www.canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse 23
As a corporate function, we need to
continue to support our day-to-day operations
and, at the same time, we also have to ensure
the company prepares adequately to receive
its new fleet in 2022 and supports the Joint
Project Office in preparing investment options
for the Government of Canada's decision on
our High Frequency Rail project.
INHOUSE: In what ways does
your legal department support
the organization as a whole?
LEGAULT: As chief legal and risk officer and
corporate secretary, I lead a group of 15 legal
and risk professional staff. Our mission is to
support VIA Rail's operations and its transfor-
mational agenda by providing timely and
solution-driven legal and risk management
advice that is aligned with our strategic and
annual business objectives. The risk manage-
ment group aims to improve the integration of
risk culture and the decision-making process-
es of the organization by providing risk advice
that informs better business decisions. The
Enterprise Risk Management group also
maintains a risk register that monitors our key
operational risks based on established
appetites and tolerances.
Canada's leading in-house counsel discuss their
top priorities and challenges for 2020
TUNE IN NOW
VIEW
2020
presented by
canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse/videos
In the legal department, what we're trying
to do is embed lawyers in all our operations to
maximize the value of their advice through
their understanding of the VIA Rail business.
For example, we have lawyers assigned to
specific business units and their job is to
ensure those units are well served from a legal
risk perspective as we align their personal
objectives with the business objectives of their
internal client. That's how we ensure that
business units get quick and value-added
advice from the legal department. The legal
department also manages all commercial
and human rights litigation claims [and]
