ONTARIO
Over the summer months, CIRI Ontario’s programming committee was busy putting together what should be an exciting and informative schedule of events for the year. Coming up on September 30 is our first event, “Using advanced technologies effectively”. At this lunchtime session, learn the latest on search engine optimization, improving pick-up on Google and Yahoo Finance, blogging, Web 2.0, RSS feeds, and using social networking sites such as Facebook to actively target and communicate with shareholders and the Street.

We have six additional events planned for the year, with topics ranging from “Greening the IRO” to “Sovereign Wealth Funds”. We’ll also be continuing our popular series of Lunch and Learn sessions with practical topics such as “Understanding the buy-side buy/sell decision-making process” and “Understanding Stock Market Trading Mechanics.” Check out the Events Calendar on the Ontario Chapter section of the CIRI website for more information on upcoming events.

We capped off the 2007/2008 programming season in great style, combining the CIRI Ontario Annual General Meeting with an enjoyable evening at Yuk Yuk's Comedy Club in Toronto at the end of May.

After completing his two-year term, Jerry Ormiston is retiring as President. He will serve on the Board as Past President. The Ontario Chapter members are grateful to our outgoing president for his work on their behalf and his contributions to CIRI.

During the AGM, CIRI Ontario members voted on the slate for the incoming Board of Directors: Michelle Dodokin, ING Canada Inc. (President); Jerry Ormiston (Past President); Jo-Anne Archibald, The Equicom Group (Secretary); Leanne Burkholder, Province of Ontario (Treasurer); Elaine Wyatt, Craib Strategic Directions (Programs); Patrick Myles, DALSA Corporation (Programs and Newsline Representative); Greg Secord, Open Text Corporation (Marketing); Naomi Nemeth, Homeland Energy Group Ltd.; Tanis Robinson, Teranet Inc.; Erica Belling, CIC Energy Corp.; Chaya Cooperberg, BFI Canada Inc.; and Sheryl Joyce, BarnesMcInerney Inc.

During the evening, Ormiston acknowledged the success of the Ontario Chapter’s mentorship program; several mentors and protégés were in attendance. Special thanks go to Sonya Mehan for her effort in coordinating the mentorship program. Details on the 2008/2009 programming season will be distributed shortly. Keep an

Mentorship Appreciation Night at Yuk Yuk’s May 22, 2008!!
Join your fellow mentors, protégés and the rest of the CIRI Ontario chapter for a night of fun and laughter at Yuk Yuk’s – ON US!! In appreciation to all of the mentors that generously donated their time to the program this year, we are extending complimentary entrance into this event to both protégés and mentors who participated in the 2007- 2008 program. The evening begins with the CIRI Annual General Meeting followed by some laughs at Yuk Yuk’s.

Come celebrate mentorship and show your appreciation to the mentors helping to shape the IROs of tomorrow!

To register for free entrance into this event, contact Sonya Mehan at smehan@opentext.com or 519-888-7111 x 2446 by May 12, 2008.

Event Details:
Agenda:
6:30pm – 6:45pm EST – AGM
6:45pm – Reception and dinner
Location:
Yuk Yuk's Comedy Club
224 Richmond St. W.

Sign up today for the Fall 2008 Mentorship Program!

Deadline to sign up is June 6, 2008
If you want to learn how to take the next step in your IR career, why not learn from those who have done it before you?

The CIRI Ontario Mentorship Program teams leading CIRI Ontario IR professionals (mentors) who have helped to shape and define the IR profession with CIRI Ontario members with less than three years of IR experience (protégés) for strategic one-on-one meetings to achieve specific career development goals and explore career paths. Mentor-protégé teams meet for a minimum of one hour, three times, over the span of six months to share ideas, perspectives and experiences with the objective of achieving the protégé’s career development goals.

Want to know what your peers are saying about the program? Read the article recently published in Newsline: www.ciri.org/chapters/on/news/?article_id=1654>.

