Governance Canada

Discussion + Information on Governance in Canada
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RESEARCH IN MOTION – THE 10 YEAR OPTION GRANTING SCANDAL

From December 1996 to July 2006, Jim Balsillie, Dennis Kavelman (then CFO), Mike Lazaridis and certain other RIM officers and directors engaged in improper stock option granting practices, including backdating and repricing of executive, director and employee stock option awards.  Following an internal investigation, in May 2007, RIM restated its historical financial statements with a cumulative, non-cash, stock-based compensation expense of U.S. $248.2 million.  In the February 2009 settlement of the Ontario Securities Commission’s enforcement action, Balsillie, Lazaridis and Kavelman agreed that they engaged in option backdating and repricing and that the total “in-the-money” undisclosed benefit from the incorrect option dating practices was approximately $66 million.  They confirmed that they returned the improper financial benefits they received from the incorrectly priced options and undertook to contribute, in aggregate, $83.1 million to RIM and to pay administrative penalties and OSC costs totalling $9 million.

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STATEMENT OF EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Letter to the Canadian Securities Administrators in response to request for comments on proposed amendments to Form 51-102F6 “Statement of Executive Compensation”, including recommendations for disclosure concerning executive compensation clawbacks, discretionary compensation awards by boards, compensation governance, compensation committee members’ relationships and compensation advisor services.

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