Message from the Chair

My role as Chair of the Board of Directors of Defence Construction Canada (DCC, or the Corporation) began in June 2008, and I am honoured to work with such a dedicated and talented Board. My predecessor, John McLure, was instrumental in ensuring that DCC’s Board embraced and acted on the various corporate governance initiatives established by the Government of Canada.

During my tenure, I intend to build upon this legacy by continuing to ensure that the corporate governance practices of DCC’s Board of Directors and of DCC itself remain appropriate for the organization. In addition, the Board will continue to keep abreast of relevant current and emerging best corporate governance practices, in both the private and public sectors, and will provide guidance to DCC in this area.

To that end, DCC’s Board is committed to overseeing DCC’s implementation of the applicable measures that arose out of a 2005 Treasury Board document, Review of the Governance Framework for Canada’s Crown Corporations— Meeting the Expectations of Canadians. In March 2009, DCC held its first annual public meeting, pursuant to one of the measures noted in that document.

DCC continues to enjoy significant growth in response to the increasing infrastructure requirements of the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Forces (CF). Our employee base increased by 28% over the past year and human resources management issues remain a key focus for the Board, as recruiting new hires with the right training and experience is a constant challenge. Our most significant upcoming human resources issue will be the selection of a new CEO to replace Ross Nicholls, to whom I am particularly grateful for his guidance and assistance during my first year as Chair.

DCC provides a wide variety of services to DND/CF as the delivery agent for government defence projects and in 2008-09 all its service lines have seen increased demand. The Board has been impressed by the ability of DCC’s executive management and employees to embrace the challenges of complex, multi-disciplinary projects and is confident of the Corporation’s future success.

This confidence comes from the various stewardship activities that the Board performed in 2008–09, in particular the Board’s review of DCC’s 2009–10 to 2013–14 Corporate Plan. This Plan incorporated the results of the 2008 Special Examination by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) as well as those of various internal audits conducted over the year.

The Board is also responsible for the stewardship of the Corporation. The Board is able to evaluate DCC’s identification of the principal risks facing the Corporation and I believe DCC is taking appropriate steps to improve upon its people, processes and systems in order to continue to fulfill its mandate.

I believe this is so because Ross Nicholls, as President and CEO of DCC, ensured that the organization maintained a culture where employees are solution oriented and committed to serving the needs of DND and the CF. As President and CEO for over 13 years, with a strong leadership style and high expectations of his staff, Ross shaped DCC into what it is today: a nimble and agile entity that can deliver whatever is asked of it. On behalf of DCC’s Board of Directors, I would like to acknowledge Ross’s exceptional contribution to the success of DCC and to wish him the rewarding retirement he deserves.

The tumultuous financial events of the past year have re-taught all of us the lesson that one cannot be complacent, rely on past tactics to confront future challenges and obsess about today at the expense of having a future-based perspective. I assure you that DCC is a forward-looking Corporation, proactively seeking innovative people, technologies and practices to create an exciting and challenging future with our client, DND and the CF.

Robert Presser
Chair of the Board of Directors