Pledge to Promote Diversity and Inclusion by Jarislowsky Fraser OCTOBER 1 2020 Jarislowsky Fraser is pleased to be a signatory of the Canadian Investor Statement on Diversity & Inclusion to contribute to addressing inequities in Canada by taking intentional steps to promote diversity and inclusion across our portfolios and within our organization. TORONTO, October 1, 2020 – Institutional investors managing more than $2.3 trillion in assets have signed the new Canadian Investor Statement on Diversity & Inclusion, an initiative coordinated by the Responsible Investment Association (RIA). Signatories to the statement, which include some of the largest institutional investors in the country, acknowledge the existence of systemic racism and its impacts on Black and Indigenous communities and People of Colour, while further acknowledging the existence of inequities and discrimination based on other factors including, but not limited to, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, culture and socio-economic status. The joint statement declares, “We all have a responsibility to ensure that the persistent inequities in business and our society are eliminated. As institutional investors, we can contribute to addressing these inequities in Canada by taking intentional steps to promote diversity and inclusion across our portfolios and within our organizations.” The signatories will take steps to integrate diversity & inclusion (D&I) into their investment processes, for example by monitoring the D&I practices of Canadian public companies and conveying their expectations of improved D&I disclosures. The investors collectively state that they expect Canadian public companies to aim for the adoption of policies, targets and timelines to improve diversity on boards and in senior management, with the ultimate goal of being aligned with the racial and ethnic demography of Canada. The signatories will also take concrete steps to strengthen D&I practices within their own institutions, such as providing training to foster inclusive cultures, collecting data to identify and address any barriers to the advancement of underrepresented groups, and seeking out underrepresented voices to inform D&I activities. The signatories commit to reporting on their efforts to promote D&I, and to reviewing and updating their practices as they learn from experience. “Acknowledging the existence of systemic racism is a recognition that we have a lot of work to do to level the playing field in business and society,” said Dustyn Lanz, CEO of the RIA. “These investors are stepping up to do the work because it’s the right thing to do, and because there’s a strong business case for doing so,” said Lanz, pointing to a McKinsey study which found that more diverse companies tend to be more profitable. The full statement is available online here. A list of institutional investor signatories is provided below. Institutional investors can become a signatory by completing this form. The RIA would like to thank Michela Gregory, Laura McGee, Shannin Metatawabin, Alison Schneider, and Rosa van den Beemt for contributing to the development of the statement. To complement the investor statement, the RIA is also hosting Diversity & Inclusion Week from October 26-30th – a week of dialogues and education for investment professionals to advance diversity and inclusion in their organizations and their portfolios. The week will kick off with a keynote speech from Wes Hall, Executive Chairman of Kingsdale Advisors and Founder of the BlackNorth Initiative. List of Investor Signatories Founding Signatories are noted with an asterisk (*) Addenda Capital* AGF Investments* Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo)* Bâtirente BMO Global Asset Management British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ)* Canada Post Corporation Pension Plan Central 1 Credit Union CIBC Asset Management Connor, Clark & Lunn Investment Management Deetken Impact Desjardins Group* ELFEC Gestion FÉRIQUE Global Alpha Capital Management IG Wealth Management Jarislowsky Fraser Global Investment Management Mackenzie Investments* MD Financial Management Inc. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. NEI Investments* OPSEU Pension Trust (OPTrust)* PCJ Investment Counsel Rally Assets Inc. RBC Global Asset Management Inc. Scheer, Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. SEI Investments Simon Fraser University The United Church of Canada University of Toronto Asset Management (UTAM)* More Supporting Organizations can be found on the RIA’s website here. About the Responsible Investment Association The Responsible Investment Association (RIA) is Canada’s industry association for responsible investment. The RIA’s membership includes asset managers, asset owners, advisors, and service providers who support its mandate of promoting responsible investment in Canada’s retail and institutional markets. Learn more at www.riacanada.ca. Media Enquiries Nick Buccheri Director of Operations, Responsible Investment Association nick@riacanada.ca +1(416) 461-6042 x5 About Institutional Private Wealth Global Research News & Insights Contact Client Portal Careers Privacy & Legal Accessibility CONTACT US © 2021 Jarislowsky, Fraser Limited. Canada - English Canada - Français United States - English International - English International - Español