Leadership Montréal = Leadership Montréal, 1 septembre 2001, Anglais

stïiS Chambre de commerce du Montréal métropolitain Board of Trade ot Metropolitan Montreal September 2001 Volume 4 Number 4 ?*i « m JJ « H H Sg H I! It S S aaamS a mt S S Trend Chart included with this newspaper is produced in partnership with M Canada Economic Développement Development économique Canada Canada Hydro MERCK Ofscovçrirjf today for a better It ODEE® 03 03 03 Dossier The next important training milestone ••• Profile Benoit La bonté/ new executive vice-president of the Board of Trade FroivTthe’ editor's dKk page 4 Partners pages 8,9,14,17 Agenda page 19 Published by the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal - Maîtrise en technologie de l’information (45 cr.) >- Diplôme d'études supérieures spécialisées (30 cr.) >- Programme court en technologie de l’information (15 cr.) maîtrisez.avenir.% DEMANDE D'ADMISSION Hiver 2002 >- jusqu'au 1" novembre 2001 POUR EFFECTUER VOTRE DEMANDE D'ADMISSION OU POUR PLUS D'INFORMATION : www.eti.uquebec.ca (514) 396-8618 • 1 888 394-7888 • eti@etsmtl.ca L'ÉTI EST UN PARTENARIAT ENTRE QUATRE ÉTABLISSEMENTS DU RÉSEAU DE L’UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC.m Université du Québec École de technologie supérieure Institut national de la recherche scientifique Télé-université Université du Québec à Montréal COMMITTEES 6 Leadership Montréal - September 2001 QUEBEC-US-MEXICO TRADE CORRIDORS By Éric Véronneau, project manager, Board of trade Last fall, the Transportation Committee of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal formed a workgroup to spearhead the development of a trade corridor organization for Quebec and to pave the way for agreements with U S.partners.Headed by Albert Juneau, economic development advisor and member of the Transportation Committee, this workgroup comprises representatives from the Canadian and Quebec Departments of Transport as well as from the four modes of transportation.This initiative was launched in response to the seven priorities set by the Comité interrégional pour le transport des marchandises (CITM), [Inter-regional Committee for the Transportation of Merchandise], a group set up by the Conseils régionaux de développement of Montreal Island, Lanaudière, the Laurentians, Laval and Montérégie, as part of a strategie plan to allow metropolitan Montreal to strengthen its competitive positioning as a transportation hub in North America.One of these priorities, the creation of trade corridors between Quebec, the United States and Mexico, caught the attention of the Board of Trade.What is a trade corridor?A trade corridor essentially involves specific transportation and communication routes with infrastructures and transportation systems that make it possible to increase trade volume.Laws and regulations govern traffic and exchanges within these corridors, which are supported by bi- or tri-national nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), comprising partners from the public and private sectors dedicated to promoting and developing trade exchanges within a specific corridor.La référence en formation technique partout dans le monde ! Microsoft Cisei Stitch M Adobe Novell.Certaines de ces ententes de partenariat sont avec d'autres membres du Groupe Collège LaSalle notamment le Collège LaSalle et le Collège Inter-Dec.v CRIC ILA CROISSANCE DE VOTRE ENTREPRISE REPOSE SUR son PERSONNEL, sa PERFORMANCE en est la CLÉ ! MONTRÉAL - QUÉBEC - GATINEAU/HULL - SHERBROOKE - TROIS-RIVIÈRES - TORONTO - VANCOUVER COLLEGE LASALLE INDUSTRIES une filiale de ilasalle inc.Tel.: 1.866.896.3073 Téléc.: 514.876.8876 www.ilasalle.com www.cli.qc.ca Chez ilasalle et Collège LaSalle-Industries, l'apprentissage est la condition à une meilleure performance.Chacun y trouve sa façon d'apprendre.Plus de 500 formations et notre approche BrainwareM0 exclusive.> Méthodes éprouvées > Meilleurs outils > Catalogue et inscriptions en ligne > Système de gestion des apprentissages en ligne > Formations en ligne, sur cédéroms ou en classe ( partout au Québec ) > Cours privés ou publics > Cours sur mesure There are some 20 such corridors in NAFTA, including North America's Superhighway Coalition (NASCO), the largest and most famous corridor, which crosses the centre of the continent, from Winnipeg to Mexico, through Laredo, the main point of passage to the American-Mexican border.Currently, Quebec is the only province that is not part of a Canadian-American corridor, despite the fact that the United States is its main economic partner and that the trade corridors between Canada, the U S.and Mexico have been proliferating in the past few years.Given the rapid development of new economies south of the U.S., we can expect U S.trade to increasingly grow with Mexico and South America.Quebec, and more specifically metropolitan Montreal, must set up mechanisms that will allow it to capitalize on the trade growth with these emerging markets if its expects to remain competitive in North America.Since chambers of commerce are generally the ones to initiate trade corridors, the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, in cooperation with the Chambre du Commerce du Québec, did not hesitate to exercise leadership in this project.The Board of Trade plans to develop two specific corridors: one running north-south connecting Quebec to New York State, and one running east-west linking Montreal/Toronto/Detroit/Chicago.We are currently working on a cooperation project with the Champlain Hudson Trade Corridor and Gateway Coalition, an organization in New York State created by the Plattsburgh Chamber of Commerce, whose mission is to promote a Quebec/New York corridor, probably the one that will be created first.As well, representatives of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal and the Chambre de Commerce du Québec will visit Albany on September 24 and 25 to present the trade corridor project as part of the Quebec/New York 2001 event.This event is organized by the Bureau des saisons du Québec to promote the culture and economy of Quebec in New York state.This venue will be a good opportunity for business-people from Greater Montreal and New York state to become aware of the tremendous economic potential of such a corridor.