COVID-19: Seven Things Directors Should Consider In A Crisis

As the COVID-19 pandemic surges, corporations face unprecedented challenges. For boards of directors, whose missteps today could have severe legal repercussions down the road, the stakes have never been higher.

While the true impact of today's decisions likely won't play out for another 12 to 16 months, there are ways for Canadian directors to meet both their fiduciary duty (to act honestly, in good faith, with a view to the best interests of the corporation) and their duty of care (to exercise a level of care, diligence and skill that a reasonable person would exercise in comparable circumstances). To do so, will take a shift into crisis mode.

Your board's crisis conduct will likely differ from business as usual in a few significant ways. For instance, now is the time to increase communication between management and the board as much as is practical, which should facilitate more strategic business decisions. This is bound to result in a more hands-on approach