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Shareholder proposal on equity audit at Scotiabank gets more than twice the usual votes
By AP News - Apr 08, 2025, 08:14 PM ET
Last Updated - Apr 08, 2025, 08:14 PM EDT
TORONTO, April 8, 2025 /CNW/ - More than 37 per cent of shareholders voted in favour of a shareholder proposal today asking the Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX: BNS) to commission a third-party racial equity audit. That level of support is more than twice the average vote for a shareholder resolution at any Canadian company in 2024. Large institutional Scotiabank investors including CPPIB, BCI, IMCO, CalPERS, and CalSTRS backed the proposal.
The proposal was filed by SHARE, the Shareholder Association for Research and Education, on behalf of the Hamilton Community Foundation.
Since 2023, all of the other "Big Six" Canadian banks have committed to conducting a third-party racial equity audit, including Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank of Canada, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, National Bank of Canada, and the Toronto-Dominion Bank.
Scotiabank is an outlier among its peers.
A racial equity audit consists of an independent examination of a company's employment and business practices intended to identify and remediate potential and actual disparate outcomes for Indigenous Peoples and racially marginalized communities.
"A racial equity audit will unify Scotiabank's presently fragmented reconciliation and equity initiatives, providing a co-ordinated, enterprise-wide assessment to drive meaningful progress," says Sarah Couturier-Tanoh, Director of Shareholder Advocacy at SHARE. "It will also measure and support the Bank's newly launched ScotiaBond values — values that affirm the Bank's commitment to promoting accountability and inclusivity as essential to its growth strategy."
Scotiabank has not yet engaged in efforts to evaluate the potential negative impacts its products and services may have on Indigenous Peoples and racially marginalized communities. Despite the Bank's assertions that its current initiatives are sufficient, a large number of shareholders clearly disagreed.
"Expanding financial access, equal contract opportunities, and equal employment opportunity for Indigenous Peoples and racially marginalized communities will support Scotiabank's business resilience, competitiveness, and long-term sustainability," continues Couturier-Tanoh.
"Amid attacks on diversity and equity measures in the U.S., this strong support confirms that for shareholders, robust accountability on racial equity issues remains a material consideration for long-term value creation."
About SHARE: SHARE, the Shareholder Association for Research and Education, is a Canadian leader in responsible investment services, providing shareholder engagement, advisory services, research, leadership development, and policy advocacy for a growing network of Canadian pension plans, universities, foundations, Indigenous trusts and other institutions. Learn more at https://share.ca.
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