Joint Statement by Canadian Banks and Life Insurance Companies Regarding Annual Meetings in 2022

TORONTO, Dec. 6, 2021 /CNW/ - This is a joint statement issued by BMO, CIBC, Canadian Western Bank, Laurentian Bank, National Bank, RBC, Scotiabank, TD Bank Group, Great-West Lifeco, Canada Life, Manulife and Sun Life. Each of us continues to actively monitor the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the directives from public health and government authorities for group gatherings and social distancing. We have been taking a series of proactive precautionary measures to help protect the health and well-being of our employees, clients and communities. This degree of care and concern extends to all of our shareholders and policyholders. Although we may be able to resume in-person annual meetings in 2022 with the appropriate health and safety protocols in place, we have been carefully considering alternatives for our respective meetings in light of the continued and unpredictable circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health restrictions and potential protocols recommended by public health authorities and organizations.  

As a result, we have once again jointly obtained a court order that enables our 2022 annual meetings to be held, as electronic-only or as hybrid meetings, as determined by each financial institution. The order permits our meetings to be conducted over one or more of webcasting, teleconference or other electronic means, in each case in addition to, or instead of, an in-person meeting, and permits alternative means for distributing meeting materials. In March 2020 and December 2020, we jointly obtained a similar court order. We are considering ways to enhance the participant experience in 2022, leveraging the learnings from our respective 2020 and 2021 annual meetings. The order was obtained because Canadian banks and insurance companies are not permitted to conduct an electronic annual meeting in lieu of an in-person meeting without relief from the court.  

We believe these are prudent measures to protect the health and well-being of our stakeholders, while supporting shareholder and policyholder engagement and their ability to attend and exercise their rights. Each institution is committed to presenting their respective meeting in a manner that supports constructive shareholder engagement.

The specific arrangements for each annual meeting will be announced separately prior to the scheduled date. We encourage our shareholders and policyholders to visit our websites in advance of our annual meetings for the most current information.

Bank of Montreal

BMO Life Assurance Company

Media Relations

Paul Gammal
(416) 867-3996
paul.gammal@bmo.com

Investor Relations
Bill Anderson
(416) 867-7834
bill2.anderson@bmo.com

The Bank of Nova Scotia

Media Relations

Laura Mergelas

(437) 244-7863  

laura.mergelas@scotiabank.com

 

Investor Relations

Sophia Saeed

(647) 973-6961

sophia.saeed@scotiabank.com

 

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

Media Relations

Trish Tervit

(416) 813-9119

trish.tervit@cibc.com

Canadian Western Bank

Investor Relations

Chris Williams

(780) 508-8229

chris.williams@cwbank.com

 

Laurentian Bank of Canada

Media Relations

Merick Seguin

(514) 451-3201

merick.seguin@lbcfq.ca

 

Investor Relations

Susan Cohen

(514) 970-0564

susan.cohen@lbcfq.ca

 

National Bank of Canada

Media Relations

Marie-Pierre Jodoin

(514) 394-4209

mariepierre.jodoin@nbc.ca

 

Investor Relations

Marianne Ratté

1-866-517-5455

investorrelations@nbc.ca /

relationsinvestisseurs@bnc.ca

 

Royal Bank of Canada

RBC Life Insurance Company

Media Relations

Gillian McArdle

(416) 842-4231

gillian.mcardle@rbc.com

Investor Relations

Asim Imran

(416) 955-7804

asim.imran@rbc.com

The Toronto-Dominion Bank

Media Relations

Natasha Ferrari

(416) 400-9098

natasha.ferrari@td.com

Investor Relations

Gillian Manning

(416) 308-6014

gillian.manning@td.com



Great-West Lifeco Inc.

The Canada Life Assurance Company

Media Relations

Liz Kulyk

(204) 391-8515

media.relations@canadalife.com

 

 

Investor Relations

Deirdre Neary

(647) 328-2134

deirdre.neary@canadalife.com

 

Manulife Financial Corporation

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

Media Relations

Gillian Earle

(289) 834-0862

gillian_earle@manulife.com

 

Investor Relations

Hung Ko

(416) 806-9921

hung_ko@manulife.com

Sun Life Financial Inc.

Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada

Media Relations

Rajani Kamath

(416) 979-6070

rajani.kamath@sunlife.com

Investor Relations

Yaniv Bitton

(416) 979-6496

investor_­relations@sunlife.com


 

SOURCE Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce