News Release: Senators Vote to Accelerate Diversity on Corporate Boards
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ottawa, ON – This afternoon, the Senate voted on an amendment from Senator Massicotte concerning Bill C-25, An Act to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act, the Canada Cooperatives Act, the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, and the Competition Act. We are happy to report that the Senate accepted this amendment, which would accelerate diversity on corporate boards.
This amendment requires that publicly traded companies adopt diversity policies that establish numerical goals and timelines regarding the representation of women, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities and visible minorities within corporate boards and executive positions. The amendment allows corporations to determine their specific goals and timelines, while keeping in mind their own individual contexts. It will pave the way for more concrete progress and better results, as compared to the “comply or explain” approach proposed in the initial version of this Bill.
When Senator Massicotte presented his amendment in the Senate he stated that: “Three years after the Ontario Securities Commission moved forward with the comply-or-explain rule for women, 53 per cent of companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange still don’t have any gender diversity policy.” We acknowledge that it takes a certain amount of time to observe an increase in the proportion of under-represented groups on corporate boards and in the executive positions. However, establishing and adopting a diversity policy alone should not take three years as it has been the case for a majority of the concerned corporations. That’s exactly why Bill C-25 requires a more robust approach.
We ask Members of Parliament to adopt Bill C-25 as amended so that women, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities and individuals belonging to a visible minority group are rightfully represented in key corporate positions.
Contact:
Paul Faucette
Office of Senator Ratna Omidvar
(613) 943 – 4330