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Investors back action on reconciliation at Toromont and Onex

On the heels of a historic vote at TMX, shareholders at Toromont and Onex followed suit with strong support for Canadian corporate action on reconciliation.

In 2021, more than 98% of TMX Group shareholders voted in support of a proposal, filed by SHARE on behalf of the Atkinson Foundation. The proposal commits the company to meaningful action on economic reconciliation, including procurement from Indigenous owned businesses and verification of those commitments through Indigenous-led standards.

In 2022, the Reconciliation and Responsible Investment Initiative (RRII), hosted by SHARE and the National Aboriginal Trust Officers Association (NATOA), set out to build on the commitment from TMX, by filing similar shareholder proposals at Onex, Toromont, BCE Inc, and IA Financial. The proposals were filed, respectively, on behalf of the Catherine Donnelly Foundation, Atkinson Foundation, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation Community Trust, and the Daly Foundation.

SHARE reached negotiated agreements with BCE and IA Financial, in which the companies agreed to substantially implement the proposals.

In May of 2022, investors got a chance to vote on the proposals at Toromont and Onex. In the case of Toromont, the company endorsed the proposal in its proxy statement, and more than 99% of investors voted in support.

At Onex Corp, despite the company opposing the proposal—on the basis that the asks were not aligned with the company’s business model, 48.7% of independent shareholders still voted in favour of the proposal.

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