Corporate governance

In 2002, ADM conducted an in-depth review of its corporate governance practices following the adoption by the Board of Directors of Bylaws 2001-1 and 2001-2  amending the letters patent, the General Bylaws and certain articles of the Land Lease in order to insert them into the “Public Accountability Principles of Canadian Airport Authorities,” enacted by Transport Canada. 

Although not subject to the governance rules that regulate public companies, ADM complies with the practices required of public companies, adapting them to its status of corporation without share capital. In fact, the practices currently being used by ADM comply with the guidelines of the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and the standards set out in National Instrument 58-101 (“58-101”) and in National Policy 58-201 (“58-201”), which require companies to disclose their corporate governance practices.

To find out more…

Comparison between ADM’s practices and the TSX’s guidelines

Disclosure of corporate governance practices 2008

Transparency

ADM’s policy is to hold itself accountable to the community, practise transparency in its relationships with its clients and its various stakeholders, and communicate openly with the public.

The Corporation accounts for the actions of its administration in various ways, including:

• by publishing an annual report that must contain, in addition to audited financial statements, specific information with respect to corporate governance, compensation of directors and officers, and exceptions to the procurement policy.
• by issuing quarterly financial reports similar to those issued by publicly listed companies.
• by holding an annual public meeting.
• by holding an annual meeting with each of the nominating entities.
• by satisfying the financial requirements of the bond lenders and the syndicate of banks.

In addition to its work with the Community Advisory Committee, ADM consults its various stakeholders on relevant issues with respect to airport management, operations and development, either directly or by way of committees set up specifically for this purpose. The following are several examples.

• Soundscape Advisory Committee
  
  Composed of 15 members appointed by the City of Montréal (1), the boroughs of Dorval, Pointe-Claire and St-Laurent (1 each), Transport Canada (1), the Government of Québec (1), Nav Canada (1), the airlines (3) and ADM (5), this committee holds regular meetings to discuss soundscape issues.
  
• Airline Consultative Committee
  
  This committee is an effective forum for discussing matters of common interest to carriers and for officially representing their interests during consultations or formal communications with ADM.
  
• Airport Operators Committee
  
  Bringing together members of airport management, station managers for the various carriers, as well as representatives from federal inspection agencies, Nav Canada, handlers and other aviation service suppliers, this committee oversees the coordination of airport operations.
  
• Master plan
  
  Any change made to the master plan of either airports must be subject to consultations with various groups deemed appropriate by ADM, but must necessarily include the Community Advisory Committee. Once the comments have been received, the change proposal must then be filed with Transport Canada.
  
• Land-use plan
  
  A consultation plan must be filed with Transport Canada before any change is made to the plan. These consultations must be carried out with the Community Advisory Committee as well as with various other organizations, authorities and government departments deemed appropriate by ADM. An application for approval of the proposed changes must then be filed with Transport Canada.

Furthermore, the public has access to the different ways of contacting an ADM representative or for obtaining information on the Corporation’s activities, including:

• Visiting the ADM Website.
• Calling the general information numbers (514-394-7377 or 1-800-465-1213).
• Completing a comment card available at different places in the terminal.
• The travelling public can also share comments, questions or suggestions by phone (514-633-3068) or by e-mail.
• Writing to the Public Affairs department.

In addition, ADM conducts surveys on a continuous basis to ensure that airport services adequately meet the needs and expectations of customers; close to 2,000 passengers are interviewed each quarter on different aspects of customer service.