¦ A NEW COMMITTEE IS BORN AT THE BOARD OF TRADE In light of the success enjoyed by the training workshops offered to self-employed workers and micro-businesses in 2000-2001, the Board of Trade has decided to open these workshops to leaders of small and medium-sized enterprises.A committee was therefore formed -the "Learn and Earn" workshops committee - which, among other things, will prepare a program of workshops and select the facilitators.The new committee plans to ask other committees (Self-Employed Workers and Micro-businesses as well as Human Resources) to propose workshop topics and facilitators.The "Learn and earn" workshops committee will be chaired by Nadia Nadège, president of AADVENIR Marketing stratégique.Nadia Nadège has spent the past 25 years working in marketing and training.A graduate of European and American universities in marketing, communications, public Nadia Nadège relations and journalism, as well as in psychology and adult education, Nadia has acquired international experience in all areas of the field such as strategic planning, corporate research and communication and online corporate publications.She is also the author of several works in French and a sought-after speaker that promotes networking to develop clientele.See article on page 3 for further information on the workshops.¦ I ESTIMONV 7 Leadership Montréal - September 2001 ARE CORPORATE LEADERS AND DECISION-MAKERS CONVINCED OF THE NEED FOR TRAINING?By Nadia NADÈGE, president of "LEARN AND EARN" committee „ Today there is an increasingly pressing need for literacy and professional development.More than ever, market globalization and the explosion of new technologies require a workforce that is not only qualified but also able to master written communication, develop analytical skills, logical thinking and decision-making abilities.By presenting professional development activities through its "Learn and Earn" workshops geared to the reality of businesspeople the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal is affirming its commitment to be a major player for its professional community.Today's economic reality calls for a practical professional education rather than theoretical learning.When discussing the issue of continuing professional education, it is clear that the concepts are accepted in principle by government institutions as well as by the teaching body.However, the very limited application of the law by enterprises, and in particular by SMEs and the network of associations, shows that, in every day reality, corporate leaders and decision-makers do not pay much heed to the need for continuing education and updating of knowledge.Decision-makers and entrepreneurs only understand formal and theoretical education attested to by a diploma.However, if we took the time to define measurement criteria, to question trained individuals, analyze their answers and permanently adjust the training delivered, continuing professional education could also be rigorously evaluated.There is no question that it takes courage to take up the challenge and demand the best for one's surroundings.In its latest report on Canadian multiculturalism, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade announced that Canada was home to more than 70 ethno-cultural communities, where over 60 languages are spoken.Indeed, the student body of some schools is made up of more than 20 ethno-cultural groups.How will these various cultures be able to work together if not by speaking the same language?Through continuing professional education and basic education for all, each and every one of us can have access to simple, concrete tools to improve our knowledge and professional competencies.¦ It is also a way of making businesses and organizations more aware of the priority they should place on developing their employees' knowledge and skills.Indeed, employees are at the heart of their economic survival; without them there is no company and without skillfull employees, there is no growth.Continuing education must exist beyond schools, colleges and universities.Having participated in Operation Back to School—the Board of Trade's initiative to stem the dropout rate by having businesspeople visit high schools and share their work and business experience with students—I had a first-hand look at what we think of basic education.Most of us believe that education is limited to the acquisition of basic skills in reading, writing and arithmetic; however, the process is far more complex, if only to develop the skills required to use computers and Internet networks— indispensable tools in today's world.I have also had the opportunity to prepare a strategic development plan for a foundation that promotes education in Africa, Haiti and North America.While conducting surveys and interviews, I was struck by the number of companies, as well as individuals— employees, managers, executives and retired