In October 2024, Osler released its tenth annual Diversity Disclosure Practices – Diversity and leadership at Canadian public companies report. This publication examines diversity disclosure by companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and corporations governed by the Canada Business Corporations Act subject to disclosure requirements. This milestone edition provides a comprehensive look at the progress corporate Canada has made over the past decade to increase diversity of their leadership, highlighting best practices and identifying areas where work remains, especially for diverse groups beyond gender.

In this episode, host John Valley, a partner in the Corporate group and a co-author of the report, moderates a discussion on its findings with his co-authors, partners Andrew MacDougall and Joanna Cameron and associate Jessie Armour.

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In this episode, Joanna Cameron, a partner in the Corporate Group at Osler and a co-author of the Diversity Disclosure Practices report, welcomes Catherine Roome, a tech innovator with a passion for serving the public interest. Catherine is a director of BC Hydro, where she chairs the board of its energy trading subsidiary, Powerex, and is a member of the Site C Hydroelectric Project oversight board. Catherine also serves on the private sector boards of Prospera Credit Union and McElhanney Engineering, where she chairs her operating board. She recently served as Interim CEO of Atira Women’s Resource Society, supporting governance and operational renewal for B.C.’s largest supportive housing organization. Previously, she led Technical Safety BC for a decade. Catherine is dedicated to fostering justice, equity, diversity and inclusion and encouraging the next generation of leaders.

In this episode, John Valley, a partner in the Corporate Group at Osler and a co-author of the Diversity Disclosure Practices report, interviews Mark Podlasly, a member of the Nlaka’pamux Nation in British Columbia. Mark is the Chief Sustainability Officer at the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, a national 170+ member First Nations organization dedicated to ensuring Indigenous environmental and economic values are incorporated into major projects in traditional territories. He is a board director at CIBC and Hydro One, serving on the audit and human resources committees, and is a trustee of his First Nation’s mining revenue trust fund. Mark was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by the Governor General of Canada for founding Teach for Canada, a non-profit organization that works with northern First Nations to recruit and support committed teachers.

In this episode, Andrew MacDougall, a partner in the Corporate Group at Osler and a co-author of the Diversity Disclosure Practices report, welcomes Dexter John, Chief Executive Officer of Sodali & Co, Canada. Before Sodali & Co acquired Gryphon Advisors, Inc., Dexter served as President and CEO of Gryphon, where he led the North American business and a team of experienced governance and financial professionals. He holds the ICD.D designation and sits on the boards of Organigram Inc., the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario, and Can PR. Dexter also previously served as the Chair of the Board of Partners Real Estate Investment Trust.

In this episode, Andrew MacDougall, a partner in the Corporate Group at Osler and a co-author of the Diversity Disclosure Practices report, welcomes Wendy Kei, who serves as Board Chair for both Ontario Power Generation and NFI Group. She is also the Audit Committee Chair for Centerra Gold Inc. Wendy is an accomplished financial executive with over 25 years of senior business experience in mining and other industries. She was recognized as a Fellow from the Institute of Corporate Directors in 2022 and honoured as a BMO Celebrate Women on Boards Honouree that same year. Wendy was also named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2020 and selected as a Diversity 50 Candidate by the Canadian Board Diversity Council in 2016.

In this episode, Andrew MacDougall, a partner in the Corporate Group at Osler and a co-author of the Diversity Disclosure Practices report, interviews Andrea Wood, executive vice president and Chief Legal and Governance Officer of TELUS, who also serves as Corporate Secretary to the TELUS Board of Directors. Andrea shares her perspectives on diversity, particularly at the executive level, and her role in advancing TELUS’ social purpose and global leadership in sustainability. In addition to her corporate leadership, Andrea is an active volunteer, serving on the boards of several community-based organizations, and serves as TELUS’ executive sponsor for Connections, a grassroots initiative supporting women’s networking and career growth across the organization. Andrea has also been recognized as the 2024 recipient of the Blakes Judy L. Wilson Diversity Award by the Canadian General Counsel Awards.

In this episode of the podcast, guest host Laura Webb, a partner in the Emerging and High Growth Companies Group at Osler, and Olivia Hornby, Managing Partner of Spring Impact Capital, an impact-focused venture capital (VC) fund, discuss the continuing growth of ESG in the private sector. Laura and Olivia also dive into what ESG factors Spring considers when making investments.

In this episode of the podcast, guest host Teresa Tomchak, a partner in the litigation group at Osler, and David Salmon, President of Laurel Hill Canada dive into the topic of trends in shareholder activism. Teresa and David discuss ESG issues they are seeing in the shareholder activism space, steps companies can take to address and prepare for ESG issues and the role of proxy advisors.