Policy Paper by the Institute for Governance (IGOPP)
MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Nov. 5, 2015) - The board of the Institute for Governance (IGOPP) unanimously approved a Policy paper on Proxy Access by Shareholders to the Director Nomination Process.
The prerogative to nominate the members of the board, which has historically been the sole responsibility of boards of directors, has now been challenged by institutional funds determined to acquire the right, under certain conditions, to nominate their own candidates.
A Working group made up of the IGOPP board members, chaired by Dr. Yvan Allaire, has examined all arguments in support and against the Proxy Access and concluded that shareholder proxy access is ill advised and may have a negative impact on governance practices. Therefore, IGOPP is opposed to the process whereby shareholders may nominate director candidates.
Shareholder access to the director nomination process brings forth a host of issues related to board dynamics and governance, for instance:
However, IGOPP recommends that the nomination/governance committee of the board implement a robust consultation process with the corporation's significant shareholders and report in the annual Management Information Circular on the process and criteria adopted for nominating any new director. The committee should also report on how the company is complying with the guidelines of the Canadian Securities Administrators' Policy Statement 58-201.
The IGOPP's policy paper is available at www.igopp.org
Members of IGOPP's board who have participated on the working group:
Yvan Allaire, PhD (MIT), FRSC |
Chair of the Working group |
Executive Chair, IGOPP |
Andrew Molson |
Chair |
RES PUBLICA Consulting Group |
Robert Parizeau |
Chairman |
Fonds de solidarité FTQ |
Guylaine Saucier |
Corporate Director |
François Dauphin, MBA, CPA, CMA |
Working group Secretary |
Director of Research, IGOPP |
Contact Information: