The Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Navdeep Bains, said that the Liberal government has finished its process to improve diversity among the corporate boards of the publicly traded companies. He said that the ball is now in the court of the Canadian corporations to step up.
The changes made by the government in the Canadian Business Corporations Act have been given a yes by the Governor General Julie Payette. Bains says it is time for Corporate Canada to take action on the same. With this new act, the publicly traded companies will have to reveal the number of women as well as visible minorities and like members on the senior management side and in their boards.
These companies will need to share their diversity policies and explain the details to their shareholders. As many as 270,000 companies in Canada are bound by this Act. The Conservatives have also supported this move by the Liberal government as they were the ones who had thought of bringing such a legislation when they had the power.
Bains said that his government is looking at being the world leader on this issue. The government will be taking all efforts to pursue Corporate Canada to have more diversity at the top of the business.