Thank you for your question.
There were extensive consultations done for the retirement security project in general. We consulted the Canadian Bar Association, among a plethora of other groups that provided their views on all of the provisions, but on this provision in particular, I think there are a couple of things we would want to note.
Essentially, the department views this provision as a codification of the common law that's been enunciated in the BCE case by the Supreme Court of Canada, which lists almost verbatim these stakeholders as being able to be considered when the directors are fulfilling their fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the corporation. The only change in the language would be the addition of retirees and pensioners, which we don't feel changes the tests. It just adds another one.
The other thing to keep in mind is that it's a permissive provision. Directors are not required to consult and consider the interests of all of these stakeholders in every instance. It's up to them as the directors of the corporation to assess what's in the best interests of the corporation, and this merely codifies what the Supreme Court has already said—that in acting in the best interests of the corporation, depending on the circumstances, it is possible that you would consider these interests.