Even though he said he would “never” make the leap into politics, the big boss of the National Bank ventured into this territory by criticizing the billions granted to the battery sector and asserting that Quebec had “hurts” with “Bill 96”.
On the subject of subsidies, Ottawa and Quebec should support Canadian companies before giving subsidies to foreign companies to develop the battery sector, argues Laurent Ferreira.
The president and CEO of the National Bank is “not a big fan of subsidies to attract foreign companies to the country.” He made his opinion known in front of 1,300 people from the business community during a speech on Thursday to the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM).
“In the long term, I don’t think it’s a good idea to tax Canadian companies more and give subsidies to Stellantis and Volkswagen,” he says.
The President and CEO of the Chamber, Michel Leblanc, seemed surprised by his guest’s comments. He mentioned that this type of government intervention enjoyed some support within the business community.
In a playful tone, Mr. Leblanc nevertheless pointed out that the two projects cited were in Ontario. “OK, those are in Ontario, I definitely agree with you,” he said, causing laughter in the room.
In an interview on the sidelines of his speech, Mr. Ferreira clarified that this comment was also valid for subsidies to the battery sector deployed in Quebec.
The federal government and Quebec should instead prioritize support for Canadian businesses, believes the President and CEO of the National Bank. “My point on this is that when we give subsidies to foreign companies, they go directly into the pockets of foreign shareholders who are mainly not Canadian. I doubt this model, in the longer term, in wealth creation. »
He adds that the Canadian economy needs more investment in Canada. He refers to a comment from his chief economist, Stéfane Marion, who gave a presentation at the same event, according to which large Canadian pension plans were not investing enough in Canada.
Mr. Ferreira’s intervention comes at a time when governments are deploying billions of dollars to attract foreign companies to the battery sector.
Canada could spend nearly $13 billion on the Volkswagen project, which wants to build a battery factory for electric vehicles in St. Thomas, Ontario. Aid to Stellantis could reach 15 billion for its Windsor battery factory.
Quebec is not left out. Ottawa and Quebec have granted $640 million in aid for the Ford plant in Bécancour. That of GM-Posco, for its part, benefited from support of nearly 300 million from both levels of government.
The Legault government is reportedly on the verge of formalizing the construction of a project by Swedish cell manufacturer Northvolt in Vallée-du-Richelieu and significant budgetary aid is anticipated.
Prime Minister François Legault defended his government’s approach in early September. “Each time the government gives aid to a business, we ensure that the benefits for Quebecers exceed this amount of aid. We must understand that the manufacturing sector, its repositioning, is currently being played out. To think that it would be a good idea to do nothing and wait, I think that would be a mistake. »
Mr. Ferreira also ventured into another political terrain. During his speech, he said it was important to protect French, but that the regulatory context was “difficult.”
Questioned on the subject, he was more explicit in the interview. “I was referring, above all, I would say, to the regulatory context that 96 imposes on businesses,” he responds.
The Act on the official and common language of Quebec, French, or “Law 96”, “scared fear” in the business community, judges the French-speaking banker. “We got hurt. »
Mr. Ferreira affirms that he is in agreement with the objective of protecting the French language, “a jewel”. “My point is not that 96 is a bad thing,” he says. That’s not that at all, it’s the approach we took [that poses the problem].
“We are bringing a level of complexity for businesses in Quebec, compared to the rest of businesses in North America, rather than finding a way to attract talent and saying that in Quebec we want to grow, we wants to do more together. Talent and capital were frightened. »
