Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 71.86
Liaison Isabel Savransky
Submission Date June 19, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Ontario Tech University
PA-8: Committee on Investor Responsibility

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have a formally established and active committee on investor responsibility (CIR) that makes recommendations to fund decision-makers on socially and environmentally responsible investment opportunities across asset classes?:
Yes

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The charter or mission statement of the CIR or other body which reflects social and environmental concerns or a brief description of how the CIR is tasked to address social and environmental concerns:
The Ontario Tech U Investment Committee takes into consideration environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors with respect to responsible investing (RI). The University believes that these are important considerations in offering you an array of investment options from which to choose. Taking into account ESGs factors in the investments available in the Ontario Tech U DCPP gives you more choice in determining your own investment mix from a range of diversified styles and objectives. RI, also known as sustainable investing, is an investment strategy which seeks to generate both financial and sustainable value. It consists of a set of investment approaches that integrates ESGs and ethical issues into financial analysis and decision-making. ESG factors offer an enhanced analysis of potential investments which can provide a better understanding of overall risk. This includes both financial and non-financial risks which impact the rates of returns realized in the funds in which pension assets are invested. The Ontario Tech U Investment Committee refers to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) The UN PRI was developed by an international group of institutional investors to address the increasing relevance of ESG issues to investment practices. The objective is to align investors with broader objectives of today’s society. This international network of investors collaborated to establish the six (6) Principles for RI. Its goal is to understand the implications of sustainability for investors and support signatories to incorporate these issues into their investment decision making and ownership practices. The six (6) Principles are to: 1. incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes; 2. be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices; 3. seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which they invest; 4. promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry; and 5. work together to enhance the effectiveness in implementing the Principles; 6. report on activities and progress towards implementing the Principles.

Does the CIR include staff representation?:
Yes

Does the CIR include faculty representation?:
Yes

Does the CIR include student representation?:
Yes

Members of the CIR, including affiliations and role (e.g. student, faculty, staff, alumni):
Investment Committee Members STUDENT: Jessica Nguyen – Ontario Tech U Undergratuate Student Representative STAFF: Beckie Dinwoodie – Board of Governors, Academic Council, and their standing and ad hoc committees Barb Hamilton- Legal Administrative Assistant Craig Elliot- CFO Jacquelyn Dupuis - Director of Risk Management Cheryl Foy- Senior Administrator Sue McGovern- Vice President, External Relations Niall O’Halloran - Policy and Compliance Advisor FACULTY: Michael Owen- Dean of Education, Head of Ontario Tech U Research Services Deborah Saucier – Professor, Faculty of Science OTHER PARTIES: Miles Goacher, Chair Miles Goacher is Vice-President of RBC Dominion Securities and has spent the last 17 years building Goacher Wealth Management into one of the top 100 advisory teams at RBC Dominion Securities in Canada. Prior to his investment advisory role, he was a bond trader on Bay Street in Toronto, Ontario and maintained his own tax practice. He provided accounting and audit services with PriceWaterhouseCoopers in the early 1990s, where he obtained his Chartered Accountant designation. He also holds a Certified Financial Planner designation, as well as being a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute. He is a graduate of the Bachelor of Commerce program at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has served as the Treasurer of the Rotary Club of Oshawa-Parkwood, has sat on the Advisory Board of the YMCA of Greater Toronto, Durham Region, and was a Director of the Durham Community Foundation. He is currently Director of the Whitby Chamber of Commerce and Chair of its Membership Committee. Nigel Allen Nigel Allen is a Partner with BDO Canada LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants, Licensed Public Accountants. Working from BDO’s Oshawa, Ontario office, he has more than 22 years of public accounting experience primarily in audit, accounting, taxation, general management advice and business planning. During his career with BDO, he has obtained his Chartered Accountant and his Chartered Professional Accountant designations. He is a graduate of the Bachelor of Arts Chartered Accountancy (Honours) program at the University of Waterloo. His community involvement includes: • Audit Committee Member of the Durham District School Board • Manager with the Oshawa Kicks Soccer Club • Past Chair of the Investment Committee of the Durham Community Foundation • Past Director of St. Martin’s Centre • Past Director, Treasurer, President and Chair of the Ajax Pickering Board of Trade • Past Chair of the Ajax Pickering Board of Trade Audit and Finance Committee • Past Director of the Durham Community Foundation • Past Director of the Whitby Station Gallery • Past Coach with the Ajax Soccer Club Adele Imrie Adele Imrie is a Chartered Accountant and the Vice-President of Finance at Forum Equity Partners, a Toronto-based real estate development company specializing in public/private partnership projects. Adele has spent more than 20 years in commercial real estate development. Prior to joining Forum, she was Vice-President of Finance at Parkview Properties (formerly Famous Players Realty Investments). She graduated from the University of Toronto (U of T) with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree, majoring in History and minoring in Commerce. She qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1983 while working at Clarkson Gordon (presently Ernst and Young). In 2007, she completed the Diploma of Investigative and Forensic Accounting at U of T’s Mississauga Campus in collaboration with U of T’s Rotman School of Management. Imrie is passionate about education. She currently sits as Chair of the CODE Foundation, an award-winning United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) charity that has promoted children’s literacy in developing countries for more than 50 years. She has been an active volunteer in the Canadian independent school system and sits on the Board of Governors of the Bishop Strachan School as Chair of the Finance Committee. She has also served on the Board of Kingsway College School in Toronto, Ontario for six years as Treasurer and Chair. She served on the Board of the Conference of Independent Schools of Ontario (CIS Ontario) for three years as Treasurer, and was Chair of the Canadian Association of Independent Schools Conference on Governance. She has also served as Treasurer for multi-million dollar capital campaigns for both Kingsway College School and Bishop Strachan School. John Speers John Speers is Managing Director, Institutional Relationship Management (IRM) at BMO Capital Markets. IRM is responsible for managing capital market sales and trading relationships with the bank's top 50 clients globally. He joined the IRM team in February 2011 and was appointed Managing Director in 2004. In October 2006 he took over responsibility for the International Financial Institutions Group, which includes Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Australia and New Zealand. His role includes relationship management and business development across the portfolio he manages. He first joined Bank of Montreal in September 1987 after 14 years working in a banking group in the United Kingdom. In his time with BMO, he has worked in the Treasury, International Credit and Financial Institutions groups. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Bankers in Ireland and has completed the University of Southern California's Executive Program. Glenna Raymond, Board Chair (ex-officio) Glenna Raymond is President and CEO of Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (Ontario Shores), a public specialty hospital that provides assessment and treatment services for people living with complex mental illness. Ontario Shores is a teaching hospital and engages in research, education and advocacy initiatives to advance the mental health care system. As the inaugural president of Ontario Shores, Raymond worked together with a new community-based Board of Directors to guide the organization to create a public hospital in 2006. Under her leadership, the organization put together a mission, vision, values, strategic plan, new brand and site development plan. Raymond’s dedication to quality and safety resulted in Ontario Shores being the recipient of provincial and national awards for innovation, quality and team leadership in 2007 and 2009. As a Certified Health Executive (CHE), Raymond’s extensive career includes executive roles in the acute care, mental health and academic setting. Raymond has also held leadership roles in clinical services, human resources, professional practice and quality and risk management. She is currently involved with a number of boards and councils and has served on numerous hospital boards, foundations and local community charities and mental health agencies. Currently, she is Director for Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC) and Chair of the Pan-Canadian Patient Safety in Mental Health Advisory Group.

None
Examples of CIR actions during the previous three years:
Committee Formed Policy on Responsible Investment developed Sustainable investment option added to Ontario Tech U staff pension portfolio.

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