OTTAWA,
Feb. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -
Claude Mongeau, president and chief
executive officer of CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE:CNI), says Canadian
business and governments must take bold steps to develop
world-class enterprises that will drive the nation's
competitiveness in global markets.
Mongeau, speaking to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce here
today, said Canada has many of the
critical resources the world needs, the capital and skills to add
value to them, and the transportation infrastructure to efficiently
get them to global markets.
But, to win its fair share of world markets, the nation needs
greater corporate innovation and productivity, buttressed by sound
public policies relying on commercial frameworks.
"The choice is clear - if Canada wants to truly succeed on a global
scale, we need an environment where businesses with vision can
innovate and thrive, and we all have to embrace change and look
forward, not backward."
Mongeau said the federal government's privatization of CN, a
willingness at CN to continually challenge conventional wisdom, and
the successful deregulation of the rail industry in Canada combined to drive the company's
remarkable transformation, from an industry laggard based largely
in Canada to a North American rail
leader.
That transformation journey began with CN's initial public share
offering in 1995 and was followed five acquisitions, C$8-billion worth, that gave the railway its
unique North American footprint.
CN's business model -- anchored on operational and service
excellence - put the company at the fore of the rail industry. The
next step in CN's journey is to become a true supply chain enabler
through collaboration, innovation, and continued productivity
gains.
Mongeau said: "There are success stories in Canada, but we need more of them. Because the
world is not standing still, we need to embrace change, not shy
away from it. We all need to raise our play because the game is
constantly getting more challenging.
"With sound public policy and a strong conviction within the
business world, together we can succeed by pursuing greater
innovation and productivity to ensure a bright and exciting
economic future for Canada."
CN - Canadian National Railway Company and its
operating railway subsidiaries - spans Canada and mid-America, from the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans to the Gulf of
Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince
Rupert, B.C., Montreal,
Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the key metropolitan areas
of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth,
Minn./Superior, Wis.,
Green Bay, Wis., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, St.
Louis, and Jackson, Miss.,
with connections to all points in North
America.
SOURCE CN