2019 ISS and Glass Lewis updates to canadian proxy voting guidelines

  • Canada Image

Jan 22, 2019

On January 22, 2019, Bennett Jones LLP released a summary of the updates issued by Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") and Glass, Lewis & Co ("Glass Lewis") to their respective Canadian proxy voting guidelines for the 2019 proxy season. The ISS updates apply to shareholder meetings of publicly traded Canadian companies occurring on or after February 1, 2019, while Glass Lewis updates apply to meetings that are held on or after January 1, 2019.

Recommendations from proxy advisory firms such as ISS and Glass Lewis can have a significant impact on the outcome of business conducted at shareholder meetings, especially if institutional investors comprise a significant component of the company's shareholder base. Canadian public companies should review the updates with their legal counsel to determine the likely impact and take steps to mitigate any potential adverse voting recommendations from ISS or Glass Lewis.

The guideline includes an update to the ratification of the auditor: Glass Lewis has codified specific factors it will take into consideration when reviewing auditor ratification proposals. Specifically, Glass Lewis will assess an auditor's tenure, patterns of inaccurate audits, and any ongoing litigation or significant controversies that call into question an auditor's effectiveness. These factors may contribute to a negative voting recommendation against auditor ratification in limited circumstances.

Review the summary on Bennett Jones LLP's website.

Correction list for hyphenation

These words serve as exceptions. Once entered, they are only hyphenated at the specified hyphenation points. Each word should be on a separate line.