Years ago, it was customary for Canadian bank CEOs and other senior business executives to opine candidly to shareholders and clients on public policy challenges facing Canada. As public attitudes and moods evolved, and because of deference to political correctness and woke trends or business prudence, executives became more circumspect, and interventions diminished in frequency and depth. Speeches adopted the word salad approach of many politicians, tilting to prevailing winds of likes and dislikes, while avoiding messages that might be construed as controversial or insensitive. Refreshingly, RBC’s CEO Dave McKay broke the conventional cone of silence recently in remarks to the Canadian Club in Toronto when he declared flatly that Canada is “definitely on the wrong path” and “we’ve got to make fundamental change to get back on the (right) track.” He cited specifically the need for a more competitive tax regime and a tighter relationship with the U.S.