right things with ambitious ESG orientations, it will be good for the long term of the country. ESG leadership means anticipating trends and preparing for the future. Some ESG risk factors will not be known for 5 to 10 years. Canadian companies need to engage management and boards in these conversations.
Under the S component of ESG, Canada has some of the greatest strengths in the world, with our strong commitments on diversity, equity and inclusion. That is what will enable us to attract top talent from around the world. It goes to personal leadership — as business leaders we have to push on those issues. That is something I learned when I was with EY.
EY: On that note, how did growing up in EY help prepare you for the roles you’ve had since?
ML: For me, EY was like a business school. There were so many opportunities to learn and so many great people to learn from.
When I started, I was of course in the bullpen with everyone else. At the time, H. Marcel Caron was a highly regarded partner who had a great reputation in Canada and in the profession. His office was just off our bullpen. He always kept his office door open, and I remember he had such a strong voice. When he was talking to clients, we were able to hear him providing very sound advice.
I wanted to advance in the firm, and so I thought it would be natural to learn from H. Marcel. Keep in mind that this was the early 1980s, so the number of women in senior roles to whom I could turn was very small. At one point I went to H. Marcel for advice on how I could move up in my career. He was very candid. He told me, “You need to get engaged in the business. If you stay in the bullpen you will not progress. Maybe you could get involved in the profession.”
At the time the CPA profession was very male dominated, but I thought it was good advice. H. Marcel offered to make some calls for me and suggested that maybe I could teach in the profession.
That was great advice and it really helped me. I learned to express myself in a way that was much more solid from a technical perspective as I gained more depth in my professional knowledge while building confidence in myself. I started to get involved in the Québec Ordre, and I actually followed the path of H. Marcel, who had been Chair of the Ordre and of the Canadian Institute.
Marcel Camirand in Audit and later Michel Lanteigne in Tax were very instrumental in my career journey. When Clarkson Gordon merged with Ernst & Young, Alain Beaudry and I were sent to do an internal audit of the Paris office, and that was a great learning experience for me. The French partners were wondering why these Canadians were there to review them, and over the first few days the atmosphere was a little bit cold. But eventually we were very well received and it served as a good relationship-building experience.
When Royal Bank was looking for a new SVP Finance in Toronto and Montréal, and they were looking to increase the number of female executives at the bank, I was not necessarily intending to get the job when I was going into the meetings. I was just looking to broaden my network and my connections with the bank’s senior executives. At the time I was working with Guy Chamberland to extend our connections with financial institutions in Québec. But it turned out I was a great fit for the job, so I seized the opportunity to join an iconic organization with a significant opportunity to broaden my management experience and knowledge of the financial sector. Gérard Limoges, who was the Québec Managing Partner, was very supportive of my move.
What I learned most from all these people and others is personal leadership, integrity, respect and commitment. And that is what I have been able to do in my professional life and helped others grow. It is so great to see more young women advancing into the partnership and leadership roles than when I was starting out.
EY: What advice would you give to our young people?
ML: When you join a professional services firm, you join an exceptional group of people in terms of global intelligence and networks. There is no limit to the knowledge you can get, it is a very rich environment. You should take the time to understand the depth of the global platform. You are surrounded by people who have strong professional backgrounds and you can learn so much from them.
What makes a big difference when you start is that you will not always be working for the same clients. Different companies in diverse sectors will expose you to a wide range of different things. If you have a broad mind, you can learn so much; there is so much flexibility in the work you do — especially if you push yourself and develop an attitude to seize opportunities.
Some think it is going to be straight growth from the bullpen, but you have to make the effort and get engaged. With global connections you can expand your network and knowledge, and that is very powerful. Explore what you like to do and what opportunities are best suited to you.
