Publications 

7 August 2024

Shopify and the Problem of Shareholder “Approval” at Multi-Class Companies

Media reporting can make proxy season seem more dramatic than it is. While breathless coverage of board strife, impossibly high executive pay figures and shareholder activism at well-known companies is the norm, the overwhelming majority of director election and executive compensation proposals pass with majorities of 90% and upwards. The handful of proposals that fail […]

1 August 2024

‘There’s no war without cost’: Gildan’s proxy fight racked up US$77-million in expenses

The nasty proxy fight that plunged Gildan Activewear Inc. into turmoil for nearly half a year and ended with the return of chief executive Glenn Chamandy cost the company US$76.8-million, delivering a US$33-million windfall for lawyers and other advisers in exchange for their expertise. The CEO calls it an “abusive” waste of money. The Canadian […]

16 July 2024

Going public: a thing of the past?

In Canada, 2023 was a lean year for new companies embarking on initial public offerings (IPOs) on the TSX, the country’s main stock exchange. In fact, only one company, Lithium Royalty Corp., proceeded with an IPO, raising about $150 million in March 2023. More than a year later, at the end of June 2024, no […]

24 May 2024

At Gildan, a board’s defeat offers lessons in shareholder management

Glenn Chamandy, co-founder of Gildan Activewear Inc. GIL-T, left his job as chief executive officer last year in a cloud of mystery after relations with his board soured. Now he returns triumphant – and under more pressure than ever before to deliver returns for the investors who won his job back. The raucous five-month battle that engulfed […]

23 May 2024

Best Caisse Scenario

A debate is raging over whether Canada’s pension plans invest enough of their vast assets at home. And Charles Emond – the man charged with producing big returns while contributing to Quebec’s economy – is at the centre of it all. Charles Emond leans into the microphone, ready to act out a perennial ritual for […]

21 May 2024

Changes to capital gains taxation: insidious consequences for the intergenerational transfer of Canadian controlled companies?

Two weeks after the budget was tabled, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland now intends to ask Parliament to approve proposed changes to capital gains taxation in a stand-alone bill. This measure has met with an abundance of reactions. The people affected are an assorted group with very high incomes, of course, but these incomes often reflect, […]

7 April 2024

Browning West seeks court order to prevent Gildan sale before vote on new directors

U.S. investment firm Browning West is seeking a court order preventing the board of Gildan Activewear Inc. from signing any binding deal to sell the clothing maker until shareholders vote on new directors. The request was made last week as an amendment to an existing suit in the Quebec Superior Court’s commercial division, filed by […]

14 March 2024

Gildan says allegations by key shareholder Browning West violated U.S. securities law

Gildan Activewear is accusing one of its largest shareholders of violating American securities law and has asked the regulator to investigate allegations that the investor has been spreading falsehoods about the Montreal-based clothing maker’s new chief executive, Vince Tyra. In a letter sent to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission late Thursday, Gildan alleged that U.S. […]

29 January 2024

Gildan to hold shareholder meetings in late spring for board of directors vote

Canadian clothing maker Gildan Activewear Inc., GIL-T locked in a fight with dissident investors over its decision to sack its chief executive officer in December, is convening its shareholders in late spring to vote on whether they want a new board. The company says the timeline for the meeting on May 28 will give investors “a reasonable […]

17 January 2024

Former CEO gives Gildan Activewear board a dressing-down

Former Gildan Activewear Inc. chief executive Glenn Chamandy fired back at the company’s latest accusations concerning his leadership, saying the board is seeking to unfairly harm his reputation and cast aspersions on his performance. The company on Tuesday took aim at Mr. Chamandy’s leadership, alleging he had become disengaged from his job, and that he had an […]

17 October 2023

Family Controlled Companies: Drivers of Canadian Economy

To listen to the full panel with Louis Audet (board member of IGOPP), about the most recent report of IGOPP on family businesses, please click here or on the image below (the panel’s duration is 43 minutes):

17 October 2023

Family Controlled Companies: Key Drivers of Canadian Economic Sustainability – Panel

To listen to the full panel with Louis Audet (board member of IGOPP), about the most recent report of IGOPP on family businesses, please click here or on the image below (the panel’s duration is 43 minutes):

13 October 2023

The performance of Canadian controlled companies listed on the S&P/TSX

Family-run businesses are the cornerstone of market economies. These companies are often imbued with a strong culture rooted in the values of their founder, a culture that develops and strengthens over time, sometimes even beyond the first generations who succeed one another at the helm of the business. They tend to make decisions with a […]

28 August 2023

No clear consensus on diversity disclosures

Securities regulators may agree on the need to improve issuers’ diversity disclosure, but they can’t agree on how to achieve it. A public consultation on the issue so far isn’t building consensus. In April, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) proposed changes to corporate governance requirements, publishing two approaches for expanding diversity disclosures beyond gender. The Ontario […]

1 July 2023

Memorandum of IGOPP on Regulations 58-101 and 58-201

“Any organization governed by a board of directors must strive to constitute a board that is both legitimate and credible.”[1] A board’s credibility is indispensable to its effectiveness and “[its] credibility is measured not only by its in-depth knowledge of the company’s industry and its markets, of its business model, and its value-creation drivers, but […]

16 May 2023

Is the Sun Setting on Dual Class Share Structures?

Teck’s Dual Class Amendment Teck Resources Limited (“Teck”) recently announced that it will be collapsing its dual class share structure (“DCSS”) by introducing a six-year sunset for the multiple voting rights attached to its Class A common shares (the “Dual Class Amendment”). An overwhelming majority of Teck’s shareholders voted in favour of the Dual Class […]