Canadian Society of Corporate Secretaries (CSCS) Excellence in Governance short list announced

TORONTO, June 4, 2013 /CNW/ - CSCS is pleased to announce the shortlist for the inaugural Excellence in Governance Awards. A total of 76 nominations were received from across all sectors and from close to 40 organizations. The short listed nominees, organized by category, are presented below:

1. Best sustainability, ethics and environmental governance program
• Goldcorp Inc
• Port Metro Vancouver
• Suncor
• TELUS Corporation
• TransAlta
2. Best use of technology in governance, risk and compliance
• BMO Financial Group
• Encana Corporation
• MTS Allstream
3. Best approach to board and committee support
• Astral Media Inc.
• Mountain Equipment Co-op
• Suncor
• Tarion Warranty Corporation
• VIA Rail Canada
4. Best shareholder engagement by a governance team
• BCE Inc.
• Canada Council for the Arts
• Royal Bank of Canada
• TELUS Corporation
5. Best practices in managing boardroom diversity
• Manulife Financial Corporation
• Nova Scotia Barristers' Society
• Shoppers Drug Mart
• TD Bank Group
6. Best overall corporate governance
• ATB Financial
• BCE Inc.
• Cameco Corporation
• MTS Allstream
• Royal Bank of Canada

The Excellence in Governance Award winners will be announced and recognized  at the opening dinner of the 15^th CSCS annual conference on August 18^th in Halifax NS. The Excellence in Governance Awards jury panel is composed of seasoned and well-respected governance experts from across Canada and include: Gigi Dawe, CICA; Stephen Griggs, Smoothwater Capital Corporation; Carol Hansell, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP; Sylvia Groves, Governance Studio; Dr Richard Leblanc, York University; Andrew MacDougall, Spencer Stuart; Paul Schneider, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan; Elizabeth Watson, Watson Inc; Brendan Sheehan, The Illawong Group (moderator).

CSCS would like to acknowledge the contribution of the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association (CCCA) to the short listing judging for the Excellence in Governance Awards. We thank the following three individuals who volunteered a considerable amount of time and effort in reviewing close to 80 submissions for the Excellence in Governance Awards, to generate the shortlist of finalists for the Awards judges. Cathy Cummings MBA, CAE,  Executive Director, Canadian Corporate Counsel Association (CCCA); Grant K.D. Borbridge QC, Executive Vice President, Investments and Chief Counsel, Emergo Group of Companies; Terri Uhrich, Vice President, Legal Affairs at K+S Potash Canada.

CSCS is committed to supporting and enhancing the role of the corporate secretary and governance professionals across all industries in Canada. The Society's members work on the front lines of governance and the organization is well positioned through reputation, influence and representation, to celebrate the practice of good governance in Canada. We are very pleased with the excellent show of support for this inaugural program and look forward to announcing the finalists on August 18th in Halifax, NS.

For more information about the awards, visit http://www.cscs.org/EGA and for more information about the CSCS annual conference and program, visit: http://www.cscs.org/AnnualConference

SOURCE: Canadian Society of Corporate Secretaries