businesspeople—who stated that they were not particularly concerned about the future of children without schooling.Helping to continuously elevate the level of education requires a long-term commitment on the part of all the stakeholders: school commissions, colleges, universities and the private sector.v .; \ s ï ; WMÏÏ, \ -3* .NT DES COLLÈGES MONTRÉAL MÉTROPOLITAIN MEMBER COLLEGES OF THE RCMM Ahuntsic • André-Laurendeau • Bois-de-Boulogne • Dawson • Gératd-Godin • John Abbott • Maisonneuve Marie-Victorin • Rosemont • Saint-Laurent • Vanier • Vieux Montréal 5701.AV.CHRISTOPHE-COLOMB MONTRÉAL (QUÉBEC! H2S 2E9 TELEPHONE : (514) 271.5508 FAX : (514) 271.4320 CEGEP® RCMM.SRAM.QC.CA More than zoo different study programs leading to a certificate recognized by the Ministry of Education More than 7,000 graduates per year in technical training ft Quality management Diplomas and Attestations of Cotiegial Studies (DEC) (AEC) ft More than 80 study programs leading to a DEC » 150 short-term training programs leading to an AEC Some 5,000 DEC and 2,000 AEC graduates The most modern laboratories and equipment ft New information and communication technologies (ICT), including computing, electrical engineering, telecommunications, multimedia ft Biotechnology and health ft Arts and communications An impressive array of the latest in technological equipment for use by the community, workers and industry The Regroupement des collèges du Montréal métropolitain (RCMM) brings together all the public francophone and anglophone colleges on the Island of Montréal.It serves as a round-table for their discussions and represents them in the community.President Keith W.Henderson Director General, John Abbott College Director General Michel Sylvestre, Ph.D.J PARTNEf 8 Leadership Montréal - September 2001 INFO ENTREPRENEURS: A DYNAMIC LINK BETWEEN GOVERNMENTS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND ENTREPRENEURS By Nicole Beaudry, team supervisor, information centre.Info entrepreneurs enfrepreneurs Info entrepreneurs - a public service designed to assist Quebec's entrepreneurs - was established in 1994 in a spirit of partnership between the federal and provincial governments and the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal.The fruit of many formal and informal agreements, it is an invaluable tool for entrepreneurs seeking strategic information.Info entrepreneurs is part of a network of thirteen major Canada Business Service Centres (CBSC) throughout Canada.The mandate of these centres is to provide companies in every region of the country with fast, free, accurate information about government regulations as well as programs and services offered to businesses by the provincial and federal governments.In an age of globalization and on-going technological revolution, business people are confronted more and more often by a major challenge: finding strategic information quickly.Since 1994, the Info entrepreneurs team has responded to more than a million information requests from business people throughout Quebec.Clearly there is a real need felt by companies in all sectors and at every stage of their development.How can I start a business?What should I include in my business plan?What are the export requirements?Can I get a grant to finance my business?What is a marketing strategy?Where can I find a distributor?Is there a market for my product in country X or Y?How can I patent my invention?These are just a few of the most common questions heard every week by Info entrepreneur's information agents.Lucie Perrault is the director general of Info entrepreneurs."In today's society, where knowledge, like time, is often money, an organization like Info entrepreneurs plays a crucial - and constantly changing - role.Being head of an information agency these days means being able to adapt and shift gears quickly!" According to Perrault, the major challenge facing entrepreneurs seeking information is that there is just too much of it! "Information may be readily available, but how do you know what is current - and, especially, what is not?You can easily be overwhelmed.Our role is to make sure the information is intelligible and tailored to the needs of each entrepreneur.Generally, SMBs don't have the time to do an exhaustive search of every program that could possibly meet their needs.Info entrepreneurs is at their service to facilitate their search and support their efforts.We offer them personalized, diversified information services." The new information technologies offer endless possibilities, and they can be put to good use serving the mission of Info entrepreneurs.Perreault explains that, "Traditionally, we use three methods to communicate with our clients: person-to-person, telephone, and the Internet.Since its creation, our Web site has served primarily to support our services.But now we must prepare for the future.According to a recent study carried out by the Treasury Board Secretariat, 83% of people aged 18-34 have an intermediate or advanced level of computer literacy.On the other hand, people 65 and up have little or no experience with computers.This is a large gap, but it will tend to shrink in the coming years.We want to be prepared for this major change, and we will be! Already, our Internet site integrates more of our services, in addition to the Talk to us! option and the virtual tools! It will always be tempting to explore the various possibilities offered by new information technologies, but we must bear in mind the diverse needs of our clientele." Thanks to the modern and more traditional communication tools