For more information, download the program flyer or contact Greg Secord, CIRI Ontario Mentorship Program Chair, at ciriONmentor@ciri.org or 519-888-7111 x 2408.

To sign up either as a protégé or as a mentor, please email ciriONmentor@ciri.org.

The relationship between the news media and IROs is all about trust. “We trust that you’re giving us something real, either somebody who can deliver or an actual story. And you trust that we won’t burn you, while understanding that we need latitude as journalists to do our job. That’s a very fine, grey area where the relationship does matter,” Amanda Lang told CIRI Ontario at a recent meeting at the BNN studios in Toronto.

Lang is the co-host of Squeeze Play with Kevin O’Leary, BNN’s nightly talk show about business and politics. She also co-hosts Lunch Money with Michael Kay, a midday roundup of the daily investment stories. CIRI Ontario met with Lang on February 14 to discuss the role of the media in investor relations.

Lang told the group that BNN has a huge appetite for many different kinds of stories, with a particular hunger for news that’s “relevant to markets, to the economy, something that’s a reflection point or will create change. We also have programming with a slightly different focus where programs can be a little tangential.” She also advised IROs to think of internal people who can be spokespeople capable of representing an issue, not just the company. As she explained, “If you’ve got people who can be experts, bring them to us. We need that lifeline of expert commentary all the time.”

Q: How do you find guests for your shows?
A: We have an internal database and we’ll do Google news searches. Often we get pitches – “This story is happening, we’ve got this guy, do you want them?” We love that.

Q: Would you recommend that our spokespeople get media training?
A: A lot of media trainers are former journalists and aren’t necessarily good teachers. Looking credible on air is really about having a relaxed conversation, of not pausing in a way that doesn’t look hunted or nervous. If media training can help you look comfortable, then it’s worth it.

Q: What advice can you give about pitching stories?
A: Don’t pitch something you’re not sure you have. Know what your people can talk about and don’t promise something you can’t deliver. In terms of news value, that’s complicated. Once you have a relationship with a journalist, of course, you can try things out.

Q: Will you give us the questions you’re going to ask ahead of time?
A: Never. Sometimes we’ll give some guidance about the general tone. On my show, we always do a pre-interview, and that’s worthwhile because it gives you a flavour of where we might go. But in the end, especially with live programming, the anchor can ask anything he or she wants. •

Greg Secord, Vice President, Investor Relations at Open Text, Waterloo, Ontario runs Ontario’s Mentorship Program. In 2003, the Membership Committee “realized that we were falling short on creating an attractive membership portfolio for those in the early stages of their career. What we really needed was the ability to help new IROs feel like they were not just part of the profession, but also part of their group of peers. I was blessed early on in my career because I was mentored not just by the CEO of Open Text, but also by a very seasoned IR practitioner – Patrick Shaw,” Secord said.

Right from the start, Ontario’s Mentorship Committee worked to ensure that protégés received strong pairings and that mentors kept their commitments. “We were conscious of the fact that we didn’t want to overextend our mentors, as the program was and still is meant as an introduction. So we decided on a six-month timeframe,” said Secord. “Six months was considered not a tremendous time commitment for mentors, but enough so that they were serious about their dedication to the program.”

A year later, the BC chapter leveraged Ontario’s materials to begin its own program.

Five years later, Ontario’s flagship program and the BC program together support an average of 80 protégés and mentor pairs a year. The chapter programs have a roster of dedicated mentors.

Protégés are often surprised at just how giving their mentors are, in terms of both time and advice. Linda Armstrong, Director, Investor Relations at Palladium, and an Ontario protégé says: “One of the best programs available today for CIRI members is the CIRI Ontario Mentorship Program. I value the knowledge and recommendations that my extremely experienced mentor provides … and I encourage others to sign up for this program.” Jon Bey, Manager, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications at Hamilton Resource Group, and a BC protégé, emphasized the program’s value. “The mentorship program has been a crucial part of my IR development and [is] essential for anyone entering an IR career,” he says.

