Montreal's Top Employers (2025) - Flipbook - Page 36
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MONTRÉAL’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2025)
Laurentian Pilotage Authority sails an inclusive course
J
ulie Bédard was ready
for a new challenge and
excited by the potential for
teamwork when she joined
the Laurentian Pilotage
Authority (LPA) in 2023 —
and she wasn’t disappointed.
“You can be surrounded by people but if you don’t interact with
each other, you’re not working as
a team, you’re just working with a
team — there’s a big difference,”
says the chief operating officer,
who has over 25 years’ experience
in the marine transport industry.
Bédard thrives on teamwork — a
necessity for the marine pilotage
administrator to safely navigate
the St. Lawrence and Saguenay
rivers.
“We’re offering safe and efficient
travel on the St. Lawrence River,
and to make that possible everybody has to play a role,” she says.
“When you have the puck, if you
don’t pass it to the right person, it
has an impact.”
Every move a team member
makes can have a ripple effect
on a voyage — from dispatch to
steering — so good communication is key to success. To facilitate
that kind of teamwork Bédard has
taken an inclusive approach to
operations.
“I’m really proud when I see
the respect they have for each
other’s expertise and how we work
together to be stronger,” she says.
Bédard has also observed
how, when every employee feels
seen and respected, the impacts
on their career trajectory are
multiplied.
“In the last year we’ve been able
to discover emerging talents and
fields of interest among our team
members simply by including,
listening and observing,” Bédard
explains.
Inclusivity is also the focus of a
new optimization project at LPA
led by Bédard. Being a small team
with a lot of responsibility, the
company aims to improve operations using an inclusive approach
to “work smarter, not harder,” as
Bédard describes it.
Regardless of her decades of
experience, Bédard’s process
involves going back to basics, consulting with every team member
to understand their roles.
“I discovered that everyone
wants the same thing — to perform their best and be seen.”
LPA’s investment in inclusion
goes beyond the organization to
benefit the marine transportation
industry in the entire province by
awarding up to $10,000 in equity,
diversity and inclusion (EDI)
scholarships annually to students
from the Institut maritime du
Québec.
The scholarships are awarded
to students who have overcome
concerns related to EDI in the
course of their personal or
academic development and have
demonstrated leadership related
to these issues.
As a small organization,
everyone is very accessible
and aware of barriers.
We’re all experts in our
fields and respected as
such.
— Benjamin Fouchard
Communications Advisor
Benjamin Fouchard, communications advisor, at Laurentian Pilotage Authority.
“It’s important to encourage
these students to pursue their
dreams,” says communications
advisor Benjamin Fouchard, who
is on the selection committee.
“Many have been passionate
about the maritime world since
they were very young,” he says.
“However, since the school is in
a remote area, it can take a lot of
motivation, character and cost to
pursue.”
The financial support from LPA
helps alleviate financial concerns
so people from all backgrounds
can persevere in their maritime