employed by Info entrepreneurs, it will continue to maintain this dynamic link with the various government departments and agencies.We hope to continue stimulating the economy through the dissemination of fresh, pertinent information and thus facilitate the efforts of entrepreneurs - and our partners.Then, and only then, will we be able to say, "Mission accomplished!" ¦ FEEDBACK !RATION BACK O SCHOOL OPI 1 Feedback on the many encounters between Board of Trade members and high school students that took place last spring continues to come our way.The context With a view to stemming the dropout rate and encouraging students to stay in school, the Board of Trade and its Education Committee have been for the past five years investing time to make this operation a success and spark the interest of members to share their experience with secondary 3, 4, and 5 students.This year, 69 students participated and over 500 Board of Trade businessmen and -women enrolled in the program.A CONVINCING EXAMPLE Cirque du Soleil production vice-president Luc Plamondon recently commented on how he felt about meeting with students in Greater Montreal high schools and comprehensive high schools.He gained much from this experience, just like the young people he met.The initial contact is not always easy to make, speaking of dreams to secondary 2 stu- dents without visual reference appeared rather lacking to him.As he was wonder- ing whether he would participate again next year, he thankfully had the idea of going one step further.He decided to examine whether the contact could be different by changing the context.Explains Mr.Plamondon: "I therefore invited the secondary 2 students that I had previously met to come spend a day with us at Cirque du Soleil and it turned out to be a great idea.[.] We paired them with people from various trades who explained their work and the benefits they derive from it.This project was most successful, both for the students and the Cirque employees, and we're thinking of doing this again next year [.]" Back at school, the awestruck students sent effusive thank you notes, punctuating their comments with "super" and "hugs and kisses." Thank you, Mr.Plamondon! Your story should inspire the troops at the Board of Trade to invest more time in the new generation.And we will continue to support students and promote academic development, and encourage still more members of the business community to participate in the 2002 edition of Operation Back to School.¦ The winning strategy TO PREPARE UPCOMING EXECUTIVES The executive program from CIREM-HEC BROADENS PERSPECTIVES AND TRAINS PROMISING BUSINESS EXECUTIVES IN STRATEGIC THOUGHT AND ACTION.• A deeper, richer and sophisticated approach to general management training, with a national and international perspective.• A springboard to bigger responsibilities.• A regularly updated content with an intensive formula that has proven its worth over 25 years.• A program led by world-class professors, who excel in both academic and corporate careers.Participants are experienced managers from a wide variety of businesses and industries.Session 52 From September 16 to 29, 2001 From October 28 to November 9, 2001 Session 53 From March 10 to 23, 2002 From April 21 to May 3, 2002 CIREM - International Centre for Research and Study in Management Information and registration Telephone : (514) 935-4207 Fax : (514) 932-1060 Web: http://www.cirem.ca CIREM rifLE PARTNEI 9 Leadership Montréal - September 2001 MONTREAL - FOR AN UNIFIED PRESENCE ON THE INTERNET By Charles S.Bourgeois, Executive Vice-President Montréal TechnoVision inc.The process of integrating the new cities of Montreal and Longueuil is now well under way and the Montreal Metropolitan Community (MMC) has taken shape and undertaken its activities.While this transition is challenging for all the partners in the region, it also offers opportunities well worth seizing.And a unified Internet presence is a case in point.The existing Websites that present the cities of the MMC and showcase regional vitality are numerous and of inconsistent quality, often due to little consultation between their creators.Thanks to the Internet, online government services are expanding everywhere.Available 24 hours a day, these informative and increasingly transactional services enhance government efficiency and reduce costs while offering better services to users.The Canadian and Quebec governments are offering a growing number of online services, ranging from electronic tax returns to permit renewal, payment of fines and Web-based forms.And the process has only just begun.Soon we will have access to online medical and academic files, professional development, etc.Municipalities have also jumped on the Internet bandwagon, and this trend should pick up speed over the next few years.Montreal Technovision has studied the issue of online municipal services as part of the "Smart City" project, which is intended to offer leading-edge enterprises and their employees an environment that leverages the information highway.The following is a summary of the results of this study and ensuing recommendations.Technology centre, Internet and COMPETITIVENESS When we launched the "Smart City" project in early 2000, we brought together over 200 leaders from industry and the public and parapublic sectors to identify concrete initiatives that would stimulate the use of the information highway and contribute to making our region more attractive and competitive on the North American and even global scene.Indeed, globalization is the issue.Quebec's economic future is unfolding