Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) Thursday announced that it has received notice of approval from the Ontario Securities Commission to proceed with amendments to TSX Company Manual that relate to how a listed issuer elects its board of directors.
The new rules include requirements for issuers to elect directors annually, to elect directors individually, to publicly disclose the votes received for the election of each director, to disclose if they have adopted a majority voting policy for uncontested director elections and to disclose to TSX if a director receives a majority of “withhold” votes, if they do not have a majority voting policy.
The amended rules will become effective on December 31.
“These changes bring additional transparency to the board selection process and help to strengthen our markets’ reputation while aligning our practices to other major international jurisdictions,” says Kevan Cowan, president, TSX Markets and group head of equities, TMX Group.
TSX also announced today that it is seeking comment on additional proposed amendments to the TSX Company Manual that would require issuers to have majority voting for uncontested director elections. As proposed, TSX issuers could adopt a majority voting policy to satisfy the requirement. The comment period ends on November 5.