Effective today, significant amendments to the Canadian early warning reporting (EWR) regime (EWR Amendments) come into force. Here we focus on the new, more stringent requirements to describe the purpose of acquisitions.
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The year 2015 was significant for proxy contests in Canada, with a total of 55 contests, exceeding the previous record high of 43 contests set in 2009. Although the spike in the number of contests in 2015 may have been exceptional, coinciding with a period of economic downturn in Canada and continued deterioration in commodity markets, the number of activist contests has shown a relatively steady trend upward, from single digit occurrences in the early-to-mid 2000s to 30, 32 and 30 contests in 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively. Backed by these numbers, a consensus has formed that shareholder activism has established itself as a permanent feature in the landscape of Canadian corporate governance.
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More and more women are rising to the CFO spot at America's largest companies.
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Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN) has opened the enrollment process for
companies who meet the definition of a "Reporting Entity" under the Extractive Sector Transparency Measures Act (ESTMA). Reporting Entities can enrol by downloading a "reporting entity contact form"
which must be completed and submitted prior to submitting an ESTMA
report. Upon enrollment, Reporting Entities will receive an ID Number
and notification of new information published on NRCAN's website.
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At some firms - and the number is growing - shareholders can watch a meeting only online. No in-person attendance. They also can vote their shares and put company directors on the spot with pointed questions - all online.
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CFOs need to get up to speed on the procedures to ensure compliance.
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As the next step in its effort to improve the proxy voting infrastructure and vote reconciliation process, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has published CSA Multilateral Staff Notice 54-304 Final Report on Review of the Proxy Voting Infrastructure and Request for Comments on Proposed Meeting Vote Reconciliation Protocols (Final Report).
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Individual investors are angry about CEO pay, and they want their mutual fund firms to do something about it.
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Beleaguered Yahoo Inc. succumbed to pressure Wednesday agreeing to add to its board Jeffrey Smith, chief executive of activist hedge fund Starboard Value. But recent reports suggest that such activist attention is not a significant boon for hedge funds nor the companies targeted even as activism emerges as an important investment strategy.
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The New Brunswick Financial and Consumer Services Commission (FCNB), the Nova Scotia Securities Commission (NSSC) and the Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan (FCAA) announced today that they have each signed separate Counterparts to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to Enhance Supervision of Cross-Border Regulated Entities.
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