There are scarcely any Indigenous directors on the boards of Canada’s big companies. That needs to change – The Globe and Mail
Dec 23, 2022
In the booming 1990s, when the stock market climbed higher by the day, there was little criticism of the way companies were managed. Yes, boards of directors were clubby, and dominated by older white men. But the market was hot, and share prices buoyant.
The crash of the early 2000s – and the implosion of the accounting fraud at Enron – sparked change. The failure of some big boards in their oversight role reverberated through society, from vaporized savings to lost jobs.
In mid-2002, the United States Congress passed new corporate governance rules. That same year, The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business undertook its first comprehensive review of the boards that oversee Canada’s large public companies, Board Games. That first investigation found most firms would not have met the new U.S. standards for independence of directors, a key element of effective oversight.
