Ryerson CSR Institute Zoom Session: Shareholders vs. Stakeholders - A Corporate Law Comparative Governance Perspective - In Conversation with Dr. Nojeem Akinjide Amodu

he Institute for the Study of Corporate Social Responsibility at Ryerson University* is pleased to present an online interactive zoom session, Shareholders vs. Stakeholders: A Corporate Law Comparative Governance Perspective -- in Conversation with Dr. Nojeem Akinjide Amodu (details below), on Wednesday, March 2, 2022 from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm (Toronto time).

It is not unusual to hear corporate directors claim that they have a fiduciary duty with respect to their shareholders, but that their hands are tied with respect to considering the interests of other stakeholders. Since a 2008 Supreme Court of Canada court decision (the BCE case), this is not an accurate statement of the law in Canada, where the Court has stated clearly that the fiduciary duty of directors is to look after the long-term best interests of the corporation acting as a "good" and "responsible" corporate citizen, taking into account (among others) the interests of shareholders, employees, suppliers, creditors, consumers, government and the environment—and no one interest is necessarily a higher priority than others. But what about the law in other jurisdictions? And regardless of what the law says, on a day to day practical basis, what are the actual views of corporate board directors?

Dr. Nojeem Akinjide Amodu is ideally positioned to shed light on these types of questions. Dr. Amodu holds a Research Associateship in the School of Law of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London, United Kingdom, and at the Centre for Comparative Law in Africa of the University of Cape Town, South Africa (UCT). He effectively combines scholarship in the legal aspects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability with more than 14 years industry experience as a legal counsel in multinational companies including presently in the French oil giant affiliate in Nigeria, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited.

Moderating the session will be Dr. Kernaghan Webb, Director of the Ryerson CSR Institute and a Law and Business professor in Ryerson University's Ted Rogers School of Management who is also cross appointed to the Law Faculty.

The talk is co-sponsored by the Ryerson Corporate Social Responsibility Student Association, the Ryerson Commerce and Government Association, and the Ryerson Law and Business Student Association.  Although everyone is welcome to attend the zoom session and there is no cost for patching in, to attend you must first register by clicking HERE (external link) , and then pressing the green "register" button.

On Wednesday, March 2 at 11am (Toronto time), click HERE (external link)  to patch in for the zoom session.