Mentors have cited the chance to give back to the profession as one of their main reasons for participating. According to Bob Tait, Vice President, Investor Relations at First Uranium Corporation, “Having the opportunity to lend experience to the Mentorship Program can be very rewarding, as you can contribute to someone else's success and it gives you the chance to review and reset the priorities of your own IR program.” David Bryson, Vice President, Finance and Treasurer of Skye Resources Inc., echoes Bob’s sentiments: “I've enjoyed my participation as a mentor, both for the opportunity to give something back to IR, and because working through issues with someone else is a learning experience for me as well.”

The Ontario Chapter is planning a mentorship volunteer appreciation event this spring, which will serve as a great opportunity for mentors and protégés to meet. For more information, visit the Ontario Mentorship site at www.ciri.org/chapters/on/news/?article_id=238.

“The true satisfaction for me is when I meet new IROs and they’re coming up to me and saying thank you for pairing me up with this incredible mentor, or I’m really interested in participating in the mentorship program,” Secord says. “I think it says great things for us as an organization supporting the profession.” • If you would like to participate as either a protégé or mentor in Ontario, contact Sonya Mehan at ciriONmentor@ciri.org. In BC, email CIRIBC@ciri.org.

CIRI Ontario will kick off the new year by hosting a Bring your CFO to Lunch event on January 22, featuring Nexen’s Chief Financial Officer and Canada’s 2007 CFO of the Year, Marvin Romanow. Join IR colleagues and bring your CFO to hear Globe and Mail columnist Andy Willis in conversation with Romanov, as they examine the challenges of being the CFO of a public company in today’s turbulent capital markets. In February, take a tour of the Business News Network studios in Toronto and join the hosts of one of BNN’s popular television/web programs for a Power Breakfast at the eclectic Spoke Club. Expect an open dialogue where you can learn new ways of building relationships with the news media to more effectively tell your story and reach

Ontario
We had a great kick-off to our 2007/2008 programming season at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in late September. Jim Leech, Senior Vice-President, Teachers’ Private Capital (the private investment arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan) gave an engaging talk on “The New Private Equity’, or, why ‘long term private capital investment’ is no longer an oxymoron.” The superb ROM venue complemented the high quality presenation. Leech’s speech is available at http://www.ciri.org/media/uploads/ attachment1191605955.pdf.

In our October 25 sold-out “Write it Right” workshop, participants learn to write and communicate more effectively with help from award-winning journalist Bernard Simon, Financial Times of London Canadian correspondent. On January 22, 2008, The Globe and Mail’s columnist Andy Willis will join Nexen’s Chief Financial Officer and Canada’s CFO of the Year for 2007, Marvin Romanow, in examining the public company challenges of being CFO in today’s turbulent capital markets. The dinner and social will take place at the Albany Club in Toronto.

Ontario Mentorship Program Since April, a number of leading CIRI Ontario IR professionals (mentors) have been paired with CIRI Ontario members with less than three years of IR experience (protégés) for strategic one-on-one meetings to achieve specific career development goals and explore career paths. CIRI members interested in finding out more about this program should visit http://www.ciri.org/resources/ reading_room/archives/?q=mentor&article_id=238

Dear CIRI Ontario Chapter Member:

Attached are the supporting materials for the Annual General Meeting of CIRI’s Ontario Chapter, to be held at The Albany Club, 91 King St. E., Toronto on Tuesday, May 15, 2007 at 5:30 p.m.

The AGM will follow a discussion on “What does the Street really expect from the IRO?”, the finale to CIRI Ontario’s 2006-2007 program. Click here to register: http://ciri.org/chapters/on/events/?event_id=257

PLEASE NOTE: whether or not you plan on attending the AGM, please complete all proxy forms and send to Jo-Anne Archibald no later than Friday, May 11 at 4:00 p.m.

Email: jarchibald@equicomgroup.com
Fax: (416) 815-0800

CIRI’s current bylaws are almost 10 years old – some minor changes were approved in 1999, but most bylaws have been in place since 1997. Since that time, CIRI has evolved as an organization, and best practices for non-profit organization governance have similarly evolved.

