News Release: Senators Vote against Measure that would Accelerate Diversity on Corporate Boards
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ottawa, ON – This afternoon, the Senate voted on an amendment from Senator Massicotte concerning Bill C-25, An Act to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act, the Canada Cooperatives Act, the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, and the Competition Act. Unfortunately, the Senate voted against the amendment, which would have required publicly traded companies to adopt a diversity policy that establishes numerical goals and timelines regarding the representation of women, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities and visible minorities within corporate boards and executive positions.
The amendment supported by our group of six senators, stemming from different political horizons, was very relevant. We strongly believe that in order to increase the representation of these under-represented groups, the Government must do more than what is timidly provided for in Bill C-25. We will continue to highlight this issue in the future. We will pursue our efforts while employing the tools that are available to us through the Senate. And we will carefully monitor progress made in regards to the presence of these groups within key corporate positions.
Our actions, combined with fruitful discussions held with Minister Bains, the sponsor of Bill C-25, yielded concrete results. The regulations supporting the Bill were modified to provide a definition of “diversity”, which was an initial concern of ours. The Minister has made assurances that all four groups referred to in the Employment Equity Act of 1995 will be included in this regulatory definition of diversity. As such, corporations, Government and the general population will have access to a common definition of diversity in the corporate sector.
Our work in the Senate entails that we deepen legislative scrutiny and improve, where needed, legislation that has originated in the House of Commons. This ensures that the laws governing our country offer the best possible outcomes for all Canadians. We believe we have done just that in the case of C-25.
Contact:
Paul Faucette
Office of Senator Ratna Omidvar
(613) 943 – 4330