INTERVIEW Does the Canadian culture have an influ-ence on business? Canada is a welcoming country that appreciates and knows how to inte-grate people into an extraordinari-ly open society that values and fos-ters diversity. The concept of being a foreigner barely exists because almost everyone or their immediate family has been one at some point. But it is important not to confuse a welcoming disposition with trust, which is critical in business. Earning trust and maintaining it requires tremendous efforts. In a tight knit sector, reputation is everything. For example, if you make a mistake in Calgary, it will have an impact on your business in Toronto. So how do you achieve and maintain that reputation? Local partners help us navigate and better understand our differ-ences, for example, such as in places like French-speaking Quebec and the Canadian side with British roots. ACCIONA used to hire many expatriates, and though talented, they often came with steep and expensive learning curves. We are now focussed on foster-ing permanent local teams. We, as a company, share a sustainable vision that is the essence of Canada. It has been reflected in our infrastructure commitment from the first project in 2001 with the Deep Lake Water Cooling: a water-cooling system that serves one hundred buildings in the Toronto financial centre, saving 90% of energy. In addition, we’ve built five wind farms, signature bridges like the Walterdale Bridge in Edmonton, a single span iconic bridge that has improved traffic flow and connects the city, nature, and people; Sustainable mobility through subway system extensions, social service with two hospitals, or Site C, one of the most signif-icant hydroelectric projects in North America. These are carefully AN OPEN, WELCOMING COUNTRY THAT FOSTERS DIVERSITY AND INTEGRATION AND DOESN’T SEE THE POINT IN USING THE WORD ‘FOREIGNER’