Trudeau government names new CEO for Via Rail

Thestar.com
April 1, 2019
Marco Vigliotti

Canada’s national passenger rail service has new leadership.

Transport Minister Marc Garneau on Friday named Cynthia Garneau the next president and CEO of Via Rail, replacing Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, who has led the Crown corporation for the past five years.

Garneau, an attorney, has served as president of Bell Helicopter Textron Canada Ltd. since 2016. The company is the Canadian branch of a U.S. aerospace manufacturer. It has a manufacturing and final assembly plant for commercial helicopters in Mirabel, Que., a suburban Montreal community home to one of the region’s major airports.

Garneau will start her five-year term at the helm of Via on May 9. She is not related to the minister, Transport Canada confirmed to iPolitics.
In recent years, Desjardins-Siciliano has been known for championing a proposed high-frequency rail project for the Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal triangle. The project would see Via construct its own dedicated rail line connecting the three cities, allowing for faster and more frequent service. Trains in the region currently run on tracks shared with cargo vehicles.

He has also led an initiative to update Via’s aging railcars, leading the organization to award a contract to Siemens in December for 32 train sets to operate on the bustling Quebec City-Windsor corridor.

In a statement, Minister Garneau thanked Desjardins-Siciliano for his service, citing his work in the fleet renewal project and high frequency proposal.
The minister also announced the appointment of three new directors for Via, all for four-year terms:

Grant Christoff, a lawyer who has served as counsel for the First Nations Health Authority and Saulteau First Nations since 2015.
Miranda Keating Erickson, who has been vice-president of the Alberta Electric System Operator since 2010.

Viola Ann Timmons, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Regina since 2008.According to Transport Canada, all of the picks for the Via Rail roles were made under the government’s new merit-based process for order-in-council appointments. Minister Garneau said the appointment “will ensure continued good governance” at Via Rail.

The 2014 order-in-council authorizing Desjardins-Siciliano’s appointment as the head of Via listed his salary band as $255,200-$300,200.