www.lexpert.ca 15
"We're starting
to see this
movement
towards more
regulation,
more hard
requirements"
Gordon Raman
FASKEN
least $20 million in assets, $40 million in
revenue, or 250 employees.
"We're starting to see this movement
towards more regulation, more hard require-
ments," says Gordon Raman, chair of Fasken
Martineau DuMoulin LLP's ESG and sustain-
ability practice. While mandatory diversity,
equity, and inclusion requirements have
existed for a long time, he says ESG reporting
has been mostly voluntary. Raman is a partner
at Fasken, and his practice includes advising
clients on mergers and acquisitions, corporate
governance, and capital markets.
e Canadian Securities Administrators
(CSA) is the umbrella of provincial securities
regulators, which govern Canadian markets,
securities issuers, and investors. In early 2023,
it proposed two alternative approaches to the
rules related to diversity and director nomina-
tions for public companies.
"One is quite prescriptive. e other one is
less prescriptive," says Ravipal Bains, a partner
at McMillan LLP's capital markets and secu-
rities practice. He says the market has mixed
views, and stakeholder discussion is ongoing.
Some European jurisdictions have
succeeded with mandatory quotas for
female board representation, says Bains,
who advises clients on mergers and acqui-
sitions, corporate governance, and corpo-
rate finance. He says that Canadian capital
markets face "unique challenges" with
female board representation, with many
junior companies not having a high degree
of representation of women on board and
executive officer positions. "at is an area
