Special Board

Pierre-Maurice Vachon is a well-known personality in the Beauce region where he is both a businessman and a political figure. He has worn several hats, first as CEO, then corporate director, followed by prefect and mayor. To this day, he remains interested in business and management.

Between 1990 and 2003, Mr. Vachon was CEO and chairman of Cartem, a company he helped found in 1977. He served as mayor of Sainte-Marie for 16 years as well as prefect of the Nouvelle-Beauce CMA and president of the Fédération québécoise des municipalités (FQM). Earlier in his career, Mr. Vachon was the manager of production-related administrative services at the family company, Les Gâteaux Vachon, where he remained for 10 years.

Mr. Vachon has been a board member of the Fonds de solidarité FTQ since 2005 and a member of the Turnaround Board since 2004. He also serves on the boards of, among others, SSQ General Insurance Company, P.H. Tech and the Fonds régional de solidarité FTQ – Chaudière-Appalaches.

Pierre-Maurice Vachon holds a business administration degree from Université Laval.

After serving as secretary general of the FTQ from 2010 to 2013, Daniel Boyer was elected president during the organization’s 30th convention in November 2013.

Born in Lachine in 1958, Daniel Boyer has been a member of the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec since 1978. He was, in turn, vice-president and president of his local union, and union advisor to local 298 (FTQ) of the Syndicat québécois des employées et employés de service (SQEES), before becoming secretary general in 1999 and president in October 2007.

A committed union activist, he was involved in demonstrations against the 1982 decrees in the public sector. He then became actively involved in the SQEES-298 (FTQ) before being hired as a union advisor in 1985. He travelled across Québec to defend the members he represented, as an advocate, spokesperson in public sector bargaining, national coordinator of the ambulance sector and coordinator of public sector bargaining for the FTQ. When he became president of the SQEES-298 (FTQ), Daniel Boyer sought new challenges. He worked tirelessly to achieve pay equity for female public sector workers.

Daniel Boyer is First Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors and a member of the Fonds de solidarité FTQ Executive Committee.

He also serves on the Executive Committee of the Canadian Labour Congress and on the General Council of the International Trade Union Confederation.

He is a member of the Comité consultatif du travail et de la main-d'œuvre (CCTM) and sits on the board of the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST).

Daniel Boyer holds a degree in physical education and industrial relations from Université de Montréal.

Denis Bolduc is president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) for Québec and a member of the CUPE National Executive Board. He is also a member of the Bureau of the FTQ and has served on the Board of Directors of the Fonds de solidarité FTQ since June 2016.

Holder of a DEC in Arts and Media Technology from Cégep de Jonquière, Mr. Bolduc worked as a radio broadcast journalist at CKCV-AM in Québec City from 1985 to 1986 and as a journalist at Journal de Québec from 1986 to 2011. He was editor of the free daily Média Matin Québec from 2007 to 2008.

Mr. Bolduc was president of CUPE-Québec Local 1450 from 2006 to 2011, president of CUPE-Québec’s Provincial Council for the Communications Sector (CPSC) from March to May 2011, and General Secretary of CUPE-Québec from May 2011 to June 2016.

An experienced manager, Marcel Gagnon has over 30 years of experience in private equity working with growing businesses and businesses in turnaround in numerous industries.

He started his career in financing at Scotiabank and Caisse centrale Desjardins, and then became private equity portfolio manager at the Fonds de solidarité FTQ. Afterwards, he joined the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, where he held several positions, from Senior Manager, Private Equity to Vice-President, Risk Management, Private Equity and Infrastructure, until 2014. His role involved leading a team responsible for reviewing major private equity and infrastructure projects and making recommendations in the form of risk analyses.

He served as director of many companies, including Transat, BioChem Pharma and Tembec, and several businesses in the manufacturing and consumer goods industries. He was also a member of the advisory committee of investment funds in America and Europe.

A graduate in education and business administration, M. Gagnon also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree and the CPA designation.

Denis Labrèche has over 30 years’ experience in business valuation, financial disputes and M&As in various industries. As a partner at Ernst & Young from 1978 to 2011, he was involved in key mandates and transactions and was frequently called to give expert testimony. He was also tasked with many venture capital mandates for the Government of Québec, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Société générale de financement du Québec. He also acted as financial advisor to large organizations including Provigo, Métro, Rona, Bell Canada and the Canadian Red Cross.

Very active throughout his career, Mr. Labrèche has given speeches, led countless seminars on business valuation and financing and written articles on the topic for the business magazine Commerce and the La Presse newspaper.

Mr. Labrèche has served on the boards of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators and of Réseau Capital.

