IR Leader
June 25, 2019

Excellent Conference Attendance as IR Community Gathers to Discuss IR & How It's Evolving

A big thank you to all our speakers, sponsors, exhibitors and attendees who contributed to our very successful 32nd Annual Conference. We had a fantastic turnout in Halifax with over 200 delegates. If you attended, you will have received a reminder to complete the evaluation form in the Conference app. Please don't forget to fill this out. It’s instrumental in our planning for an even better Conference next year! Look out for our Conference webcast archives and photos available soon.

Mark your calendars for #CIRI20 because we are headed to Calgary June 7-9! Stay tuned for more details this fall.
| Complete Article |




Summer's Here! Time to Catch Up on Your Reading!

Do you have a list of books and articles that you've been saving to read over the summer? Well don't forget to add IR leader and IR focus to the list! The article titles from the 2019 issues are listed below so you can add them to your 'summer reading' list. (Please note that these are member-only publications. You will need to be logged in to access them.)

IR focus Issue 1, 2019:  An Investor Relations Perspective on Share Buybacks
IR focus Issue 2, 2019:  How Do You Measure Success? An IRO's Guide to Objective Setting

IR leader Issue 1, 2019 Articles:
     Acing the Test: IROs Respond to ESG Questionnaires
     New Definition of 'Material' for Financial Reporting
     In 2019, Gender Diversity in the Boardroom is a Given
     Who Are Your Internal Stakeholders? Leading IROs Weigh In
     From ESG to GES: The Evolution of Sustainability Governance

IR leader Issue 2, 2019 Articles:
     Cannabis Companies: A Smoking Hot Opportunity for Canadian IROs?
     Business Acquisitions Guidance Impacts Issuers
     It Isn't the Wild West Anymore: Cannabis Companies Need to Play by the Rules
     Shifting Strategy: Perspectives of an IRO

The next issues of IR focus and IR leader will be published in late August and early September respectively.

| Complete Article |

Top Stories

Final Report of the Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance

Canada has a strong, diversified and resource-rich economy; a world-leading financial sector; and excellent capacity for innovation. By harnessing these advantages, Canada can be among the leaders in the global transition to a low-emissions future, as a trusted source of climate-smart solutions, expertise and investment. Realizing this ambition will require a committed alliance between business, government and civil society; and determined investment. This Final Report is about mobilizing financial services to deliver the investment, ingenuity and influence needed to realize Canada's leadership opportunity and secure a sustainable economic future.

| View Original |

How Do You Measure the 'Sustainability' of an Investment?

More than a quarter of assets under management globally are now being invested with the environment, social and governance factors in mind.

| View Original |

Managing Conflicts of Interest in Soliciting Dealer Arrangements

The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada ("IIROC") recently released a guidance note (the "Guidance Note") addressing conflicts of interest arising from the use of soliciting dealer arrangements in various circumstances, including take-over bids, plans of arrangement and proxy contests.

| View Original |

How GRI Targets Common Language for ESG Reporting

Tom Whittles, senior media relations manager at the Global Reporting Initiative, tells Debbie Miller how the ESG reporting framework was developed and how it should be used.

| View Original |

Fee Pilot Debates Reignite at NIRI and CIRI Conferences

Transaction-fee pilot and CSA fee pilot once again prove contentious at North American IR conferences.

| View Original |

Ethical Investing Has Reached a Tipping Point

Environmental, social and governance considerations are finally moving into the mainstream.

| View Original |

Why Does My Investor Relations Manager Need to Be in This Meeting?

For public companies, whenever there is a change in leadership for whatever reason, an issue that must be addressed is whether the company needs to make a public filing disclosing the change. The company should evaluate the disclosure both from a regulatory compliance standpoint and an investor relations standpoint, carefully considering both the tone and content of the disclosure.

| View Original |

ESG Engagement Widespread Among Governance Pros, Study Finds

Most corporate governance professionals, particularly at larger companies, are now dealing directly with investors on ESG-related matters - underlining the importance of the area for shareholder engagement, a new study shows.

| View Original |

CSA Business Plan 2019-2022

The CSA priorities over the next three-year period intend to reflect the CSA members' commitment toward the continued protection of investors from unfair, improper and fraudulent practices, the ongoing efficient functioning of capital markets and the reduction of risks to market integrity and maintaining investor confidence in the markets.

| View Original |

Fixing the Securities Industry Plumbing - The CSA Announce Plans for a New Issuer Electronic Filing System to be Operational by 2021

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) recently announced their progress in developing a new integrated national information and filing system (referred to as the Renewed System), which would replace existing electronic filing systems, including the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR), the System for Electronic Disclosure by Insiders (SEDI), the National Registration Database (NRD) and the various provincial online filing portals.

| View Original |

OSC Staff Notice 43-706 – Pre-filing Review of Mining Technical Disclosure

In November 2018 the Ontario Securities Commission (the OSC) created a burden reduction task force to refocus our efforts on reducing unnecessary regulatory burden. Consultations were launched on January 14, 2019 with the publication of OSC Staff Notice 11-784 Burden Reduction. One of the issues that emerged from our consultations as a burden on reporting issuers in the mining sector is the uncertainty caused by the potential for technical disclosure issues to be identified during a short form prospectus offering. Given the typical timeline of a short form prospectus offering, any delay can be potentially disruptive and costly. To reduce the execution risk for reporting issuers and dealers engaged in transactions under a short form prospectus and to expedite the prospectus review, we encourage public mining issuers to utilize the prospectus pre-filing process to request a review of the issuer's publicly filed technical disclosure in advance of filing a preliminary short form prospectus.

| View Original |

Why Integrating ESG Principles Into Investors' Portfolios Makes Sense

Canada's investment landscape has surpassed a major milestone, with more than half of total assets under management now invested in accordance with environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles - and there is no end in sight for this growing trend.

| View Original |