Seven of Canada’s largest institutional investors are opposed to Barrick Gold’s decision to award an $11.9-million bonus to the company’s co-chair, John L. Thornton.
“This amount, for a signing bonus for a co-chair of the board is, to our knowledge, unprecedented in Canada and is in addition to other compensation for the year for a total package of $17 million in 2012,” says a joint statement. “This compensation is inconsistent with the governance principle of pay-for-performance and is therefore disproportionate and sets a troubling precedent in Canadian capital markets.”
They plan to vote against both the advisory resolution on executive compensation and the election of the members of the compensation committee at Barrick’s annual general meeting. The group has also expressed its concern in a letter to the chair of the board.
The seven Canadian institutional investors are the Alberta Investment Management Corp., the British Columbia Investment Management Corp., the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board. They are supported by Hermes Equity Ownership Services, which represents assets on behalf of more than 30 institutional funds worldwide.