With the support of CIRI staff, the Board of Directors conducted a thorough review of CIRI's bylaws and proposed a number of revisions to bring them up-to-date. Revisions to the chapter bylaws were approved by the Board at its March 2007 meeting.

Regular members will be asked to approve revisions to the national bylaws at CIRI’s Annual General Meeting in Whistler, B.C. on June 17, 2007. The rationale for all changes is attached. National Bylaw changes will be emailed to all members with AGM materials in early May.

Any questions or comments on CIRI bylaw revisions should be directed to Suzie Fernandes at 905-274-1639 or sfernandes@ciri.org.

CIRI Members please login to download the bylaw revisions.

CIRI Ontario’s programming season was in full swing over the past several months. On October 17 and November 14, the chapter sponsored sold out Write it Right workshops on effective writing and communications. The full-day events featured award-winning journalist Bernard Simon, Financial Times of London Canadian Correspondent.

The CIRI Ontario Board of Directors has appointed Jerry Ormiston, Executive Director, Investor Relations at Draxis Health Inc., as chapter president for the remainder of Naomi Nemeth’s term. Naomi has stepped away from her chapter duties due to recent activities at Desert Sun Mining. On behalf of CIRI Ontario, the Board welcomes Jerry and thanks Naomi for her contribution and leadership.

Under Jerry’s direction, the Ontario Chapter Board will continue to provide Ontario CIRI members with quality programs and support.

Our March event was entitled IR at High Speed; an interactive workshop on how to network effectively. The speaker was Donna Messer, President, ConnectUs Communications. Attendees learned the importance of finding a personal connection when networking, in order to build relationships, not just make acquaintances. Messer explained different thinking styles:

• Orange – big picture thinker, comfortable with conceptual ideas;
• Red – thinks in terms of chapters – always need a beginning, middle and end;
• Green – organized, sequential thinking that is specific and brief.

Attendees also learned the W3 technique; WHO are you? WHAT do you need? WHAT are you willing to share? They then had opportunity to put this technique to work in one-on-one networking sessions conducted in ‘speed-dating’ style.

On January 24, 2006 CIRI Ontario held it's 6th annual CIRI/FEI dinner. This event was jointly planned with the Financial Executives International Canada (FEIC), and was well attended by both FEI and CIRI Ontario members. Marc Tellier, President & CEO, Yellow Pages Group, addressed the audience on Income Trusts: More than Yield. He said that well-managed income trusts are becoming a stable and mature part of the market by rewarding investors with dependable cash returns. Held at the National Club, the event also included presentations by Judith Munro (FEI) and Bob Tait (CIRI).

The first CIRI Ontario seminar of 2006 was held on January 17 and featured John Hughes, Corporate Finance Manager for the Ontario Securities Commission. Titled The OSC: New Priorities for 2006, Hughes' presentation focused on new rules in the past year and the civil liability regime for continuous disclosure that came into effect in January 2006. Hughes provided an overview of major recent developments and spoke about the OSC's evolving approach to monitoring disclosure. The event proved very popular with CIRI Ontario members and sold out in advance.

On March 21, CIRI Ontario will present a unique networking opportunity. IR at High Speed connects IR professionals through short one-on-one meetings. Leave with a pocket full of business cards and lots of new business connections! On April 18, CIRI Ontario is offering a session called Meeting the New Communication Needs of an Income Trust. The IR During Special Events workshop has been moved to May 16. For full details and to register for any event, please go the events section of the CIRI Ontario Website.

Are you interested in taking the next step in your career, but not quite sure how to do it? Would the experiences of those who have already been there help you out? The CIRI Ontario Mentorship Program may be just what you're looking for. The program connects senior members of CIRI Ontario with those who have specific career development goals. The mentoring relationship lasts a minimum of six months and is focused on sharing ideas, perspectives and experience. If you would like to become involved in this program, please contact Greg Secord at gsecord@opentext.com.

