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Full-Text Articles in Law
Addressing The Tension Between Directors' Duties And Shareholder Rights - A Tale Of Two Regimes, Sean Vanderpol, Edward J. Waitzer
Addressing The Tension Between Directors' Duties And Shareholder Rights - A Tale Of Two Regimes, Sean Vanderpol, Edward J. Waitzer
Edward J. Waitzer
There is a basic tension inherent in the regulation of corporations between the role to be played by boards and that to be played by shareholders. Boards have the statutory responsibility to manage the business and affairs of the corporation, and owe an express duty to act in the best interests of the corporation. Shareholders, however, are the ultimate ‘owners’ of the corporation, and have the ability to elect and remove directors. Canadian courts and securities regulators have long struggled with this tension in determining the roles to be played by each in transactions that pose the potential for conflicts …
Peoples, Bce, And The Good Corporate "Citizen", Edward J. Waitzer, Johnny Jaswal
Peoples, Bce, And The Good Corporate "Citizen", Edward J. Waitzer, Johnny Jaswal
Edward J. Waitzer
This article considers the use of various legal instruments to advance a more expansive but well-defined view of directors' duties and discretion--a view which focuses on the longer-term interests of the corporation. We begin with an attempt to clarify the nature of directors' statutory duties under Canadian corporate law. We then consider the recent decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada in Peoples Department Stores Inc. (Trustee of) v. Wise and BCE v. 1976 Debentureholders, in which the Court took a broad view of corporate purpose, but failed to provide clear logic or operational guidance as to consequential directorial responsibilities. …
Mediating Rights And Responsibilities In Control Transactions, Sean Vanderpol, Edward J. Waitzer
Mediating Rights And Responsibilities In Control Transactions, Sean Vanderpol, Edward J. Waitzer
Edward J. Waitzer
There is a growing debate as to the relative merits and consequences of a shift to a more shareholder-centric corporate governance framework. How much "direct democracy" makes sense in corporate decision making? If power is to be transferred to shareholders, should responsibilities be imposed (and, if so, how)? These issues have long been addressed by courts and regulators in the context of unsolicited control transactions. In its recent Air Products & Chemicals v. Airgas decision, the Delaware Chancery Court canvassed the evolution of its law on this point and concluded that implicit in the power (and responsibility) of the board …
Proportionate Liability Under The Cbca In The Context Of Recent Corporate Governance Reform: Canadian Auditors In The Wrong Place At The Wrong Time?, Poonam Puri, Stephanie Ben-Ishai
Proportionate Liability Under The Cbca In The Context Of Recent Corporate Governance Reform: Canadian Auditors In The Wrong Place At The Wrong Time?, Poonam Puri, Stephanie Ben-Ishai
Poonam Puri
In the recent Canada Business Corporations Act amendments implementing a proportionate liability scheme, auditors appear to be winners. This is consistent with the trend in the past several years as a result of which Canadian auditors have been successful in narrowing the scope of their liability both through legislation and through common law. Going forward, however, it is fair to say that auditors will be losers unless the accounting profession re-evaluates its role and responsibilities to its stakeholders. Given the accounting and corporate governance scandals North America has witnessed in the past few years, as well as the actual and …
Politics Of Knowledge Dissemination: Corporate Reporting, Shareholder Voice, And Human Rights, Aaron A. Dhir
Politics Of Knowledge Dissemination: Corporate Reporting, Shareholder Voice, And Human Rights, Aaron A. Dhir
Aaron A. Dhir
This article considers the relationship between social disclosure and corporate accountability in Canada. It focuses on the potential benefits social disclosure can provide in terms of the overall human rights project. I explore this issue with reference to the broader theoretical frameworks of new governance and reflexive law. White I ground my analysis in these analytical approaches. I distance myself slightly from particular arguments in the literature to date: specifically, the argument that the disclosure process will result in self-correcting behaviour on the part of corporate decision makers. Rather, I argue that the value of social disclosure may lie more …
Proportionate Liability Under The Cbca In The Context Of Recent Corporate Governance Reform: Canadian Auditors In The Wrong Place At The Wrong Time?, Poonam Puri, Stephanie Ben-Ishai
Proportionate Liability Under The Cbca In The Context Of Recent Corporate Governance Reform: Canadian Auditors In The Wrong Place At The Wrong Time?, Poonam Puri, Stephanie Ben-Ishai
Stephanie Ben-Ishai
In the recent Canada Business Corporations Act amendments implementing a proportionate liability scheme, auditors appear to be winners. This is consistent with the trend in the past several years as a result of which Canadian auditors have been successful in narrowing the scope of their liability both through legislation and through common law. Going forward, however, it is fair to say that auditors will be losers unless the accounting profession re-evaluates its role and responsibilities to its stakeholders. Given the accounting and corporate governance scandals North America has witnessed in the past few years, as well as the actual and …