It is hereby proposed that any information originating from the bank, which is liable to influence the value of shares be communicated simultaneously to shareholders.
Institutional investors who manage retirement funds and mutual fund investment firms have become privileged players in the today’ stock market. This carries with it the risk of creating first-, second- and third class shareholders, with the small shareholder falling into the later category and not being privy to first hand information which may allow him/her to maximise his/her holdings or portfolio of bank shares. The Bank Act provides that all shareholders are pari passu, which is to say that they should be assured of equal treatment on the part of the bank. This proposal was inspired by OMERS, by Glorianne Stromberg, by the Financial Post, and by the Report of the Permanent Senatorial Committee on Banking and Business which recommends that ‘‘individual investors must have timely access to information provided to corporations and institutional investors and management should invite the written press to attend its meetings.’’