Governance Deep-Dive for Public Issuers in Canada

This morning session is designed to tackle some of the issues that have the greatest impact on your overall governance effectiveness as a public issuers.

Join us as our speakers take a critical look at the current regulatory environment, compliance and risk, disclosure requirements and review best practices related to listed company governance.

We will take a look at the current regulatory landscape, existing, new and upcoming guidelines and requirements that you need to be aware of. This overview will also delve into the compliance work and impact for your organization. What do you need to disclose and how?

With guidance of our experts, you will have the opportunity to also take back some useful tools to clean up and refresh the language of your disclosure documents. Using clear communication helps you engage more effectively with shareholders, board members, analysts and regulators.

Register now for a road map to addressing common issues that arise and have the greatest impact on your overall governance effectiveness.

Speakers:

Judy Cotte, LL.M.

CEO

ESG Global Advisors

Judy is the CEO of ESG Global Advisors, a firm that bridges the gap between companies and investors on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. With over 20 years’ legal experience, the last 10 of which has been exclusively focused on ESG, Judy is a globally recognized expert on ESG and responsible investment.

Prior to forming ESG Global Advisors, Judy was V.P. & Head of Corporate Governance & Responsible Investment for RBC Global Asset Management (“RBC GAM”) and was a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Judy launched the Corporate Governance & Responsible Investment group at RBC GAM in 2012 and was responsible for developing the firm’s overall ESG strategy, working with the investment teams to integrate ESG into the investment process, overseeing all proxy voting globally and engaging with investee companies, both individually and collaboratively with other investors.

Previously, Judy was the Director of Policy Development & Chief Operating Officer for the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (“CCGG”), a coalition of most of Canada’s largest institutional investors. Judy has a Masters’ degree in securities law and practiced law in various capacities, including as enforcement counsel with the OSC, litigation counsel with a large broker/dealer and as a partner in a Bay Street law firm.

Judy is a Board Advisor to Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group. She is a current member of the TSX Listings Advisory Committee, the CCGG Public Policy Committee and the UN PRI’s Global Policy Reference Group. She was previously the Canada Correspondent for the International Corporate Governance Network.

Valérie Douville,
Senior Manager – Compliance and Disclosure,
Toronto Stock Exchange

Valérie Douville is a senior securities lawyer with in-depth knowledge of the Canadian capital markets and experience in the fields of corporate governance, compliance, securities law, mergers & acquisitions (public companies) and corporate finance, having both practiced securities law in a large Montreal Law firm and worked at the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).

Valérie is Senior Manager, Compliance and Disclosure at the Toronto Stock Exchange. Her role is to ensure that TSX issuers conduct their business with integrity, whether at the time of original listing or on an ongoing basis.

Prior to that, Valérie practiced securities, corporate and commercial law, focused on files involving corporate financing, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and timely and continuous disclosure.

Andrew MacDougall, Partner, Corporate, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

Andrew MacDougall is a recognized expert in corporate governance, executive compensation and shareholder activist matters. He leads the Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP’s corporate governance practice and co-Chairs the Osler executive compensation practice.

Andrew is ranked in Best Lawyers in Canada for his Corporate Governance Practice. He is a fellow of the American College of Governance Counsel. He is an ICD.D member of the Institute of Corporate Directors and serves on the Ontario Chapter Executive of the Institute of Corporate Directors. He also serves on the Toronto Chapter Executive of the Global Equity Organization. Previously, he served on the Risk Oversight and Governance Board of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and he was a staff member of the Dey Committee (the Toronto Stock Exchange Report on Corporate Governance).

A frequent writer and commentator on new developments, Andrew co-authored leading Canadian publications on stakeholder engagement and shareholder engagement released by CPA Canada in 2018 and 2012, respectively, as well as the Osler’s leading annual reports on diversity disclosure practices in Canada from 2015 to 2019 and Osler’s publication on the Board’s role in crisis management in 2016.

Following our event, The Canadian Investor Relations Institute (CIRI) will be hosting a lunch and proxy event session. Anyone interested in attending both events will need to register for each program separately. For more on this portion of the event, visit CIRI’s website.

For CIRI members attending both events, you are eligible to register with us at any exclusive partner rate.

GPC Course Cancelation Policy

Governance Professionals of Canada’s policy on payment and registration changes is designed to be flexible. We are committing to doing our best to accommodate you within the limits of this policy.

Governance Professionals of Canada reserves the right to:

• Cancel a course due to low registration or unforeseen circumstances
• Substitute a speaker or facilitator due to unforeseen circumstances
• Make changes to this policy and to registration fees without notice

•  Adverse weather conditions
• Speaker illness or family emergency
• Other extenuating circumstances

If the anticipated minimum registration has not been met within four days of a session start date, or if any unforeseen circumstances occur, GPC may elect to cancel or reschedule the session.  In this event, registrants will be notified immediately, and any fees already paid and received by GPC can be either refunded or re-allocated to the rescheduled session, or as a credit toward another GPC event or course. GPC shall not be responsible for any other costs incurred by the participants other than their registration fees.