The Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG), a Toronto-based institutional shareholder advocacy group, has recognized three public companies for exceptional proxy disclosure in the 2015 edition of its best practices for issuers.
Published on Thursday, the 2015 Best Practices for Proxy Circular Disclosure details examples of high-quality disclosure by Canadian issuers concerning their corporate governance and executive compensation, among other things.
“The proxy circular is the primary means for a company to communicate its corporate governance practices to its shareholders. Shareholders expect the circular to articulate, in plain language, the governance practices and activities of the board, the qualifications of directors, and the issuer’s executive compensation programs and risk management strategy, including how the company’s compensation plan is linked to the company’s strategy and objectives,” the best practices document says.
The firms singled out for exceptional proxy disclosure include: Methanex Corp. for its disclosure of board governance practices and director qualifications; Finning International Inc. for its executive compensation disclosure; and Canadian Western Bank for disclosure of both its governance practices and its approach to executive compensation by a small-cap issuer.
The CCGG, which represents institutional investors that collectively manage approximately $3 trillion in assets for pension funds, mutual funds, and other investors, has been publishing best practices in various areas since 2004. It aims to promote good governance practices in Canadian public companies in an effort to better align the interests of corporate directors, management and shareholders.