JR Shaw

Chair, Calgary Campaign Alberta Heart Institute

After former deputy prime minister Don Mazankowski suffered a serious heart attack about 18 months ago that required major surgery, his good friend JR Shaw was spurred to action, raising more than $11 million for Edmonton's new Alberta Heart Institute to be named after Mazankowski. The Capital Health institute, due to open in 2007, has received more than $138 million from the provincial government and garnered more than $38 million in private donations, including that of the modest cable magnate. While the decision to name the health-care centre after a politician has drawn some criticism, attaching Mazankowski's name to the project has generated interest and donations from across the country. The founder of Shaw Communications is also chair of the board at Suncor Energy Inc. and a member of its board policy, strategy review and governance committee, and human resources and compensation committee. Shaw, 70, was recently awarded the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Regina. In May 2003, Shaw was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada for excellence in business and outstanding community involvement. - DH

What is the role of private donations in a publicly-funded health care system?
We all want to have centres of excellence and we always want to have the best health care. In health care, there are lineups and the list is long. I know that governments are stretched for health care and education and social programs as well as so many other areas. And I think sometimes as private individuals, companies, and so forth, we need to step up. The Alberta Heart Institute is one example in Edmonton, the Bone and Joint is another one in Calgary. I'd like to see Albertans have the best health care in Canada. I think my philosophy has always been that the more successful you are the more you give back to the community, whether it's health care or something else. I certainly was inspired by the Stollery Children's Hospital. You go up there. Stand in those operating rooms and watch the doctors stop those little kids' hearts, who are only a few days old. And the doctors do whatever they have to do.

Who do you think is the greatest Albertan ever?
I still have to come back to my friend, the Right Honorable Don Mazankowski. He's 25 years in the House of Commons, come out of a small town, started out with a car dealership, he and his brother. Minister of everything, deputy prime minister, hung in. Over this last two or three years in working I've never heard anybody say nothing but the highest regards for this man. Everything was positive no matter what party; party lines weren't there. I know he's a big Conservative and humble person… He's a very humble person and yet look at all his accomplishments and he's still a humble person… There's lots. I love what Ralph Klein's done. I think Ernest Manning was a good one. I think Grant McEwan was a good one. There's lots of good people but I just have to come to who I know best.

In 100 years, will you warrant your own chapter in the history books, a footnote to great events or a single Google hit?
I've had some opportunities and had some good people around and built two public companies from scratch and they employ about 10,000 to 11,000 people right now. It just blows me away. We did do our family history and we're giving it to every employee and it's a lot of pages that took 15,000 man hours to do. It's kind of a family history and a business history. That's where we're at. I can't believe how lucky and successful we are.