Bank Shareholders Now Have a Say in CEO Compensation

Shareholders of three big Canadian banks have won the right to vote on top banker’s compensation. YES!!!

This is encouraging and I hope it is the start of a trend for a more activitist shareholder and investor approach. We need the individual corporate owners to particularly push their enterprises to pursue a more integrated economic and ecological approach to doing business.

Canadian banks are the best run in the world and some of our CEO’s have volunteered to reduce personal compensation and some have donated the difference to charity. The recent announcements of 1st QTR profits from 4 of the 6 top Canadian banks are very encouraging as well. Increased reserves for pending bad news are being made and loans to creditworthy customers are still happening.

The changing times are showing that shareholders and investors are getting more engaged as corporate owners. This move toward non-binding shareholder votes on executive compensation is a step the right direction. The non-binding vote is a smart move. It sets a tone and sends a message about shareholder mood.

The discrepancy between the most highly paid and the lowest workers in our society seem to be growing and will have serious social cohesion implications for the country.
It was the poorly managed banks and investment houses in the States and the negligence of bankers and investment “professionals” in the rest of the work who sold crap paper that that got the world wide into this economic crisis.

I expect to see a major housecleaning of many of the boardrooms of a wide range of Canadian public companies as the social license to operate responsibilities starts to sink in. Shareholders and consumers will start to act based on ethical investment and purchasing approaches. Then we will see a systemic and fundamental change in the role and responsibility of business.

Judge Won't Restrict His Inquiry Into Mulroney Schreiber Affair.

The Globe and Mail is reporting an interesting development on the Mulroney Schreiber Affair and the pending Judicial Inquiry.

Associate Chief Justice Jeffrey Oliphant, the man conducting the Inquiry, rejected arguments my Mulroney’s lawyers to narrow the scope of the Inquiry. The Chair wants to review the “appropriateness” of former Prime Minister Mulroney’s behaviour with “the closest possible scrutiny.

The Mulroney legal team was trying to get the Inquiry to agree that he could not consider the Criminal Code, the Income Tax Act, and anti-corruption legislation in his deliberations.
Thankfully the Chair decided that these laws are applicable for consideration when inquiring into the “appropriateness” of Mulroney taking a large cash payment from Schreiber for lobbying purposes shortly after leaving the office of Prime Ministers.

The Chair described his task saying “I intend to determine, on an objective basis, whether Mr. Mulroney…conformed with the highest standards of conduct.” He goes further to say “I believe that this standard is one that reflects the importance to Canadian democracy of the office of the prime minister, as well as the public trust reposed in the integrity, objectivity and impartiality of public office holders.”

Oliphant was clearly not amused by the Mulroney gambit to narrow the scope of the Inquiry. He noted that in 1988 then Prime Minister Mulroney distributed a document to his cabinet entitled Guidance for Ministers. That document apparently warned the Mulroney cabinet that they had an obligation to go further than “simply to observe the law.” Oliphant was pretty clear that he was going to hold Mulroney to the same standard.

I hope CPAC will be covering this Inquiry from gavel to gavel like they did with Adscam. Not just because of the politics but because it will help Canadians who are concerned about our democracy but also the quality of the character of our elected representatives.

Should Business Responsibility to the Environment be Governed by the State of the Economy?

I just got the teaser from the McKinsey Quarterly on the global survey they did on “valuing corporate social responsibility.” The findings are disturbing. First the good news! The survey indicates 2/3 of Corporate Financial Officers and ¾ of investment professionals “…agree that environment, social and governance activities do create value for their shareholders…” Here is the qualifying kicker. They restrict that belief to “normal economic times.”

Well these are hardly normal economic times and the survey finds these professionals now “…view some of these programs differently.” Guess what has changed. The importance of governance programs has increased and the importance of environmental programs has decreased. The needs of the environment and our responsibility to protect the environment are not seasonal and cyclical.

It almost seems like CFOs who run corporate finances and investment professionals, those folks who advise others where to put their money, think board of director issues like CEO compensation is more important than their environmental efforts.

Are these folks ever out of touch with what most people are thinking about the role, responsibilities and purpose of business today. This is especially true given the amount of greed and corruption that are at the root causes of this recession.

I expect more investors to be seriously considering ethical investing criteria when they return to the market. Share your heads CFOs and Investment professionals. Business is not just about business. It is about public trust and a social license to operate and that demands employing the best possible environmental practices. Don’t forget the economy is there to serve the needs of society and not the other way around.

Canada's Privacy Commissioner Not Amused on How Net Neutrality Can Invade Personal Privacy Rights.

The Canadian Privacy Commissioner has weighed in on the CRTC hearings on issues of Net Neutrality and he is not amused. In considering the invasive privacy issues that would ensue (sic) by allowing ISPs to "manage the network" in the way proposed would be "less than transparent."

The Commissioner noted that some Canadians have already complained to him about invasions of their privacy by ISPs and "These complaints are currently being investigated." Good.

He goes on to note his office is involved in "conducting ongoing research into the privacy implications of DPI and Internet throttling, from a legal, policy-based and technical perspective." Good.

He is soon to publish a series of essays on privacy and Internet ISP issues written by international experts and will also be launching an interactive website to "facilitate public discussion and education." Good.

Here is a link to his submission and hat tip to Michael Geist for the heads up on Twitter.

U.K. Repatriates a Former Resident - Not Even a Citizen - from Gitmo! Omar Khadr - a Canadian Citizen - Still Rots

The U.K. expect the return of a Gitmo prisoner on Monday. This prisoner is not even a British citizen and was only a former resident of England but the U.K. government has been lobbying for his release and return to the U.K. since 2007


Omar Khadr is a child soldier and Canadian citizen who has been in Gitmo for a third of his life and our Prime Minister Stephen Harper could care less. Michael Ignatieff used some of his airport hanger time meeting with President Obama last week to bring up Omar's case. At least somebody in our government cares about the rights of Canadian citizens incarcerated in foreign prisons.


What is wrong with this picture? Pray you never get imprisoned in a foreign jurisdiction and tortured while Stephen Harper is still Prime Minister. This is not the first time this has happened. Just ask Maher Arar.