News Release

IFIC supports CSA’s proposal to require diversity reporting of corporate governance representation of five designated groups

September 29, 2023 (Toronto) – The Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC) today made a submission to the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) in support of expanded diversity disclosure for publicly listed companies.

The submission is in response to the CSA’s Proposed Amendments to Form 58-101F1 Corporate Governance Disclosure of National Instrument 58-101 Disclosure of Corporate Governance Practices and Proposed Changes to National Policy 58-201 Corporate Governance Guidelines.

IFIC supports the proposal to expand the current corporate governance disclosure requirements to include specified designated groups in addition to the disclosure regarding women that is already required. The expanded rules would require mandatory reporting on the representation of women, Indigenous peoples, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, and LGBTQ2SI+ persons on boards and in executive officer positions.

“Because of the importance of consistent and comparable diversity-related information, IFIC is in favour of the proposed amendments that would require mandatory reporting,” said IFIC President and CEO Andy Mitchell.

Investment managers can benefit from this information to inform investment decision-making, to assess investment risks and opportunities of individual issuers, and to guide corporate engagement and proxy-voting activities.

Investment managers also sometimes require diversity-related information from the issuers they are invested in to monitor their own performance and objectives. Investment managers are serving investors, both institutional and retail, who increasingly have preferences or expectations with respect to diversity. Reliable information and data are important to ensure alignment between preferences and investments.

About IFIC

The Investment Funds Institute of Canada is the voice of Canada’s investment funds industry. IFIC brings together approximately 150 organizations, including fund managers, dealers, professional and back-office service providers, to strengthen the integrity of the investment funds industry, foster public confidence in investment funds, and enable investors to achieve good outcomes. By connecting savers to Canada’s economy, our industry contributes significantly to Canadian economic growth and job creation.

For more information, please contact:

Christine Harminc
Senior Manager, Communications and Public Affairs
charminc@ific.ca
416-309-2313