Denis Labrèche is a Chartered Business Valuator (CBV – 1984) and a Chartered Accountant who made the prestigious Honour Roll of the Chartered Accountants 1978 Uniform Exam (UFE).

Françoise E. Lyon has been President and Managing Partner at DGC International Inc. (formerly DGC Capital) since September 2017 and serves as an expert advisor to several small and medium-sized start-ups and investment committees. She has more than 27 years of experience in senior finance positions at prominent firms such as Merrill Lynch, National Bank of Canada and Bank of America.

Ms. Lyon was appointed Chair of the Board of Trustees of the National Gallery of Canada by the Government of Canada in December 2017 and was named Chair of the Association of Québec Women in Finance in October 2018.  She is currently a Board member of the International Women’s Forum Canada and served on the Board of the Washington-based IWF Leadership Foundation for 10 years, including 2 years as Chair. She chairs the Board of the IWF Global Endowment, also in Washington.  She is the Ambassadors Chair of CITIZN Canada and a Board member of Bopper Music and Ecologyst in British Columbia.

Holder of a Bachelor of Business Administration from HEC Montréal and a Certificate in Public Relations Management with honours from McGill University, Ms. Lyon also completed management specialization courses at the University of Bath in England and through an exchange program with the IPSAJE Institute in Havana, Cuba. She has held the professional designation of Chartered Director since 1996 and has several specialized courses and accreditations in the financial industry.

Françoise E. Lyon joined the Fonds de solidarité FTQ Board of Directors in July 2021.

Katia Marquier has more than 20 years of experience in accounting, taxation, strategic planning and corporate governance. In February 2017, she assumed an executive position at Fednav, an international shipping company, where she was responsible for financial, accounting and tax management for two years before being appointed Chief Financial Officer in January 2020. Previously, she was Corporate Controller and Director of Regulatory Accounting at Gaz Métro (now Énergir) and Valener.

She currently sits on the Board of Directors and Audit Committee of the Sportscene Group and is Chair of the Audit Committee and member of the Board of Trustees of Canadian Net Real Estate Investment Trust.  She is also a member of the Association des Femmes en Finance du Québec and was involved in the Cancer Research Society for eight years as a member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee, and Chair of the Audit Committee.

Ms. Marquier holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a graduate degree in professional accounting from HEC Montréal, where she was a lecturer from 2005 to 2010. She is a member of the Québec Order of Chartered Accounts and holds a university certificate in corporate governance from the Collège des administrateurs de sociétés.

Pierre-Maurice Vachon is a well-known personality in the Beauce region where he is both a businessman and a political figure. He has worn several hats, first as CEO, then corporate director, followed by prefect and mayor. To this day, he remains interested in business and management.

Between 1990 and 2003, Mr. Vachon was CEO and chairman of Cartem, a company he helped found in 1977. He served as mayor of Sainte-Marie for 16 years as well as prefect of the Nouvelle-Beauce CMA and president of the Fédération québécoise des municipalités (FQM). Earlier in his career, Mr. Vachon was the manager of production-related administrative services at the family company, Les Gâteaux Vachon, where he remained for 10 years.

Mr. Vachon has been a board member of the Fonds de solidarité FTQ since 2005 and a member of the Turnaround Board since 2004. He also serves on the boards of, among others, SSQ General Insurance Company, P.H. Tech and the Fonds régional de solidarité FTQ – Chaudière-Appalaches.

Pierre-Maurice Vachon holds a business administration degree from Université Laval.

Dominic Lemieux is the United Steelworkers Québec Director and was Assistant to the Québec Director from January 2016 to March 2020. He previously worked as the union’s North Shore Regional Coordinator.

Following his studies in mining, he began his career in the Abitibi gold mines and then returned to work at Stelco (now ArcelorMittal) in Contrecoeur. He quickly developed an interest in occupational health and safety and became an activist on the USW Local 6951 Executive, which led to his appointment as a USW union representative in 2008. Mr. Lemieux travelled throughout Québec as a member of the Steelworkers’ organizing team.

He also has led major bargaining with multinationals such as Rio Tinto, Alcoa, Lafarge, ArcelorMittal, Glencore and many others.

He holds a certificate in health and safety from Université de Montréal and completed the Harvard University Trade Union Program.

He chaired the FTQ Youth Committee from 2007 to 2009 and played a key role in a determined campaign that led to a ban in 2018 on two-tier pension and benefit plans in Québec workplaces.

Mr. Lemieux has served on various boards including Formabois, Bureau de la sécurité privé, Comité paritaire des agents de sécurité du Québec, CSMO Mines, Fonds régional de la Côte-Nord and Juripop. He currently sits on the advisory committee of FinTaxi. 

