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A Critical Canadian Perspective On The Benefit Corporation, Carol Liao
A Critical Canadian Perspective On The Benefit Corporation, Carol Liao
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There has been much fanfare surrounding the possible implementation of a legal model of social enterprise similar to the American benefit corporation in Canada. This article points out that some of the fundamental legal characteristics of the benefit corporation are already reflected in existing Canadian corporate laws, and in some instances Canadian laws are comparatively more progressive. Directors owe fiduciary duties to the best interests of the corporation, and minority protections such as the oppression remedy oblige directors to consider non-shareholder stakeholders. Landmark judgments from Canada’s highest court have affirmed the board requirement to consider stakeholder interests, and that directors …
Corporate Governance Reform For The 21st Century: A Critical Reassessment Of The Shareholder Primacy Model, Carol Liao
Corporate Governance Reform For The 21st Century: A Critical Reassessment Of The Shareholder Primacy Model, Carol Liao
All Faculty Publications
This article questions the efficiency of the shareholder primacy model of corporate governance in light of the financial calamities that have plagued the first decade of the 21st century. Reform efforts following the global financial crisis have focused on failures in securities regulation, but that is only part of the story. Effective reform measures must also address the legal and normative prescriptions found within existing governance structures, and the collateral effect those prescriptions have on political and regulatory inaction.
There was strong ideological support for the shareholder primacy model at the start of the century. Following the corporate and accounting …