The corporate governance consultant at the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) was preparing to respond to the proxy ballot for resolutions to be voted on at a Royal Oak Mines Inc. shareholders' meeting. Royal Oak's management was requesting that shareholders approve resolutions with respect to the granting of employee stock options (ESO) and the repricing of ESOs. Prior to voting the Royal Oak ESO proxies, OMERS staff wanted .....more

The vice president of finance was reviewing the corporation's financial situation in preparation for the forthcoming board of directors' meeting. Key items on the board's agenda included Torstar's dividend policy and share repurchase strategy, along with Torstar's ability to acquire strategic investments and to maintain capital expenditure requirements. The case focuses on the optimal utilization of excess cash flow.