Canadian HR Reporter

CanaDian hr reporter november 17, 2014 2 News Recent stories posted on www.hrreporter.com. Check the website daily for quick news hits from across Canada and around the world. WEB O N T H E acROss caNaDa Jobs, not human rights, focus of trade mission as premiers wrap trip to China priority market for ontario N.S. teachers should be fi red for poor performance, says review Mandatory performance appraisals recommended Government hoping for modest increase in immigration levels next year Main focus on economic immigrants CBC off ers counselling to employees in wake of Jian Ghomeshi aff air hiring third-party company to conduct investigation aROuND THe wORLD 5 states hold referendums on raising pay Minimum wages in the 5 states range from US$6.25 to $8.25 Rome workers protest plan to make fi ring easier Country's unemployment tops more than 12 per cent Workplace investigations done right Cynthia ingram, a lawyer with Keyser Mason Ball, explains the components of thorough workplace investigations hrreporter.com FEatUREd VIdEo canada takes signifi cant step for board diversity Securities regulators fi nalize rule amendments on disclosure of women on boards By Liz Bernier sEcURItIEs regulators in nine jurisdictions took a significant step forward for board diversity last month, with the fi nalization of rule amendments on disclosure of women on corporate boards. e changes will offi cially take eff ect on Dec. 31, 2014 — as long as all necessary approvals are ob- tained, according to the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories and Nunavut are the nine juris- dictions participating in the rule amendments. e changes were designed to increase transparency around the representation of women on boards, and also in senior execu- tive positions. ey will apply to all non-venture issuers report- ing in the nine participating jurisdictions. e rule amendments take a "comply or explain" approach to board diversity — not a quota approach, said Pamela Jeffery, Toronto-based founder of the Ca- nadian Board Diversity Council. "We're really happy to see com- ply or explain because we've been advocating (for that) for quite a long time now," she said. e amendments will require issuers to disclose information such as policies around represen- tation of women on the board, the number of women on the board and in executive positions and targets around appointing women into such positions, among other things (see sidebar). e rule amendments had been in development for some time and on Jan. 16, 2014, the OSC opened up a 90-day comment period on the amendments to gather feed- back. On Jul. 3, 2014, all nine ju- risdictions opened a 60-day com- ment period for the amendments. e changes are a really strong step but they also create the right balance, said Alex Johnston, exec- utive director of Catalyst Canada in Toronto. " e Ontario Securities Com- mission hit the sweet spot in giv- ing people sort of a push, but also fl exibility in setting goals that are the appropriate goals for their organization and relevant to the sector," she said. The amendments reflect the increasing recognition of the im- portance of diversity, said Lisa Wilkins, CHRO at the OSC in Toronto. " ere is increasing recogni- tion of the value of having diverse perspectives in the boardroom. We certainly benefi t from that diversity at the Ontario Securities Commission, where 38 per cent of our board and 61 per cent of our executive management team are women," she said. "Strong executive-level sup- port is key to implementing lead- ership programs that create op- portunity and develop talented women throughout their careers, preparing them for senior man- agement and, ultimately, board roles." It's very important that the amendments include require- ments to report on women in executive roles as well as board positions, said Jeff ery. "It covers boards and it covers executive offi cer appointments, which you have to have in order to have the pipeline of women who will be qualifi ed to sit on boards," she said. "And, it includes a writ- ten diversity policy piece — so we had advocated to the OSC that it needed to go further than a com- pany disclosing whether they had a board diversity policy; it needed to go further to say a board need- ed to have a written board diver- sity policy." at means less opportunity for a board to simply say they have a policy, and more opportunity for a board to think the policy through because it will be shared with the public, she said. Moving forward, companies are going to need key individu- als such as HR leaders to drive the conversation internally about goal-setting for boards, said Johnston. "What companies will be look- ing to from those key people is re- ally supporting the conversation eff ectively and helping the board and the executive committee wrap their heads around what this means for them," she said. e amendments are an excel- lent opportunity for organiza- tions to bring fresh perspectives to their boards and the C-suite, said Jeff ery. "Corporate Canada (has) the chance to take the opportunity to diversify boards and bring in directors who so far have been pretty much overlooked." The CBDC has resources in place to help employers do so, such as the Diversity 50, a group of 50 qualifi ed, board-ready in- dividuals identifi ed each year. It also has a corporate governance education program called "Get on Board." "It addresses the fact that it's so important for men and women... to get board experience, so there's a pipeline for corporate board seats," she said. No one ever expects to have cancer. When it strikes, having CAREpath as part of your benefit package shows your employees and their families how much you really care. Employees diagnosed with cancer are assigned a personal oncology nurse providing guidance and support throughout every stage of their cancer journey. CAREpath is the only complete cancer navigation provider in Canada. No one ever expects to have cancer. cancer? Does one of your employees have We'll be there. 1-866-599-2720 www.carepath.ca THE CANCER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM Anita McGowan, RN, CON(C), OCN Head Oncology Nurse Manager What will organizations have to do? When the amendments take effect, non-venture issuers will have to disclose the following annually: • director term limits and other mechanisms of renewal of the board • policies regarding the representation of women on the board • the board's or nominating committee's consideration of the representation of women in the director identi cation and selection process • the issuer's consideration of the representation of women in executive offi cer positions when making executive of cer appointments • targets regarding the representation of women on the board and in executive offi cer positions • the number of women on the board and in executive offi cer positions. Source: the ontario Securities Commission

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