Proxy Alert

Statement on Executive Compensation Proposal at Loblaw Companies Inc.

SHARE Director of Shareholder Advocacy, Anthony Schein, released the following statement regarding the “say on pay” vote at Loblaw Companies Ltd on May 4, 2023

At a controlled company such as Loblaw, management’s ‘say on pay’ proposals can’t be defeated. But independent investors can still use the vote as an accountability mechanism rather than a rubber stamp for spiralling executive compensation.

In the past two weeks I have spoken with large Loblaw shareholders, including Canadian and international pension funds and asset managers, each of whom has been scrutinizing Galen Weston’s pay package – and many of whom indicated they intended to vote ‘no’.

This week alone, the CEO of Imperial Oil saw his pay increase, even while the company continues to lag on climate change and on board diversity, and while it shirks responsibility for the environmental impact of the Kearl Oil Sands spill. The Loblaw PEO’s compensation increased to more than 340 times front-line worker pay, even in the midst of an inflation-fuelled affordability crisis in Canada.

Our job, even as minority investors, is to be active stewards, to hold executives and boards accountable, and to call a halt to pay without purpose.

 

Read more from Schein in The Globe and Mail.

To schedule an interview, please contact Anthony Schein at aschein@share.ca or 647 802 6586.

Proxy Alert: Advisory resolution on approach to executive compensation (Say on Pay) at Loblaw

Loblaw Companies increased total compensation for its Principal Executive Officer and largest shareholder, Galen Weston, by 55% in 2022, bringing his total annual compensation to 340 times that of a front-line grocery worker. SHARE recommends voting AGAINST.

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