Continuing the trend started in recent years, a new member of Laurentian Bank’s senior management will work from Toronto, but the institution argues that its head office will still be in Montreal.
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On Monday, Laurentian appointed Bindu Cudjoe as chief legal officer within its senior management. This appointment means that there will now be three officers who will work from the head office in Quebec out of a total of 10.
“This appointment is a new role, no position has been transferred outside of Quebec,” said spokesperson Merick Séguin in a written statement sent to the Journal.
Despite the diminishing importance of the Montreal head office, the bank denies moving its head office quietly to Ontario, closer to the financial centres.
“Laurentian Bank’s roots have always been and will always remain in Montreal. Our CEO, Rania Llewellyn, understands very well the cultural and linguistic distinctions of Quebec,” continues Mr. Séguin.
The boss, unilingual English-speaking, continues to take French lessons on a weekly basis and goes to Montreal “1 to 2 weeks a month when the health situation allows it”, assures the banking institution.
A branch economy, says the PQ
This new appointment comes at a time when the Journal reported that close to 40% of senior management members of large companies here now work outside Quebec, a situation that is denounced by the Parti Québécois.
“That doesn’t make any damn sense!” We are going back to the 1950s when business in Montreal is done in English, it is studied in English and it is decided in Toronto, ”said PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, in an interview with Le Journal. .
For him, the CAQ government has no strategy to prevent Quebec from becoming “a branch economy”.
“Under the Liberals, we saw the exodus of head offices to Toronto or to tax havens, with no reaction. Under the CAQ, beyond the slogans, we realize that not much is happening and our head offices are becoming facade postal addresses for the image,” he says.
The PQ also believes that the state has a role to play in the development of businesses, but in return they should agree not to use tax havens, pay their taxes in Quebec and maintain the head office here. .
“That’s what René Lévesque did with Cirque du Soleil. Bernard Landry and Jacques Parizeau were also of this mentality, that the Quebec State must intervene to develop our champions who will have a foothold here, ”underlines PSPP.
The CAQ government did not react to the Journal file.
Reference-www.journaldemontreal.com