TRIEC Co-Chairs

RBC demonstrates their leadership by:

Acting as ambassadors

Since their appointment in 2009, Gord Nixon and Zabeen Hirji have chaired TRIEC. As ambassadors, they find opportunities to articulate the benefits of leveraging the skilled immigrant talent pool to audiences including the Vancouver Board of Trade; the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce; the learning exchange of urban leaders in Halifax; and more. Gord Nixon has also chaired the RBC diversity committee since its inception in 2001.

Telling the story

RBC has sponsored TRIEC’s Immigrant Success (IS) Awards since its launch in 2006. A core program at TRIEC, the IS Awards recognize innovation and leadership in integrating skilled immigrants into the Toronto Region labour market.

Getting involved

Zabeen has had a personal role in TRIEC since its creation. She chaired the employer promising practices working group, which evolved into hireimmigrants.ca. RBC also sponsored the financial services sector room at The Power of Networking with Mike Lipkin, a TRIEC event that attracted 500 skilled immigrants seeking to establish and advance their careers in Canada.

Leading by example

RBC has long been a leader on diversity, which is outlined as one of the company’s five core values. RBC annually produces the RBC Diversity Blueprint, a comprehensive, public statement of the organization’s priorities and objectives.

The bank has also moved into action. RBC has established a visible minority advisory board with a focus on skilled immigrants. The organization has also developed partnerships with local programs to connect with immigrant talent pool: RBC has hired over 100 skilled immigrants through ACCES and hosted 40 interns through Career Bridge in 2010 and hired 60 per cent of them. Hiring practices have been augmented by the creation and implementation of a bias-free interviewing guide. Most recently RBC has piloted a skilled immigrant loan program.

Gordon Nixon was awarded the Order of Ontario in 2007. In 2010, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. In 2011, he was recognized by the Public Policy Forum.

In 2010, Zabeen Hirji was named Corporate Executive of the Year by Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce.

• National Post: Commitment to diversity, February 3, 2012
• RBC Poll: Newcomers face underemployment challenges, June 27, 2011
• HRReporter.com: Top performers recognized for leveraging skilled immigrant talent, March 9, 2011
• Globe and Mail: Immigrants vital to innovation: RBC chief, October 28, 2010 
• Toronto Star: Access helped her get restarted at a bank, Apr 19, 2010
• Globe and Mail: How RBC became a champion of diversity, Mar 23, 2010
• Canwest News: Diversity requires more than policies, practices, programs, Dec 4, 2009
• Canadian Immigrant Magazine: Interview with Zabeen Hirji, TRIEC Co-Chair, Nov 2009
• Financial Times: Ethnic diversity: ‘New Canadians’ expand markets, Oct 13, 2009
• Globe and Mail: Nixon and D’Alessandro: Skilled immigrants are the key to business success, Sept 11, 2009
• News release: TRIEC Announces Gordon M. Nixon and Zabeen Hirji as Co-Chairs, Sept 10, 2009
• Globe and Mail: Hiring skilled immigrants good for the economy: RBC’s Nixon, Sept 10, 2009
• Toronto Star: The right fit, Sept 4, 2008  

• Immigrant labour market outcomes in Canada: The benefits of addressing wage and employment gaps, 2011
• RBC Diversity Progress Report, 2009
• The Diversity Advantage: A Case for Canada's 21st Century Economy, 2005

• Gordon Nixon on “MaRS, Jobs, Banks and Small Business,” October 28, 2010
• Gordon Nixon on Joint Dinner of the Greater Halifax Partnership and the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration, May 5, 2010
• Gordon Nixon on TRIEC Council Meeting, Sept 10, 2010
• Gordon Nixon on Building a Nation: Canada’s Immigrant & Diversity Imperative, Oct 10, 2006
• Gordon Nixon on Canada’s Diversity Imperative: 2010 and Beyond, May 10, 2006
• Gordon Nixon on The Diversity Advantage: Remarks, Oct 20, 2005