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The feds are hoping that national pride will be enough to lure Bay Street hotshots into the public service.
Driving the news: Ottawa’s Major Projects Office (MPO) — the body in charge of streamlining approvals and coordinating financing for projects of “national interest” — is trying to convince Bay Street to lend it some young talent, sources told the Globe and Mail.
The MPO is asking banks and other institutions to put these employees on temporary assignment and, allegedly, in some cases, top up these workers' salaries to sweeten the deal.
The potential ethical conundrum is readily apparent. Employees on loan might be involved in projects that their real employer has a vested interest in. If the situation arises to advance corporate interests, it could surely help their careers to do so.
Why it’s happening: While the MPO is filling senior roles with bankers, lawyers, and execs with long careers who don’t mind taking a pay cut, it’s been harder to staff junior or mid-career positions as younger workers aren’t so keen on disrupting promising careers.
Why it matters: The whole conceit of ‘nation-building’ requires, well, builders. And there appears to be a dearth of them, both in the MPO itself, and on the ground where the literal building happens. According to a Deloitte report from earlier this year, Canada will need around half a million more tradespeople by 2030 to meet federal infrastructure and housing goals.—QH
