Volume 55, Number 1, 1987

EN:

In 1936, Mr. Victor Barbeau published Mesure de notre taille, which depicted a rather bleak portrait of French Canadian business. In 1956, Mr. Jacques Melançon took up this study from a different perspective - the situation, aside from very few exceptions, had remained virtually unchanged: businesses owned by French Canadian interests were small or medium-sized and skills were limited or not put to good use. The general public did not understand that the future for French Canadians, as regards individual or group ventures, was in their members though, at the time, this seemed to matter only at election time. French Canadians on the boards of major companies were few and far between. As a group, they were very often referred to as the French Canadian serving class. But, things have changed. This is the theme of Mr. Melançon's most interesting update of his 1956 study. We are pleased to present his work which plots the progress made by French Canadians in recent years. Rather than examine the obstacles encountered, the author presents the accomplishments made through the education, experience, skills and capital which French Canadians have finally pooled together and put to productive use. At the corporate level, the most outstanding illustrations of this success are the National Bank of Canada, Provigo, The Laurentian Group and several large engineering, legal and chartered accountants' firms. We must not forget Bombardier which, from its humble beginnings as a snowmobile manufacturer, is now building subway trains and locomotives and will soon be building aircrafts.

EN:

We are pleased to once again present an article by Mr. Roger Comtois who has accepted our invitation to give us an assessment of the co-ownerhsip regime, fifteen years after the adoption of the Act relating thereto on the eve of a reform in this area. ln his article, our collaborator presents the difficulties encountered by the experts in this field, recommends solutions and, lastly, reviews the jurisprudence relevent to the declaration of co-ownership.

EN:

Discussing the challenges of the Property and Casualty insurance industry in 1986 is in itself a challenge. Indeed, the insurance industry is currently undergoint major changes. Whether a broker or an insurer, it is difficult for anyone to give an accurate prediction of the market's evolution in Canada over the next few years. In an attempt to pinpoint some of the major problems which we may face in the future, the author has provided a brief retrospective of our industry. Mr. Parizeau examines the insurer and insurance broker concentration and the evolution of the reinsurance market; he concludes with a look at some aspects of the relationship between the industry and Government authorities.

FR:

Le ministre d’État aux Finances a présenté ce qu’il est convenu d’appeler un Livre Blanc à la Chambre des Communes, le 18 décembre 1986. Par opposition au Livre Vert, le premier indique l’intention du gouvernement de proposer un certain nombre de modifications apportées à la pratique ou à une loi déjà existante. Dans le cas présent, il s’agit d’un certain nombre de mesures que le ministre présentera officiellement à la Chambre des Communes au sujet des institutions financières. On entend par là aussi bien les banques que les sociétés de fiducie ou d’assurances. Parmi les mesures, l’une exige d’être d’abord mentionée, c’est-à-dire comme la province de Québec l’a fait déjà, la création d’un service nouveau, dirigé par l’Inspecteur général des Institutions financières, qui groupe des surintendants pour les banques, les sociétés de fiducie et les compagnies d’assurances qui ressortissent au contrôle fédéral. M. Robey, en collaboration avec les membres du comité technique du groupe Sodarcan, a préparé le résumé du Livre Blanc, en rappelant surtout les directives qui s’appliqueront à ces trois groupes d’institutions au Canada. Nous lui laissons la parole.

EN:

Mr. Didier Lluelles, lawyer, examines the scope of the additional insurance endorsement which makes it possible to maintain in force life insurance policies without payment of premiums, in the event of the insured's disability. With the permission of the author and of the journal Thémis, we are pleased to present Mr. Lluelles' text. Unfortunately, space constraints do not allow us to reproduce the foot-notes which followed the article. These may, however, be found in the abovementioned journal, volume 20, number 3.

EN:

In a speech to the Amos Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Gérald Laberge exposed the problems the insurance market must face. He agreed with the fact that, at first sight, certain explanations are difficult to grasp if one is unaware of the facts. The problems the market must contend with may be traced to fierce competition which, during the three or four years preceding the upward adjustments and premiums implemented from late 1985 to today, have resulted in substantial reductions in premiums, while the situation went from bad to worse. The decrease in rates no longer reflected the situation and monetary inflation, legal inflation, certain lenghty suits coupled with such factors as the rise in interest rates and legal costs and the increasingly generous treatment of victims by courts made matters worse. Mr. Laberge cites several cases where premiums, even when increased substantially, were comparable to their level before the wave of unjustified premium reductions swept in.

EN:

The economic outlook for 1987 is, to some extent, a continuity of 1986: moderate growth, high unemployment and very volatile financial markets. To better understand the 1987 forecast, the author presents a brief retrospective of the economic and financial highlights of 1986. In general, the Canadian economy is expected to continue growing at a moderate rate of 3 %. Yields on financial markets should remain interesting although, given the highly volatile markets, these yields will not be any easier to earn than in 1986.