Evidence of meeting #22 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 40th Parliament, 3rd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was purolator.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Chairman of the Board, Purolator Courier Ltd.
There is on the Purolator board of directors, of which I am the chair. There are seats on the board that are filled by Canada Post management employees and by the current, soon to be former, CEO.
Chairman of the Board, Purolator Courier Ltd.
Sorry, six out of ten. There are three independent directors on the Purolator board, plus me.
Liberal
Bonnie Crombie Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Is the owner of Kelowna Air a member of that board?
Liberal
Bonnie Crombie Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
What percentage of ownership does Kelowna Air have in Purolator?
Chairman of the Board, Purolator Courier Ltd.
As I said before, 7%. As a shareholder with a significant interest in the company, he has, as is quite common, a seat on the board of directors of the company in which he has invested.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Merv Tweed
I have to go to Monsieur Laframboise now. I will come back.
Monsieur Laframboise.
Bloc
Mario Laframboise Bloc Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, gentlemen.
Mr. Bacon, I would like to ask questions about your company's structure. I am interested in transparency. Since Purolator is a subsidiary of Canada Post, which is a crown corporation, it is important that there be transparency. Moreover, that is the objective.
You are quite right. At that time, the president, Ms. Greene, told us that she received a fax announcing that the contract had been cancelled with Air Canada, but she did not go to the trouble of calling the president of Air Canada to find out what had happened. That was her problem, not yours. I understand that, after that, you did business with Canada Post.
As far as the corporate structure is concerned, could you provide me with a detailed breakdown of your shareholders and explain the 7% issue?
Chairman of the Board, Purolator Courier Ltd.
Approximately 2% of the shares are held by slightly fewer than 2,000 Purolator employees, under a share purchase plan. Seven per cent are held by Barry Lapointe or a company that belongs to him. This is his interest and it is tied to Kelowna Flightcraft. The rest of the shares, 91%, are held by Canada Post.
Bloc
Mario Laframboise Bloc Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC
And does your board of directors more or less reflect this proportion?
Chairman of the Board, Purolator Courier Ltd.
I would say that is perhaps tilted more in favour of the minority shareholders. Of the 10 members of the board of administration, six are from Canada Post, three are independent and then there is myself.
Bloc
Mario Laframboise Bloc Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC
Did you establish a special structure or transparency measures when you signed contracts with Canada Post? Did the board of directors adopt directives or a procedure in the case of contracts signed with the parent company?
Chairman of the Board, Purolator Courier Ltd.
That is the case for the company as well as for Mr. Lapointe's firm.
Obviously, Mr. Lapointe sits on the board of directors. However, any time we deal with a file that involves him, he does not receive the printed material for the initiatives as do all of the other board members. In addition, he is excluded from discussions and cannot vote on the decision. This is a governance rule that we are very strict about.
We try to have the same attitude with respect to Canada Post. Purolator's board of directors is responsible for acting in the best interests of Purolator. As chairman of the board, this is my responsibility and this is the responsibility that all directors accept, and I believe this sincerely. Indeed, they act like that.
Bloc
Mario Laframboise Bloc Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC
Do you have any contracts with other airlines?
Chairman of the Board, Purolator Courier Ltd.
I think that we do have some small contracts.
We have other airline contracts.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Purolator Courier Ltd.
We have airline, ground line, and also haul contracts.
Chairman of the Board, Purolator Courier Ltd.
We also have many contracts with trucking companies.
Bloc
Mario Laframboise Bloc Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC
Can you give me the names of airline companies with which you have contracts?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Purolator Courier Ltd.
We contract with Perimeter airlines; Cargojet, for parts of western Canada; Purolator provides airlift services to FedEx in and out of Newfoundland; and through the weekend, FedEx flies on Purolator.