‘Revolted’ Quebecers turn on Bombardier, once the jewel of province’s economy
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Graeme Hamilton | May 11, 2017 7:57 PM ET
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Bombardier CEO Alain Bellemare arrives at the company's annual meeting Thursday, May 11, 2017 in Montreal.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan RemiorzBombardier CEO Alain Bellemare arrives at the company's annual meeting Thursday, May 11, 2017 in Montreal.
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MONTREAL — In recognition of the lingering stench left by generous raises recently awarded Bombardier executives, protesters outside the company’s annual general meeting Thursday chose a theme: feces.
There were turd balloon sculptures, turd placards, a turd costume and novelty eyeglasses that made their wearer appear to have a turd on his head. Inside the jet hangar where the meeting was held, the atmosphere was less vulgar, but executives were clearly on the defensive.
The nearly 50-per-cent raises for top Bombardier executives, first made public in March and later deferred in part after a public outcry, were in line with executive compensation at comparable large companies, Jean Monty, chairman of Bombardier’s compensation committee told the meeting. On the large screen behind him, it was spelled out that big paydays are required to “attract the best talent” and “retain talent.”
But try as Bombardier’s management might, they could not polish what has long been considered a jewel of the Quebec economy but is now increasingly an object of scorn.
Karl Moore, an associate professor at McGill University’s business school who attended the shareholder meeting as an observer, said the provincial and federal government investments and loans that pulled the company back from the brink last year have changed public attitudes in the province toward the company.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan RemiorzProtesters demonstrate in front of a Bombardier plant as the company holds its annual meeting Thursday, May 11, 2017 in Montreal.
“It has moved Bombardier in the minds of many Quebecers from being a normal business to something which is a bit more — the government has a role to play,” he said. The people of the province feel they have an ownership stake, and they are demanding greater accountability.
“I’m not sure that’s accurate, but it’s the emotions they feel, and there’s some truth to it,” Moore said.
Of course, true control of the company remains in the hands of the Beaudoin family, which through the company’s dual-class share structure has 53 per cent of the voting shares.
Pierre Beaudoin, the former CEO who stepped aside to become executive chairman in 2015, announced before the meeting Thursday that he would become a simple board chairman. That only partly answered the demands for his head issued this week by a number of pension funds, including Quebec’s Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
In other ways, the Beaudoin family did not shy from flexing its muscles. Some shareholders spoke out during a question period, arguing for a ceiling on executive payment, but proposals for reform were shot down.
Shareholders overwhelmingly approved the slate of board members put forward, with Beaudoin receiving the lowest score of 92.3 per cent. And the controversial compensation package was approved with a vote of 93.5 per cent.
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Laurent Beaudoin, Pierre’s father who built the family business into an international player, continues to sit on the board as chairman emeritus. He said it “really bothers” him to hear the family name maligned and Bombardier labeled a corporate welfare case.
“We have to get back to what Bombardier has done. It plays an important role in Quebec. We have a lot of employees in Quebec,” he told reporters after the meeting. “What we have built over the years, as far as I’m concerned . . . it was built permanently, and I think that if the family had not been there, it would not have been built.”
CEO Alain Bellemare was similarly impatient with criticism of the compensation approved for him and his fellow executives. “I think we have talked about it enough,” he told a news conference. “We have work to do. We want to make Bombardier a jewel of Quebec and of Canada for years to come. That is what I’m focused on.”
The reporter pointed to a recent poll showing nine out of 10 Quebecers disapproved of the Bombardier executive pay raises. “I’ll take another question,” Bellemare replied.
Outside the Bombardier facility, where the finishing touches are put on private jets, Murielle Turpin Godin was not going to be so easily brushed off. For the 69-year-old pensioner dressed in a turd costume, Bombardier has become just another symbol of corporate greed.
“They are not sharing what they have, not even a little bit,” she said. “The people are revolted.”
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