IR Leader
March 03, 2015
Looking to take your career to the next level? Accelerate your career and expand your network with the CIRI/Ivey Investor Relations Certification Program.

"I thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from the CIRI/Ivey Investor Relations Certification Program. It gave me the opportunity to connect with IR professionals from across Canada, in addition to learning from the highly regarded faculty at the Ivey Business School.  I took away something meaningful from every session."
      Nathalie Megann
      Director, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
      Chorus Aviation Inc.

Registrations are now being accepted for the next session, beginning September 2015. Click here for more information on the Belle Mulligan Scholarship and the application requirements. The deadline to apply for the 2015-2016 class is July 15, 2015.

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Top Stories

Significant Changes to Canada's Exempt Market Effective May 5, 2015: Implications for Issuers and Dealers, as well as for Retail Investors

The increased pace of regulatory change experienced over the last few years appears poised to continue during 2015, along with the Canadian Securities Administrators' (CSA) focus on enhancing protections for retail investors. The CSA recently finalized and released important amendments to National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus and Registration Exemptions (to be retitled National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions) as well as the Companion Policy to NI 45-106 (NI 45-106 and P45-106) and other related instruments.

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TSX Proposes Amendments to Reduce Regulatory Burden for Interlisted Issuers

As of November 30, 2014, of the over 1500 issuers listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX"), 332 were listed on another exchange or marketplace. On January 22, 2015, the TSX announced proposed amendments (the "Amendments") to the TSX Company Manual (the "Manual") to modify, expand and formalize the exemptions currently available to issuers that are listed on two or more exchanges or marketplaces ("Interlisted Issuers").

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Proxy Voting in Canada Needs Modernization

On January 29, 2015, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) released Staff Notice 54-303 Progress Report on Review of the Proxy Voting Infrastructure (the "Report"), detailing the progress the CSA has made in its review of the proxy voting infrastructure and outlining the next steps for reform. The Report confirms that the current proxy voting infrastructure is fragmented and needs to be modernized and improved.

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Canada's Enhanced Corporate Responsibility Strategy: Comply Or Risk Losing Government Support Abroad

With interests in more than 8,000 properties in more than 100 countries, Canadian extractive-industry companies account for almost half of the world's mining and mineral exploration activity.

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Are We Closer to Fixing the Proxy Voting System?

The integrity of the shareholder vote is a cornerstone of shareholder democracy for public companies. Shareholders' ability to "have their say" is exercised at shareholder meetings largely through proxy voting, which is a fundamental feature in our capital markets. The layers of depositaries and intermediaries for beneficial ownership are viewed by many as a necessary evil. To facilitate the complexities and the sheer number of market participants involved in proxy voting, an accurate, reliable and accountable infrastructure must be in place for a fair and efficient capital market.

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2015 Canadian Proxy Season - New Requirements and Continuing Trends

Annual meeting season for Canadian public companies starts soon. What new requirements and continuing trends will companies face in 2015? This update discusses some of them.

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SEC Official Wants 'Eye-Catching' Corporate Disclosure

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s investor advocate said he wants the agency to focus on improving disclosures and making them accessible to millennials.

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SEC Official Calls for Review of Electronic Proxy Delivery Rules

Federal rules that let companies deliver proxy voting materials electronically may be depressing retail investor participation in elections and should be reviewed, a top U.S. securities regulator said Thursday.

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SEC Commissioner Suggests Giving Universal Proxy Ballot Access

Two commissioners at the Securities and Exchange Commission discussed the merits and drawbacks of giving the same ballot to shareholders who do not attend meetings as to those who do attend.

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The OSC's Proposed Whistleblower Program

On February 3, 2015, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) released Staff Consultation Paper 15-401. The OSC proposed a whistleblower program aimed at encouraging individuals with high quality information regarding serious misconduct to come forward. The program would fall under the Enforcement Branch, independent of the Inquiries and Contact Centre which currently accepts tips about possible breaches of securities laws without incentives or awards. Modeled after a similar program administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States, the OSC's program would be, if implemented, a first for Canada's securities regulators.

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40 Percent of Institutional Investors Believe Say-on-Pay Votes Don't Matter

The Stanford Graduate School of Business study reveals dissatisfaction among investors with proxy statements.

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Activist Investors Actually Protect the Status Quo

Shareholder activism can lull us into a false sense of security and make us forget that there are bigger corporate governance fish to fry.

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Overwhelming Majority of Say-on-Pay Proposals Continue to Garner Support

The overall say-on-pay proportions for 2014 are not substantially different from those in prior years, with the overwhelming majority of companies easily getting majority support on say-on-pay proposals.

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