Dominic Lemieux joined the Fonds de solidarité FTQ Board of Directors in January 2020.

Michel Champagne has contributed to the creation and management of the SIDEX Development Corporation/SIDEX Limited Partnership for the past 19 years. From 1995 to 2000, he worked with various mining companies, including as Exploration Manager for Latin America for one of them, where he managed the Peruvian subsidiary. From 1986 to 1995, he gained experience in securities, working at the Montréal Stock Exchange as Chief Geologist and Analyst.  From 1978 to 1980 and from 1982 to 1986, he worked in mining exploration in Québec, where he led the team that discovered the main zone of the Chimo mine and the Monique deposit, which would be mined in the following years.

Mr. Champagne holds a Master of Science from Laval University and a Bachelor of Science from Université de Montréal. He was a member of the Mining Technical Advisory and Monitoring Committee, a group of professionals representing the Canadian mining industry, responsible for advising the Canadian Securities Administrators on the application of NI 43-101.  He has also contributed to the advisory committees of the TSX Venture Exchange and the Autorité des marchés financiers.  Mr. Champagne has been involved for many years in activities related to mining for organizations such as the Quebec Mineral Exploration Association and the Geological Association of Canada.

A geologist by training, Denis Landry has spent the better part of his career, or almost 40 years, in the mining industry before retiring as Board chairman and director of Gestion Sodémex (Société de développement des entreprises minières et d’exploration).

Mr. Landry began his career at Société québécoise d’exploration minière (SOQUEM) where over a period of almost 20 years he served in turn as exploration geologist, regional exploration manager, and assistant general manager. Mr. Landry also was the manager of a mining investment fund created at the government’s request and which spawned Sodémex, a limited partnership in 1996. Next came the creation of general partner Gestion Sodémex with limited partner SOQUEM and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. Denis Landry was actively involved in this company’s growth for the last 20 years, serving on its Board as a director and Chairman, and contributed, in particular, to the creation of Sodémex II s.e.c. in 1998 and Sodémex Développement in 2013, again with the Caisse.

Mr. Landry has been involved in many financing projects, including numerous joint investments with the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Sidex and the SDBJ’s mining fund. In addition to forging business partnerships with gold and diamond mining companies, including Virginia, Osisko and Stornoway Diamant, he has mentored several junior mining companies with projects in the development phase in Québec.

Denis Landry holds a Bachelor of Science in geology from Université Laval.

 Angelina Mehta is a finance professional with over 20 years of experience in the mining industry.  Her technical and operational expertise has been put to use in Newfoundland, Greenland, Panama, Brazil and Australia.  In March 2021, she was appointed to her current position of General Manager, Joint Ventures, at Rio Tinto Aluminium.

She has held key positions in corporate finance at such companies as Laurentian Bank, Paradigm Capital, North American Nickel, Sentient Asset Management Canada, CN Railway, Lafarge Canada and BMO Financial Group.

She currently sits on the boards of Exploration Azimut and the Foundation of Greater Montréal, where she is also a member of the Audit Committee. Previously, she chaired the Governance Committee of Meridian Mining, was a member of the Audit Committee and the Special Committee for Acquisition Evaluation at Pershimco Resources and was responsible for event organization at Women in Mining Canada, where she was also a director. She has also served on the boards of Stornoway Diamonds Canada and Falco Resources.

Ms. Mehta has been a speaker at various mining industry conferences including Xplor in Montréal, Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada in Toronto and Mines and Money in London and Toronto.

She holds an LL.M. in Business Law from Osgoode Law School in Toronto, an MBA in Finance with a concentration in Strategy and International Business from McGill University, and a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering. 

Christian Pichette is a corporate director with over 35 years’ experience in the mining field.

From 2005 to 2013, he served, in turn, as Vice-President of Operations, Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of Richmont Mines. Before that, he was General Manager of the Niobec mine for Mazarin Inc., Minéraux Séquoia and Cambior. Before he joined Richmont Mines, he held managerial positions at other mining companies, including Barrick Gold, TVX Gold and Placer Dome Canada. At the outset of his career, Christian Pichette worked as an engineer and chief engineer.

Mr. Pichette holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mining and a Master’s degree in Rock Mechanics from École Polytechnique de Montréal. He is a member of the Cercle des gouverneurs of the Association minière du Québec, where he served as Director from 1997 to 2006 and as President from 2001 to 2002.

Jean-Claude Scraire is an independant consultant in strategic development. Since 2002, he has worked for different organizations and businesses in Asia, Europe and Québec.

