Canadian securities regulators seek comment on approach to determining director and audit committee member independence

CSA

Montréal – The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) today published for comment CSA Consultation Paper 52-404 Approach to Director and Audit Committee Member Independence, which is intended to facilitate a broad discussion on the appropriateness of the CSA's approach to determining director and audit committee member independence.

"The exercise of independent judgement by boards and board committees is a fundamental element of corporate governance," said Louis Morisset, CSA Chair and President and CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers. "The purpose of this consultation is to solicit views on the appropriateness of our approach to determining independence for all issuers in the Canadian market."

The Consultation Paper outlines key historical developments related to the CSA's corporate governance regime, sets out our approach to determining director and audit committee member independence, and describes the approaches to determining independence in other jurisdictions. The Consultation Paper also examines the benefits and limitations of our approach.

The Consultation Paper can be found on CSA members' websites. Comments should be submitted in writing by January 25, 2018.

The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada's provinces and territories, co-ordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets.

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For more information:

CSA member name

Point of contact

Phone number

Autorité des marchés financiers

Sylvain Théberge

514-940-2176

Alberta Securities Commission

Hilary McMeekin

403-592-8186

British Columbia Securities Commission

Alison Walker 

604-899-6713

Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan

Shannon McMillan

306-798-4160

Financial and Consumer Services Commission, New Brunswick

Erin King

506-643-7045

Government of Prince Edward Island, Superintendent of Securities

Janice Callbeck

902-368-6288

Manitoba Securities Commission

Jason (Jay) Booth

204-945-1660

Nova Scotia Securities Commission

David Harrisson

902-424-8586

Nunavut Securities Office

Jeff Mason

867-975-6591

Office of the Superintendent of Securities, Newfoundland and Labrador

John O'Brien

709-729-4909

Office of the Superintendent of Securities, Northwest Territories

Tom Hall

867-767-9305

Office of the Yukon Superintendent of Securities

Rhonda Horte

867-667-5466

Ontario Securities Commission

Kristen Rose

416-593-2336