in all the regions, but the Montreal area remains the driving force of our development.Moreover, with over 160,000 jobs and $15 billion in exports in 2000, our area has become a major technology centre, with the aerospace, information technology and biopharmaceutical sectors enjoying robust growth.This success stems primarily from our capacity for research and innovation and the presence of the competent resources that are so essential to the development of these enterprises.The vast majority of high-tech firms are intensively leveraging the Internet's potential and North America's tech cities are developing Smart City concepts to offer an ever-expanding range of informative and transactional online services.Their offering is organized in such a way as to allow their citizens and enterprises, visitors or foreign companies, to easily access the information or services they need.This approach to municipal and regional online services facilitates decision-making and projects a favourable image among users.A recent survey conducted among the leaders of some 100 high-tech companies operating world- wide and among major logisticians revealed that when it comes to expanding their operations, Montreal is still not their location of choice, notwithstanding major efforts and resources dedicated over the past few years to the city's international positioning.Montreal’s vitality in leading-edge sectors is less apparent in its online municipal services, because over half of metropolitan Montreal's cities still do not have a Website and few of those that do offer significant transactional services.A REGIONAL MUNICIPAL PORTAL For this reason, the participants in the round table on online municipal services for the "Smart City" project decided to study the relevance and feasibility of creating a regional municipal portal.A workgroup, comprised of computer department heads of the cities of Laval, Montreal, St-Laurent and Brossard has established the framework for an opportunity study.The first thing the study revealed was that most major North American cities such as Boston, New York, Toronto and Chicago have equipped themselves with outstanding transactional Websites.These avant-garde sites play three roles: they improve accessibility and efficiency of services, increase the city's visibility and create a lever for economic development.After a major consultation with the senior management of the cities of Laval, Montreal and Saint-Laurent, and following a comprehensive analysis of alternative structures, the workgroup agreed on the relevance of proposing the creation of a regional municipal information portal.The portal should promote access to the Websites of the cities in the region, which would remain responsible for developing the transactional services on their territory.It should also direct users, based on their needs, to the sites of business development and international promotion (Montréal International) and tourism organizations (Tourisme Montréal) or to the sites of major corporations to showcase specific industries (Biopharma-Montreal).The contemplated portal could initially be aimed at foreign firms, strategic workers and travelers with a view to influencing their business, investment, immigration or vacation decisions.Although the latest version of the Montréal International site offers much of the content sought by this clientele, no site exists that meets all their needs.Convergence and enhancement The new portal should avoid all forms of duplication.It will be centred around economic development, quality of life in a given area, culture and tourism.It will showcase the vitality of all the cities in the region, leverage the region's attraction capacity, stimulate economic development, attract strategic workers and increase tourist revenue.Relatively inexpensive, the portal will have a flexible configuration and a cooperative infrastructure that will make it possible to access the sites of the individual cities, the MMC, Montréal International, Tourisme Montréal, the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal and other partner organizations and to tap all relevant information for the portal.The proposed portal will also make it possible for the smaller municipalities of the metropolitan region to establish a presence on the Web, at little cost, by using predefined templates.To serve users well, the portal site will be geo-referenced to make it possible to spatially represent relevant data and information (industrial parks, universities, roads, ports, airports, research centres, hospitals, etc).It will also be equipped with several other functionalities (customization, hyperlinks, automatic sending of information, vertical links to municipal sites, etc.) and will be extensively referenced so as to make it accessible through many search engines.Developing a portal site for metropolitan Montreal will make it possible to build, for all the municipalities in our region, a unified positioning on the Internet, showcase the assets of our region and facilitate access to a vast range of services.This site will be a landmark in the construction of a Smart City and help increase Montreal's competitiveness as a technology centre.Montreal TechnoVision has presented the parameters of this project to municipal authorities, the MMC and several other partners in the region with a view to arriving at a mutual decision on the future of this project.Montreal TechnoVision -www.mtltv.org or info@mtltv.org ¦ mSHSti y m§ ' **»«**; Îîî;* ¦to**# • *#*„ «•*¦* » #*•*» ¦:.•«• 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