Mr. Scraire previously worked for 22 years at the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec where he served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer from 1995 to 2002. He also held various positions in Québec public administration from 1974 to 1981, including at the Ministère de la Justice.

Committed to economic development and strongly believing in the importance of entrepreneurship while respecting the local communities, Jean-Claude Scraire has recently chaired the board of directors of Investissement Québec and the Fondation de l’entrepreneurship.

Member of the Barreau du Québec since 1970, Mr. Scraire is also a member of the Fondation de l’entrepreneurship and the University Club.

A graduate in law and industrial relations, Anouk Collet is executive assistant to the national president of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union. She has over 20 years’ experience in bargaining, organizing, training and member services.

Ms. Collet was elected vice-president of the FTQ and to the board of directors of the Fonds de solidarité FTQ in 2013. She is also vice-president of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) as well as a member of various FTQ committees, including education and grievance arbitration.

Anouk Collet is co-chair of Détail Québec, the retail trade labour sector committee. Engaged in the community, she has served on the board of directors of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada since 2012.

Loïc Breton has been President of the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union (COPE-SEPB - Québec) since 2016. Mr. Breton’s involvement in the labour movement began in 1991 and he has since held various positions within the SEPB, including president of SEPB-574, organizer, union trainer and employer representative on union bodies.

Mr. Breton holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from McGill University.  He has been an employer representative on the SEPB-Québec Pension Committee since 2017. In addition, he sits on the SEPB-COPE National Executive and has worked, among other things, on the development of the investment policy for the Strike and Lockout Benefit and Defence Fund.

Loïc Breton joined the Fonds de solidarité FTQ Board of Directors in September 2020.

Building on over 30 years of experience in business, Chantal Laberge is currently a corporate director and management consultant, assisting business executives with strategic development, investments, risk management and governance implementation.

She previously held the positions of auditor at Deloitte, Senior Relationship Manager at the Bank of Montreal Innovation and Technology Centre, Senior Manager, Investment, Medium-Sized Enterprises at the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Senior Manager and co-founder of the Québec Manufacturing Fund, a $100 million fund established by the Caisse that contributes to the financing and active management of businesses.

Ms. Laberge served as director of more than a dozen of private companies and several not-for-profit organizations. She chaired or was a member of various audit, investment, governance, strategic development and human resources committees. She currently sits on the board of directors of the Professional Liability Insurance Fund of the Chambre des notaires du Québec and the Y des femmes de Montréal, and is a member of the board of directors and advisory committee of SMEs.

A graduate in business administration from the University of Alberta, Ms. Laberge is a Chartered Professional Accountant member of the Ordre des CPA du Québec and holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Françoise E. Lyon has been President and Managing Partner at DGC International Inc. (formerly DGC Capital) since September 2017 and serves as an expert advisor to several small and medium-sized start-ups and investment committees. She has more than 27 years of experience in senior finance positions at prominent firms such as Merrill Lynch, National Bank of Canada and Bank of America.

Ms. Lyon was appointed Chair of the Board of Trustees of the National Gallery of Canada by the Government of Canada in December 2017 and was named Chair of the Association of Québec Women in Finance in October 2018.  She is currently a Board member of the International Women’s Forum Canada and served on the Board of the Washington-based IWF Leadership Foundation for 10 years, including 2 years as Chair. She chairs the Board of the IWF Global Endowment, also in Washington.  She is the Ambassadors Chair of CITIZN Canada and a Board member of Bopper Music and Ecologyst in British Columbia.

Holder of a Bachelor of Business Administration from HEC Montréal and a Certificate in Public Relations Management with honours from McGill University, Ms. Lyon also completed management specialization courses at the University of Bath in England and through an exchange program with the IPSAJE Institute in Havana, Cuba. She has held the professional designation of Chartered Director since 1996 and has several specialized courses and accreditations in the financial industry.

Françoise E. Lyon joined the Fonds de solidarité FTQ Board of Directors in July 2021.

Holder of the Canada Research Chair in Oncogenetics since 2001, Jacques Simard, PhD, has been an independent investigator for almost 25 years. He is also a professor with the Department of Molecular Medicine of Université Laval and deputy director of basic research at the CHU de Québec Research Centre.

He has been chair of the Genome Canada Science and Industry Advisory Committee since 2010. Dr. Simard has been a board member of, among others, the Medical Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Initiative, Health Canada’s Science Advisory Board and Genome Canada.

Dr. Simard has authored over 340 original publications, peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on specialized topics. He has received numerous awards and distinctions in his field.

Jacques Simard holds a PhD in physiology (molecular endocrinology) and a Master of Biology from Université Laval. In 2010, he earned a university certificate in corporate governance.