BlackBerry, CI Financial shareholders vote no to executive compensation approaches

TORONTO – Shareholders of BlackBerry Ltd. and CI Financial Corp. have rejected the companies’ approaches to executive pay.

The Waterloo, Ont., tech company’s shareholders voted 55.8 per cent against the so-called Say on Pay proposal at its annual meeting Wednesday.

More than 41 per cent rejected last year’s proposal, but shareholder advisory firm Glass Lewis, who urged shareholders to vote no at this year’s vote, said most unaffiliated shareholders opposed it a year ago.

CI Financial, a Toronto-based global wealth management and asset management advisory services firm, saw its executive compensation proposal fail for a second-straight year.

Nearly 55 per cent of shareholders rejected CI’s approach to compensation on Wednesday, compared with 61.9 per cent who voted no last year.

Say on Pay votes ask investors to vote on pay for a company’s top executives. Such votes at annual meetings that are described as “advisory” traditionally receive shareholder support.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 22, 2022.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BB, TSX:CIX)