CANADA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Bill Gilliland, Dentons
Form B Form B requires disclosure on the representation of five designated groups, being: • women; • persons with disabilities; • LGBTQ2SI+ persons; and • persons on boards and in executive officer positions. • indigenous peoples; • racialised persons; An issuer may also choose to voluntarily provide disclosure in respect of other groups beyond the foregoing designated groups. All such data would be reported in a standard - ised tabular format to promote consistent and comparable disclosure. This information would be based on voluntary self-disclosure by direc - tors and executive officers. In addition, this form would require disclosure regarding any written strategy, written policies and measurable objectives relating to diversity on an issuer’s board of directors. The key difference between the two forms is that Form B mandates disclosure on histori - cally underrepresented groups, which is a simi - lar approach to the board diversity disclosure requirements under the CBCA. In contrast, Form A mandates disclosure only on women’s repre - sentation and is based on a view that securi - ties regulators should not select categories of diversity. Form A defers to an issuer to determine what additional categories or aspects of diversity they wish to implement based on the company’s business and strategy. Under the same notice, the CSA has also proposed enhanced guide - lines for issuers relating to board nominations and renewals. In April 2025, the CSA announced
Boards and in Executive Officer Positions, the tenth annual review by the CSA on disclosure regarding women on corporate boards and in executive officer positions. The CSA reported a small increase, as compared to its prior year’s report, in the overall percentage of women on boards and in executive officer positions. On 13 April 2023, the CSA proposed amend - ments to Form 58-101F1 – Corporate Govern - ance Disclosure and National Policy 58-201 – Corporate Governance Guidelines pertaining to diversity, board renewal and board nomina- tions. The CSA proposed two versions of Form 58-101F1 for comment, “Form A” and “Form B” , which are applicable to non-venture issuers. Form A Form A requires disclosure on an issuer’s approach to diversity in respect of the board and executive officers but would not mandate dis - closure in respect of any specific groups, other than women. For example, an issuer would disclose its cho - sen diversity objectives, how progress is meas - ured, and the mechanisms in place to achieve these objectives. This can be achieved by collecting data with respect to specific groups the issuer identifies as being relevant for its approach to diversity and for comparative purposes. There is no required format on how to present this information; the approach taken in this form is intended to provide each issuer with flexibility to design practices and policies respecting how it will address diversity in its specific circum - stances, and not requiring it to report data on any specific group.
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