Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good morning, committee members.
I am pleased to be here today to testify as part of your study on the role of McKinsey & Company in the creation of the Canada Infrastructure Bank.
My name is Bruno Guilmette and I am a member of the board of directors of the Canada Infrastructure Bank, or CIB. I was appointed to the CIB's first board of directors in November 2017. My presentation today will focus on my background, on the need for Canada to have an institution like the CIB to invest in the next generation of infrastructure that is essential for Canadians, and on my role in starting the CIB.
I would like to begin by talking about my background and experience. I am a chartered professional accountant, or CPA, and I also hold the designation of a CFA, a chartered financial analyst. During my career, I have held senior positions in the investment, financing and management of infrastructure project assets, including at the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and at PSP Investments. I'm currently the chief financial officer of a publicly traded company in the renewable energy sector. The requirements of this role, a very busy schedule, as well as the quarterly disclosure obligations over the past few weeks explain why I was not able to attend the previously scheduled meetings.
In December 2017, at the request of the chair of the Canada Infrastructure Bank's board of directors, I agreed to leave the board of directors to serve as the CIB's interim chief investment officer. I took that job to contribute to the important start-up phase of the CIB's development. I had indicated my interest in holding the position for a short period of time, given my residence in Montreal and my family obligations. I held this position for five months, from January to May 2018, and it was a privilege to take on these responsibilities at a unique time in the CIB's history. In June 2018, I returned to my position and resumed my duties on the board of directors, including as chair of the board's investment committee.
I think it's important to highlight some of the context around the need for institutions like the Canada Infrastructure Bank to finance and attract investment in infrastructure projects. Canada's infrastructure deficit is estimated to be over $100 billion. The last period of significant investment in Canada's infrastructure dates back to the mid-1940s, more than 80 years ago. Much of our public infrastructure is outdated, which affects our quality of life and our economy. The CIB is doing critical work to address this infrastructure gap. Its success means that more infrastructure projects will improve our economy and the daily lives of Canadians for generations to come. The CIB has made tremendous progress over the past five years, including the expansion of the public transit system in Quebec, the rail system in Labrador, high-speed Internet services in Manitoba, electric buses in Alberta, and reliable energy storage in Ontario.
Finally, I want to talk about the Canada Infrastructure Bank's work with professional services firms. When I joined the CIB, it was in the start-up phase and had no employees. It needed a lot of help. We had to develop all aspects of its structure and operations—from initial governance to strategy, to corporate policies on financial management, investment management and risk management—in order to meet the government's deadline and expectations for the CIB to start receiving project proposals and making investments. I took on the role of acting chief investment officer to begin developing the CIB's investment policies, to participate in the preparation of the corporate plan and to recruit team members.
My priorities were to establish the foundation for the Canada Infrastructure Bank's investment function, including the development of investment criteria and project evaluation criteria. As I was the only leader, in collaboration with the chair of the board, who assumed the responsibilities of the CEO during that period, it is understandable that we had to rely on consultants during that busy period to carry out those first core activities.
I worked closely with the chair of the board at the time, Janice Fukakusa. Before hiring consultants, we consulted people from a number of consulting firms, including McKinsey, in order to understand what options would be available to help start up the Canada Infrastructure Bank. In January 2018, the CIB retained the services of McKinsey to develop investment criteria as part of its start‑up activities. In March 2018, we hired McKinsey to support the CIB in developing governance and risk management policy. During my time at the CIB, we talked to other consultants and hired some of them for other assignments related to start‑up preparation work.
The work provided by McKinsey included sophisticated and specialized analyses that reflected its global expertise on infrastructure. I am confident that these contracts reflected value for money and that they made a significant contribution to the start‑up of the CIB's operations.
I am pleased that the committee is studying the Canada Infrastructure Bank, and I would be happy to answer any questions members may have.