CCGG Releases Draft Guidelines Regarding Governance Of Controlled Corporations

On April 11, the Canadian Coalition of Good Governance (CCGG) released draft guidelines respecting the governance of controlled corporations. The document, which relates only to issuers controlled through the holding of common shares (guidelines for dual class share companies are expected in the future) modifies certain guidelines found in CCGG's 2010 Building High Performance Boards to "ensure that the legitimate ownership interests of a controlling shareholder are not in conflict with a guideline designed for widely held issuers." 

Specifically, the guidelines address issues respecting: (i) shareholder democracy and the ability of minority shareholders to express their views even where a controlling shareholder holds 50% or more of the voting shares; (ii) board composition and the limitations on the number of related directors (directors that are significant owners of the controlling shareholder, directly or indirectly employed by the controlling shareholder or