Kathleen Weil
KARL MOORE: This is Karl Moore, talking management for The Globe and Mail. Today, I am speaking with the Minister of Justice for Quebec, Kathleen Weil. Before becoming the Minister of Justice about a year ago, she was the CEO of the Foundation of [Greater]Montreal and before that, she worked at the [Montreal]Children's Hospital and various other parts of the civil society.
Good afternoon, Kathleen.
KATHLEEN WEIL : Good afternoon.
KM: You spent years in the civil society as a senior manager and CEO, and now about a year as a cabinet minister. What are some of the differences between operating in those two spheres of society?
KW: I have to say that, through my career, I have always had one foot in one door and one foot in the other - either in volunteer positions or actual careers in the public sector. So I [have been]involved in the non-for-profit sector but public as well. Now I am squarely, as Minister of Justice, in the government sector, in a political position, but as a cabinet minister.
So I will tell you that my awareness and sensitivity to the role of government - I have always had it. I started my career in legal aid and worked in the private sector as a lawyer for several years. So it's not a big contrast for me.
My main comment would be that government has an essential role in providing fundamental services to citizens, whether it's health care, education, day care - in Quebec that is obviously a big priority - and ensuring that all the tools are there for economic development.
Civil society and the non-for-profit sector and the business community - they each have their own roles - they are building community and society from their perspective.
In Quebec, there is a fair amount of partnership between the public sector and civil society. Governments don't pay that much attention to civil society because their needs are so much more important and their needs are so great, but more and more civil society is being heard by governments because governments realize that they cannot do it alone. There is an energy and creativity that comes from civil society that governments just can't duplicate.
The government's role is to try to maximize the input and that partnership, so that the experience is richer and that the results are better. I don't think we're still very good at it and that strikes me, because when I was working outside of government, you appreciate - whether it's in the environment or arts and culture or education - you appreciate what civil society does and how well it does, and you think of the potential it has. It's frustrating when you are in government and you realize that governments don't pay that much attention to it.
Now I am in government and my role is different, but I do try to participate in whatever way I can to send signals or to support organizations, not-for-profit organizations, that bring a complement to what we do in government.
KM: How can business help civil society? What can business bring to the table?
KW: In my own community foundation, just to say a word about what that is - I was president and CEO of the Foundation of Greater Montreal, and before that I was chairman of the Regional Health Board, so I was very involved in health care and health care reform, but then squarely in philanthropy.
What community foundations do - they exist all over North America, every single city and town in North America has a community foundation - they build up a pool of money, assets, and they manage those assets, make it grow and distribute that money to non-profits in the community that are working to make the community better and stronger.
The business community, and that's where I was working closely with many business leaders, because business leaders tend to participate and they sit on boards of these non-profits and they have a very important role to play. On the community foundation board, we had some of the top CEOs of companies, usually when they had just retired because they are too busy when they are CEOs, but top-level managers and retired CEOs, that wanted to continue to contribute.
Wealth and development - that's what they know how to do, but they are now transferring it to an area where it's just doing good and they feel good doing it. It's a value system and a lot of business leaders have a lot of expertise but they also have a lot of heart, and I like to say this, because not everybody realizes that. They like to give back to the community. But they are innovative and they have always had to be creative and they think differently from government.
So, each sector has its own role and not one of them is more valuable than the other, but I have seen the three of them distinctly, and where I find it's the richest experiences is when they are listening to each other and working together.
KM: Do you see the role of government has become stronger because of the recession that we have been in? Do you see that government is suddenly more important than perhaps five years ago, and do you think that it will shrink back, in time, or is it something where we have seen a permanent shift here?
KW: In Canada, governments always had an important role on a steady basis, and in Quebec as well, but something has changed. There is no doubt that this economic crisis has forced governments, as we saw in the U.S., to really step up to the plate, and there is a consensus that it needed to, especially after the Great Recession. Only governments have the ability to do that, so it is a reminder of the importance of our taxes and to spend those taxes well.
Clearly, deficits are growing and the debts are going to grow, so the challenge for government is going to be to bring all that back under control. But right now, the emphasis for government is to, because the numbers of unemployment have gone up ….
Quebec, in our particular experience, has done better than some other provinces, and not that we are gloating about it because we have invested in our infrastructure program earlier than other governments did, so it saved us a bit, but we are all going to have a hard time equally. The emphasis on supporting our businesses is going to continue to be a priority for most governments. Speaking for the Quebec government, it continues to be a priority to get us through this period.
Are we going to [cut]back? I would imagine yes, because we have to cut our deficits and bring down the debt and every government is going to have to. How we do it, I think there is an understanding now that this is cyclical and perhaps because of the causes of this latest financial sort of crunch and meltdown, more preventive measures.
And, as Minister of Justice, my own role, I think more accountability in the business sector and more control on our financial institutions. Canada weathered the storm well because we have a strong banking system, but, as Minister of Justice, I am seeing a lot of issues around economic crime, and again, other jurisdictions are facing that and other governments and other countries are looking at measures to bring that under control. This is all bound together.
How do we ensure that we don't … it's not that it was predictable but it could have been avoidable. It was avoidable, so what brought us there, I think that is going to be the big learning experience. There [are]different sort of root causes than the Great Depression. What could cause the next one? I think that we are aware that governments will always have to be ready to step up to the plate.
KM: This has been Karl Moore, talking management for the Globe and Mail. Today, I have been speaking to Kathleen Weil, who is the Minister of Justice for Quebec.