You Asked, We Answered
Questions from the
Comments Section on the Proxy Vote.
Thanks to all of those who participated in our
Annual General Meeting. Members confirmed
Cookson Walker LLP as our auditor and Earl Burt,
Brad Bennett and Paul Gunter were re-elected to our
Board of Directors. Thanks to all the members
who submitted their proxy votes. Proxy voting
was up 25% this year, and 58% of those votes were
submitted online.
As always there is a
comments sections available on the Proxy ballot for
members to communicate their ideas or questions.
We've taken some of these member questions and
posted them here with answers to provide you with a
little insight in the proxy process.
How are candidates selected?
The
Corporate Governance Committee of the Teachers Life
Board of Directors is responsible for preparing a
slate of candidates for the consideration of the Board of
Directors.
Increasingly, Financial Regulators are
looking at Board composition with respect to skills
and experience to provide fiduciary oversight of the
organizations and our Board is aware of these
requirements.
Our current by-laws require that
the nine Board positions be held by current Members
of Teachers Life.
We're really lucky that we can draw on a wide
variety of skills and experience for the educational
community.
However, individuals are more than welcome to
express an interest in becoming a member of our
Board of Directors, provided they are a current
member of Teachers Life.
For more information regarding running for a
position please send an email to the attention of
Corporate Governance Chair at
insuring@teacherslife.com.
What are the candidate requirements?
Once a potential Board member is identified they must
fulfill the following requirements
as outlined in our by-laws:
1. They must be nominated to run
for Board of Directors OR they must submit a
proposal of nomination that contains the support
50 Members or 1% of the Membership (whatever is
lesser).
2. The term of office is for 3
years.
Why are there only three directors
elected each year?
To maintain Board continuity, each year only three
of nine Board Members (a
third of the board) become eligible for retirement
- meaning they have fulfilled their three year term.
And, if they desire, they can, and often do,
run for re-election.
This year, the three candidates on the proxy
ballot were Board Members whose terms had ended and
were eligible for a new three year term.
These were the only names brought forward for
consideration.
Why
are there no women on the ballot?
The short
answer is that it just happened to be that the
three Board Members whose terms had ended were
all male.
But just because you didn't see any women on
the ballot this year, doesn't mean that they are not
on the Board of Directors.
Four of our five Board Members are women,
including our Board Chair, Sharyn Rothfuss.
You can check out all of our
current Board Directors by clicking
here.
Can't the English in "the undersigned..."
paragraph on the proxy be simplified?
Not everyone understands the term
"proxy" and you are right, the wording just seems to
confuse people.
Essentially a proxy is much like a limited
power of attorney in that it empowers the agent (in
this case a director on the Board or designate) to
act on behalf of the member and can "assign their
votes to a proxy" - an individual (in this case a
Director - or another individual designated)
entitled to vote on their behalf.
We will work on a "plain English" version for
next year.
I hope Teachers Life will preserve the funds to
maintain our insurance.
It is difficult to imagine the economic turmoil of the past number of
months going away any time soon. There will be
lingering effects as we move forward. However, our
prudent approach over the past 70 years has created
a strong, safe and supportive environment that
allows unique opportunities for the organization.
Our financial position should give comfort to policy
holders as well as providing the organization the
opportunity to grow. Growth will not only add
strength, but allow us to look for increasing ways
to support our Membership.
As a footnote, on January 1, 2011 we will adhere to the new regulatory requirement as
set by the International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS).
All publicly accountable entities are
required by the Office of the Superintendent of
Financial Institutions (OSFI) to prepare for these
new reporting standards over the next two years.
These increased financial regulations will only
strengthen our already solid economic base.
The picture of Doug Baker looks like it has been
touched up. Did Teachers Life pay for this?
Listen folks, The Baker Beautification Project does not come cheap.
We have people working around the clock on
photos taken of this man.
Check out the "Before" and "After":
 
Vive la difference, no?
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