One-on-one with The Right Honourable Paul Martin
Following the Queen's School of Business MBA convocation ceremony, Mr. Martin graciously agreed to be interviewed by new MBA grad Erin Borgfjord Ayres. The following is a condensed account of their conversation, with highlights from his Convocation address.
On doing the right thing
If you are asked to push the envelope past where you believe you should, remember there is no asset you will ever possess that is greater than your own integrity and your reputation.
On ethics and the sub-prime mortgage meltdown
When I left the shipping business in 1988 to run for public office, I was at the cutting edge of derivatives, interest rate swaps and the financial instruments of that time. And I knew them well and was comfortable with them.
When I left government some 20 years later... I was absolutely amazed at how these financial instruments had changed. When the sub-prime mortgage crisis hit, I couldn’t believe how the practices of 20 years earlier had been distorted with things like synthetic derivatives. The instruments that had had an economic and social purpose no longer did, and the financial industry, which really should be an intermediary for other industries to raise money and function, had become an end unto itself.
Career options for new grads – public service or private sector?
I hope that some of today’s grads will think about a career in the Public Service. When Queen’s Chancellor David Dodge was Deputy Minister of Finance and later Governor of the Bank of Canada, we would debate the issues of the day. We always ended up agreeing that there was nothing that compared to the implementation of public policy, unless it was developing public policy.
Meanwhile many people in the private sector are doing a huge amount of good. There isn’t a United Way, hospital or university fundraising campaign that doesn’t have business people at the heart of it.
So you can be in business and continue to contribute to society. While I believe very strongly in public service, you can do an enormous amount of good in the private sector, which has its own great benefits as well. If you’re working at expanding jobs and building the economy, you’re helping an enormous amount.