When the Business Council of Canada officially endorsed the concept of a national price on carbon in 2007, it was a “tough sell”, says John Dillon, the Council’s Senior Vice President, Policy and Corporate Counsel.
At the time, the federal government and many private sector leaders were concerned that carbon pricing would erode Canada’s ability to compete internationally. “In 2007 there weren’t many countries anywhere talking about carbon price or any meaningful climate policy. There was a worry that a price on carbon could impact our competitiveness.”
Dillon has been working on energy and climate policy for three decades. In that time he has seen many changes.
In conversation with Goldy Hyder on the Speaking of Business podcast, Dillon reflects on what he has learned, why Canada’s business leaders have embraced the fight against climate change, and what the country must do it meets its net-zero goals.
For more information on the business case for emissions reductions, check out the Business Council of Canada’s report Clean Growth 3.0: Achieving Canadian Prosperity in a Net Zero World.
Patient Capital: Galen Weston on Canadian prosperity
As the fourth generation leader of a family business, Galen Weston recognizes the responsibility he shoulders – to his employees, his country, and his great-grandfather’s legacy. Weston’s Real Home-made Bread began in Toronto in 1882. Today, George Weston Limited is one of Canada’s largest private sector companies, with more than 200,000 employees.
“It makes you think in decades, not in quarters,” he says. “You think about what is this company going to be not just a year from now, but 10 years from now, 20 years from now, 30 years from now.”
In a frank and revealing conversation with Goldy Hyder on the Speaking of Business podcast, Weston discusses what he calls “patient capital” – his long-view approach to ensuring the company remains strong and vibrant for generations to come.
It’s a mindset he says Canada needs to adopt as a country, calling on public policymakers to think about how to create long-term prosperity. And he urges business leaders to be part of the discourse. “That unguarded dialogue about what’s in the national interest could pay some meaningful dividends,” he says.
Listen to the full interview, including his reflections on inflation, food prices and the challenges of leadership in the face of public scrutiny, on the Speaking of Business podcast.
Empowering change: A conversation with John Kousinioris of TransAlta
John Kousinioris describes 2015 as a wakeup call.
Back then, his company, TransAlta, relied heavily on coal plants to generate electricity for Albertans. The Alberta government had other plans. It announced a phase-out of coal-fired electricity plants and gave TransAlta until 2030 to comply.
Rather than challenging the government’s decision, Kousinioris says TransAlta decided to embrace the change. Over the next six years the company converted all its Alberta coal plants to natural gas, dramatically cutting its greenhouse gas emissions – years ahead of schedule. “It’s been an incredible journey for all of us,” he says.
In an interview with Goldy Hyder on the Speaking of Business podcast, Kousinioris, president and CEO of TransAlta, discusses the company’s energy transition and speaks frankly about what it will take to meet Canada’s emissions targets.
“People are intuitively in favour of decarbonization,” he says, but “I don’t think we’ve had honest discussions about what it costs to get there and the challenges associated with getting there.”
In the wide-ranging conversation, Kousinioris also discusses lessons learned from his immigrant parents, his love of motorcycles, and his passion for the Calgary Stampede.
“It doesn’t matter where you came from, what your background is, where you’ve lived. When you’ve got a pair of jeans on, cowboy boots, and a cowboy hat, you belong,” he says.
Risk and Resilience – John Risley of CFFI Ventures
For decades, the names John Risley and Clearwater Seafoods were practically synonymous. The story of Clearwater’s founding is the stuff of legend in Atlantic Canada.
It’s a story of how John and his business partner Colin MacDonald started selling lobsters in a store on the Bedford highway in 1976 … and how they grew Clearwater into a global seafood giant.
As the Chairman and CEO of CFFI Ventures, Risley has been involved in many other enterprises throughout his career – including telecommunications, space technology and green hydrogen – but Clearwater is what started it all.
So it was big news when, in 2020, Clearwater was sold to a joint venture that included a coalition of Mi’kmaw First Nations. It was described as “the single largest investment in the seafood industry by any Indigenous group in Canada.”
In a candid conversation with Goldy Hyder on the Speaking of Business podcast, John Risley recounts that historic sale, reflects on the business risks he’s taken, and reveals why the world is now courting Atlantic Canada’s ocean economy.
Taking on the world’s toughest challenges: John Bianchini of Hatch
They’re taking on underground construction obstacles, tackling mining and energy quandaries, and don’t hesitate to brainstorm daily about how to address climate change.
Hatch is an engineering and professional services firm that employs 12,000 people in 150 countries around the world, all from its perch in Mississauga, ON.
But you may have never heard of them, and that’s by design.
“It’s true that we’re not a household name,” says Hatch Chairman and CEO John Bianchini. “We’re employee-owned and we don’t feel the need to advertise other than – in the good old Canadian way – based on what we do.”
Hatch may shun the spotlight, but the company loves a challenge, and has taken on some of the world’s toughest problems.
When it comes to climate change, Bianchini says it’s an existential threat. “We’re in the climate change economy,” he explains. “Pretty much everything that drives the economy today is around our battle to remove carbon from the atmosphere and making sure we don’t put too much more in there.”
In a colourful and wide-ranging interview with Goldy Hyder on the Speaking of Business podcast, Bianchini also discusses ways to unleash Canada’s entrepreneurial spirit, the importance of mentoring the next generation, why he is a big supporter of arts and culture, and he weighs in on the work-from-home vs work-from-the-office debate.