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CURRENT ISSUE VOLUME 19 NO. 4 JULY/AUGUST 2008
 Coming Down the Pipe
Brian Tobin talks about the proposed North American Energy Strategy.
By Dawn Chafe
Executive assistant Jennifer Cropley has a heck of a time keeping track of Brian Tobin's demanding schedule. The former journalist, Premier and federal Minister is out of the office as much as he's in. If he isn't flying to Los Angeles for a board meeting with Lions Gate Entertainment (producer of movies Crash and Saw), he could be fulfilling his chair duties for New Flyer Industries and Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Limited. Or, he might be convening with fellow directors at one of the other three publicly traded companies of which he's a board member. Then again, he could be doing his duty as strategic advisor to John Risley (Clearwater Fine Foods Inc.), Ken Mariash (Focus Equities) and Jean-Pierre Saurial (Dessau Soprin). He might even be at a speaking engagement arranged by his agents at The Lavin Agency and Speakers' Spotlight.
On the infrequent days when he's in his Toronto office at Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (he's a senior business advisor to the Canadian business law firm), Cropley says "the madness explodes." Poor Jennifer. Her job is about to get even harder.
In December 2006, Tobin joined The Fraser Institute as a Senior Fellow. For the next 18 months, he will work closely with staff at the public policy organization's Calgary-based Centre for Energy Policy Studies as well as with former Alberta Premier Ralph Klein to develop a continental energy strategy. By 'working closely', he means sifting through reams of technical papers, attending innumerable seminars and convening countless public forums as part of a cross-Canada consultation tour. It'll also mean collaborating with American energy policy experts and visiting the investment communities in Washington and New York.
And what a phenomenal success he has become. As president and CEO of Medavie Blue Cross, a position he has held since 2001, he leads more than 1,450 people who are directly employed by the health, travel, life and disability insurance provider, plus an additional 1,100 employees through its ambulance services. During his tenure, corporate revenue has grown an impressive 148 per cent and Medavie has been recognized as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers for three consecutive years. And it appears that Pierre-Yves is just warming up.
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