The Membership Committee is on the lookout for volunteers to help with campaign drives and related programs. If you would like to join the committee, contact Chaya Cooperberg at 416-498-2802 or chaya.cooperberg@alderwoods.com.

Ontario
On December 20, CIRI Ontario hosted a breakfast event featuring a presentation by Patricia Croft, chief economist and a portfolio manager with Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management. Croft spoke to 46 attendees about her firm’s views on the world economy, North American trends and economic risk factors for 2006. She focused on the oil market, the North American housing market, interest rates and currency matters, and other worldwide macroeconomic trends. The talk was very insightful and very well received by the audience. Thank you to our event sponsors, CCNMatthews, whose volunteers did a superb job. Lynne Coles was the happy winner of an iPod Nano, generously donated by CCNMatthews. All CIRI Ontario members who had paid their 2006 dues by December 19 were eligible to win.

CIRI Ontario is pleased to announce that the 6th Annual CIRI/FEI dinner will take place on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 at the National Club in downtown Toronto. The speaker will be Marc Tellier, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Yellow Pages Group, Canada’s largest directories publisher. CIRI Ontario members enjoy a discounted rate for this event and are encouraged to attend, as it will be an excellent opportunity for members to network with FEI attendees. For full details and to register, please go the events section of the CIRI Ontario Website.

Our first event of the year was a great success! More than 50 CIRI Ontario chapter members and associates cruised the Toronto Harbour in late September aboard the Klancy II, enjoying a beautiful warm sunny evening out on the water. Highlights included a delicious buffet, the opportunity to relax and network with other IR professionals, and friendly competition at two blackjack tables.

Bob Tait, CIRI President, updated the group on some of CIRI National’s exciting new initiatives. Naomi Nemeth, CIRI Ontario President, introduced the lineup of events programmed for 2005-2006 and thanked Peter Block for his contribution to CIRI Ontario. The evening also included the presentation of membership recognition pins to attendees celebrating their 10th year with CIRI Ontario. At the completion of the cruise, Yvette Lokker drew gift certificates for the Stillwater Spa, generously donated by Hyatt Hotels & Resorts. A wonderful time was had by all!

Marguerite Manshreck-Head, President CIRI Ontario, delivered her report to the chapter membership today.

Over the past year, CIRI Ontario has worked to provide its members and the surrounding community with timely information on current investor relations issues through luncheons, workshops and special events, as well as opportunities to gain knowledge by networking with other investor relations professionals.

CIRI Ontario members, log in to read the full report or download in Adobe PDF format.

The Ontario Chapter of CIRI held its annual general meeting on Tuesday June 21st at 12:45 pm. The meeting was held at the Ontario Club, 5th Floor, Commerce Court South, 30 Wellington St W., Toronto.

The webcast of both the AGM and the luncheon event can be accessed through the June 21st luncheon posting "Riding the Nortel Rollercoaster:An Investor Relations Event"

The US and Canadian capital markets are more than ever linked together. Often the US experience is a good indication of things to come in Canada. NIRI's Lou Thompson will give us an update on what's on the horizon for investor relations practitioners in the US, how our American colleagues are dealing with the rapidly changing regulations and offer his thoughts on the state of investor confidence in the US.

Please see attached pdf for Lou Tompson's Notes.

Listen to CIRI Ontario's Annual General Meeting using Windows Media Player.

The annual IR Magazine Awards showcase the best of the best in our profession and honour those who stand above the rest. The judges have told us how and why they chose the winning companies and individuals. Now we'll hear from some of the winners on what made their programs stand out.

Speakers include Janet Craig from ATI, winner of best senior management communications and best IRO for large cap, and Anne MacMicken from BFI Canada Income Fund, winner for Best Investment Community Meetings among mid-cap companies.

CIRI members may log in to listen to this luncheon presentation at no cost.

The Ontario Chapter of CIRI will be holding its annual general meeting on Tuesday June 15th at 12:15pm. The meeting will be held at the Ontario Club, 5th Floor, Commerce Court South, 30 Wellington St W., Toronto.