Mr. Jim Leech, Retired President & Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan

Pension Plans: Past, Present and Future

This presentation will review the evolution of Canadian pension plans from the late 1800’s to today, both as providers of retirement security and as investors in our economy, including references to Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Mr Leech will also provide his views on how the future may unfold with respect to pension plans.  During Mr Leech’s tenure at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan the $140 B plan, which represents the retirement savings for over 310,000 members, was ranked first in the world for investment performance and customer service. In 2014, Mr Leech co-authored The Third Rail, Confronting our Pension Failures, an award winning book that chronicled the challenges facing today’s pension plans.

Mr. Robert McIntosh, Director-General, Archives Branch, Library & Archives Canada

Documenting Canadian Entrepreneurship at Library and Archives Canada

This presentation offers in broad stokes a reflection on archives and business history. From the perspective of Canada’s national archive, it addresses questions of how to document effectively business and entrepreneurship in Canada; how Library and Archives Canada’s collections have been built; and the challenges archives encounter in documenting business.  Robert McIntosh previously held a range of positions at LAC in government and private sector acquisition, preservation, stewardship and public services. He has published widely in the fields of archival science and history.  His article “The Great War, Archives, and Modern Memory” received the W. Kaye Lamb Award in 1999.  His book, Boys in the Pits: Child Labour in Coal Mines, was published by McGill-Queen’s University Press in 2000.  From 2004 to 2007, he was General Editor of Archivaria: The Journal of the Canadian Association of Archivists.  Robert studied at the Universities of Alberta, Strasbourg, Carleton and Ottawa.

The Honourable Perrin Beatty, President & CEO, Canadian Chamber of Commerce

Commerce in Canada’s Business History

Mr. Beatty was first elected to the House of Commons as a Progressive Conservative in 1972. During his 21 years in Parliament, he served as Minister in seven different portfolios, including Treasury Board, National Revenue, Solicitor General, Defence, National Health and Welfare, Communications and External Affairs.  From 1995 to 1999, he was President and CEO of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Former Chancellor of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT); honorary degrees by UOIT and Western University.

Professor David A. Wilson, General Editor, Dictionary of Canadian Biography (DCB) and Professor of History, University of Toronto

The DCB as a Source for Canadian Business History

A quarter of the more than 8,500 biographies in the DCB focus on Canadian businessmen and women.  This presentation outlines some of these biographies, and argues that the DCB is indeed a key source for anyone studying Canadian business history. With a background in modern North Atlantic history, David A. Wilson specializes in Modern Irish History and the Irish in North America.