Province’s first chief investment officer a ‘straight shooter’
Ontario recruits Allan O’Dette, Chamber of Commerce boss and occasional government critic, to provide “one-stop shopping” for new businesses coming to province or planning to go global.

TheStar.com
March 21, 2017
Rob Ferguson

A veteran businessman who hasn’t been shy about criticizing the Ontario government over hydro costs and other issues is taking a $340,000-a-year job as the province’s first chief investment officer, the Star has learned.

Allan O’Dette, president and chief executive of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce for five years, assumes the post next month to provide “one-stop shopping” for new businesses coming to Ontario or planning to expand globally.

“In the past, those companies would have had to make dozens of calls,” Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid said Monday. “He in many ways will be a fixer.”

O’Dette will head the new Ontario Investment Office, which has a staff of 125 and is tasked with helping companies navigate their way through various government ministries and solving problems that can get in the way of deals.

“I think I can make a bigger difference in this role,” said O’Dette, who acknowledged he is taking a “material” pay cut and will draw on his experience as an entrepreneur and executive.

That includes more than two decades in the biotech and biopharmaceutical industries and Canadian Exposure, a flavoured water company he founded, later exporting to the Middle East, Africa and the United States.

“I found out first hand how hard it is to take a startup and scale it to go global,” said O’Dette, who eventually sold the company and has been on several international trade missions during his time with the Chamber of Commerce, which represents 60,000 businesses.

Duguid said other jurisdictions, including Mexico, have set up similar “one-stop concierge shops” to help businesses, making it important for Ontario to follow suit.

“The world is changing fast. We needed someone in the business community … with excellent connections, both domestically and abroad,” Duguid told the Star.

“I was really looking for someone who’s a straight shooter,” the minister added, noting the constructive criticism the Chamber of Commerce has levelled at the government on pensions, energy, mining and other issues under O’Dette. “He tells it like it is.”

The Chamber of Commerce recently issued a report challenging the government over high electricity costs and other issues, warning that “only a minority of (chamber members) believe that a number of major government policies and initiatives will have a positive impact on their organization.”

O’Dette said he has been steadfastly non-partisan at the chamber and that his new appointment is not a political one.

“I worked as close with the current Liberal government as I did with the two opposition parties,” he told the Star, describing the Ontario economy as “diverse and well positioned.”

“We need to tell our story. What I will bring to this is a collaborative approach. I’ve always tried to bring people together to get their interests aligned.”

That will mean working with federal, local and other national governments.

Particularly in the Trump era, with the U.S. embarking on a more protectionist approach in terms of international trade, “we have to be more proactive to help people understand the richness of our economy,” O’Dette said.

That includes everything from a competitive corporate tax rate, research and development subsidies to a skilled labour force, a universal health-care system and high-quality universities and colleges.

“There is a matrix of conditions that makes Ontario attractive,” O’Dette said.

Duguid defended the salary O’Dette will earn in the job — about $6,500 weekly — saying the government tried to recruit at a lower pay level but wasn’t attracting the calibre of applicants it needed.

“This is about value for money,” he said.

Ontario’s unemployment rate was 6.2 per cent in February, its lowest since October 2007 and marking the seventh straight month of job growth.

The Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats have complained, however, that the youth unemployment rate remains too high and that many Ontarians are still struggling to make ends meet, often working two or more jobs at low wages.