BTB Real Estate Investment Trust BTBIF

Stephanie Leonard, BTB REIT CEO's daughter...

[b919191]

 

...has been employed by the REIT in an undisclosed senior role for years: Reportable Conflict of Interest?

As promised earlier, some more things proper Corporate Governance policies should avoid.


Excerpt from my letter to Lucie Ducharme, President of the Governance and Human Resources committee of the board of trustees of BTB REIT...

 

 

I was shocked to discover that Stphanie Lonard was employed by BTB through independent research and not via regulatory disclosures, considering that:

1. she is the daughter of Michel Lonard, BTB CEO (https://tinyurl.com/5seb3858), and;

2. she does not appear to be employed in an uncompensated role, and;

3. this situation represents a conflict of interest. For the definition of this concept, I refer you to paragraph 4 of Canada’s Conflict of Interest Act (available here: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-36.65/FullText.html)

 

This oversight highlights the serious weaknesses in BTB’s related-party transactions disclosures, which could help explain why fundamental institutional investors ignore BTB’s units. From direct personal experience, nepotism and worse still, the lack of disclosure surrounding it, are seen as ‘red flags’ by investors.

 

At a minimum, proper disclosure looks like this passage (https://tinyurl.com/y4zscc7y) taken from the Viasat (NASDAQ: VSAT) 2023 proxy statement. Please note that year-on-year comparison tables would be welcome if BTB wants to stay ahead of the curve.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, I am hereby requesting that weaknesses on related-party transactions disclosures urgently be addressed by the board of trustees of BTB. The questions below should be answered through a relevant section in the next management information circular and ideally earlier via a dedicated press release:

1. The names, roles and full compensation details (including all expense reimbursements) of the relatives, friends and partners of BTB trustees and senior executives employed by BTB, with annual total receipts from BTB exceeding CAD$5,000, and;

2. The relevant historical information to allow unitholders to monitor the progression of the compensation paid out to individuals described above, at least since you took over as president of the GHR in 2016.

[Smokey1958]

First of all let me applaud your perseverance and due diligence in attempting to bring to light the concerns you have. Unfortunately in this instance, unless I'm misreading and misinterpreting, your sources don't support your concern. The first is the (ir)relevant document concerning conflict of interest. That document is a government document created to ensure that government officers

[b919191]

Hello, Thanks for your post. Let me take a crack at providing some answers. 1- That first 'irrelevant' document was provided as reference and not to indicate which laws BTB needed to follow. That is the conflict of interest definition for the government, which includes nepotism. 2- The second document again was provided for reference, It shows what a US company, with some definite

[b919191]

Look yet another Leonard... These guys are popping out left and right... there must be a factory somewhere! April 15, 2024 2:00 PM * Ingredion Incorporated(INGR)  Dr. Michael Leonard Joins Ingredion as Senior Vice President, Chief Innovation Officer and Head of Protein Fortification  

[Martincat]

Thank you 919191 for your efforts to bring this matter to BTB uniholders attention. Good and honest governance is very important and in my opinion BTB executives should act asap to remedy the problem.