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FACILITYCalgary May 27/25

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FACILITYCalgary publisher Mark Kolke, in conversation with Len Coad
 
UPDATE:  April/2013 ... Len Coad left The Conference Board of Canada to take up a position at the Canada West Foundation where he is Director of the Centre for Natural Resources Policy

  
 
February 5, 2013 
 
My recent conversation with Len Coad, Director of Energy, Environment and Technology Policy with The Conference Board of Canada was illuminating – but not in ways I expected. I often find conversation with interesting people interest me most when we talk about things that are outside the mainstream of what they do for a living every day – fascinated by that of course – but I really enjoy what it is they do for a life, which often gives me a deeper insight to even the most conservative, private and straight-laced folks – which is a label that aptly fits Len.
 
He manages a team, does research, convenes meetings and events with industry partners. And he reads a ton – all on his Toshiba tablet which he recommends (I’m shopping for one) over e-readers like Kobo, Kindle etc. because of the substantial amount of free material out there (ie: http://www.gutenberg.ca ) and his desire to access material without being a captive of someone’s proprietary product.
 
I like that thinking …
 
And we argued about P3s (Public Private Partnerships). We’ll have to continue that argument. I think he’s been talking to too many government folks and maybe I’ve been talking too much to industry players . . . so, we’ll talk (and maybe argue some more) again soon to swap war-stories and pratfalls.  I’d like that.
 
Len writes reports, lots, and travels lots, at least 1 week each month. 
 
I was entertained last week at his beltline office – where I learned that, like me, he is substantially a Highway 2 guy. Born in Taber, raised in Calgary (graduated high school at Beaverbrook just like I did), B.A. in Economics at U of A, M.A. at U of C.
 
Meanwhile, I’ll share some highlights from that conversation . . .

 
 

 

I asked Len how he sees the market, over the next 90 days, an over the next 5 years?
… I don’t know. I’m not an economist, I’m a policy wonk! In the next  90 days I expect the U.S. will sort out what it wants its fiscal future to be, and in 5 years I believe they will sort out their fiscal mess.
 
Work/life balance – what is at the core of it for you?
. . . The ONLY thing that really matters is family. Wife of 36 years, 3 kids … 33, 31 and 24 – and five grandchildren which means vacations are spent in Calgary or Victoria. Winter camping. Hiking. Music. I play some piano, some guitar – eclectic tastes, listen to classical and blues. No hip hop. No Opera.
 
What keeps you up at night, what do you worry about?
. . . the wide gulf between policies and politics. Sustainability. Policies for GHG (greenhouse gases) public clamour around oilsands. I worry that our response to pressures on the environment are inadequate. I worry about how much longer it will take for Canada’s resource extraction industries to get ahead of their environmental responsibilities.
 
Any significant sea-change moments that changed your life?
. . . speed-reading course many years ago – best thing I’ve ever learned
 
What are you reading?
. . . lots, non-fiction, work related, energy, environment – everything on my tablet.  When I read fiction, on vacations, I read classic literature – Dickens, Dostoevsky, 19th century American writers
 
His ride?
. . . 2010 Mazda A3
 
Thanks Len … I look forward to our next exchange.

 


  
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