On October 5, 2017, the staff of securities regulatory authorities (SRA) in Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Yukon published CSA Multilateral Staff Notice 58-309, Staff Review of Women on Boards and in Executive Officer Positions – Compliance with NI 58-101 Disclosure of Corporate Governance Practices. The Staff Notice provides this year’s summary of the disclosure reviewed by the SRA relating to the Women on Boards and in Executive Positions Rules (WB/EP Rules).

The WB/EP Rules require that, on an annual basis, each non-venture issuer disclose:

  • the number and percentage of women on the issuer’s board of directors and in executive officer positions;
  • whether it has a policy relating to the identification and nomination of women directors;
  • whether it has director term limits or other mechanisms of board renewal;
  • whether it has targets for women on its board and in its executive officer positions; and
  • if it considers the representation of women in its director identification and selection process and in its executive officer appointments.

The Staff Notice focused on the disclosure of 660 TSX-listed issuers with year-ends between December 31, 2016 and March 31, 2017, who had filed information circulars or annual information forms by July 31, 2017. This is down from the 722 issuers who provided disclosure as part of the 2015 initial review. The SRA noted that Canadian banks, who are often early adopters of diversity programs, are not included in this summary. This is the third such annual review to have taken place.Continue Reading CSA Review of Women on Boards and in Executive Officer Positions

Disclosure requirements regarding the representation of women on boards and in senior management adopted in Alberta

The Adoption

On December 15, 2016 the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) adopted amendments to National Instrument 58-101 Disclosure of Corporate Governance Practices (NI 58-101) and Form 58-101F1 Corporate Governance Disclosure (together with NI 58-101, Amendments

Women’s roles on boards of directors and in executive officer positions has been an important topic of discussion in Canada and globally as well over several years. Recently, steps have been taken to require more disclosure and information from certain larger public companies based in Canada. This is to give potential investors more information about

On September 28, 2015 ten members of the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA members), including the Ontario Securities Commission, released Multilateral Staff Notice 58-307 (Staff Notice) entitled Staff Review of Women on Boards and in Executive Officer Positions – Compliance with National Instrument 58-101 Disclosure of Corporate Governance Practices (NI 58-101