Leadership and Governance

We advance trade between Canada and governments around the world to serve Canada’s economic interests and strengthen bilateral relationships.

CCC’s mandate is defined in the Canadian Commercial Corporation Act and we report to Parliament through the Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development.

As a Crown corporation, and according to the Financial Administration Act, CCC must submit an annual Corporate Plan to the Minister. CCC’s Corporate Plan outlines objectives and performance measures for the fiscal year. CCC’s work is further guided by the Minister’s direction through letters outlining CCC’s Statement of Priorities and Accountabilities.

CCC adheres to all guidelines and regulations concerning the management and governance of Crown corporations set by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. As such, each year we submit an Annual Report to demonstrate our performance against our Corporate Plan as well as to report on our operating budget.

Like all Crown corporations, CCC is subject to annual audits (included as part of our Annual Plan) and special examinations by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada.

Board of directors

CCC is governed by a Board of Directors whose representatives come primarily from the private sector. The Board’s responsibility is to supervise the direction and management of CCC and oversee its strategic direction as outlined in the Corporate Plan. Board members are appointed by the Government of Canada, and report to Parliament through the Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development.

Board committees

CCC’s Board of Directors is led by an independent Chair and carries out its oversight mandate in conjunction with the following key committees.

Audit committee

Deals primarily with matters related to sound financial and risk management practices, audit functions, reporting accuracy, and ethical conduct of the Corporation. Its members are:

Guy Desrochers (Chair)
Christa Wessel
Douglas J. Harrison (ex officio)

Governance and human resources committee

Develops and implements practices and procedures to ensure that the Board of Directors and the Corporation operate effectively and in accordance with a high standard of corporate governance. Its members are:

Christa Wessel (Chair)
Mike Johnson
Mora Johnson
Douglas J. Harrison (ex officio)
Robert (Bobby) Kwon (ex officio)

Operations committee

Oversees management’s development of new commercial business initiatives, particularly all capital projects and those potential contracts valued in excess of $100 million. Its members are:

Mark Dienesch (Chair)
Dyanne Carenza
Mike Johnson
Mora Johnson
Julian J. Ovens
Mylène Tassy
Douglas J. Harrison (ex officio)
Robert (Bobby) Kwon (ex officio)

Senior management

In addition to overseeing day-to-day operations, the Senior Management plans and executes the business strategy as outlined in the Corporate Plan.

Senior management committees

CCC’s Management maintain oversight over day-to-day operations in conjunction with the following key committees.

Senior management committee

The Senior Management Committee is composed of the President and CEO and four vice-presidents. With the approval of the Board of Directors, the committee sets the corporate strategy and related strategic objectives in support of the corporate mandate.

Bound by CCC’s Code of Conduct and Business Ethics, the committee adheres to the highest ethical standards of professional conduct. The Committee is chaired by the CEO and meetings are held weekly.

Integrity compliance committee

CCC continues to enhance its approach to responsible business conduct (RBC), including the conduct of integrity and compliance due diligence, in its efforts to combat bribery and unethical business practices.

The Integrity Compliance Committee’s (ICC’s) work helps ensure that integrity issues are identified at the earliest stage of business activity in potential transactions, and develops strategies to mitigate any potential risks. Some of the following key roles and responsibilities include:

Ensure alignment of the Corporation’s integrity framework with corporate best practices in the area of anti-bribery and corruption.
Maintain the Corporation’s integrity compliance due diligence processes against bribery and corruption of foreign public officials
Review the integrity profiles of Canadian exporters and foreign buyers in the context of specific export opportunities and makes recommendations to the ROC

In addition, and in keeping with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises as adopted by the Government of Canada, the ICC encourages Canadian exporters to develop and adopt policies and processes aimed at preventing and detecting bribery and corruption, and to promote employee awareness of and compliance with policies through training programs.

The committee is chaired by the Legal Manager-Compliance, and meets on a bi-weekly basis, or more frequently depending on business circumstances.

Risk and opportunities committee

The Risk and Opportunities Committee (ROC) was established as an advisory body to the President and CEO to ensure that prudent risk management practices are in place and reflect the Corporation’s operational needs. It balances business opportunities against the risks they present and provides a forum for discussion.

The ROC reviews issues at the entity-wide, corporate and transactional risk levels, as defined by the Corporation’s enterprise risk management framework. The committee has the following key roles and responsibilities:

Ensure the Corporation’s enterprise risk management framework remains relevant and reflects leading industry practices
Review and assess export transactions at various stages to ensure risk and opportunities are balanced and the Corporation’s risk tolerance is respected, including as it pertains to integrity and human rights risks
Review all fee-generating export transactions to ensure proposed fees cover expected resource requirements and risks.

The committee is chaired the Chief Financial Officer, with meetings held weekly.

Human rights committee

The Human Rights Committee (HRC) is a cross-functional committee that completes due diligence assessments for human rights risks and reports its findings to the ROC. The members of the HRC are from the risk, business development, legal and contract management teams.

The HRC reviews transactions and provides recommendations on projects, acting as an advisory function within the Corporation for these issues. This review involves identifying and assessing transactional risks and proposing measures to mitigate those risks throughout the project life cycle, in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

The committee is chaired by the Legal Manager-Compliance, and meets on a bi-weekly basis, or more frequently depending on business circumstances.

Governance

Enterprise risk management

As it works in a variety of sectors in markets around the world, CCC has implemented a robust Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) policy to understand, manage and communicate risk from an organization-wide perspective. Involving employees from all levels of the Corporation and embedded in day-to-day operations, ERM ensures a risk culture fully aligned with CCC’s strategic objectives.

Management uses CCC’s ERM process to:

Identify business risks faced on a day-to-day and strategic basis
Consistently analyze risks for likelihood of occurrence and potential impact
Establish formal systems to minimize and monitor risk
Communicating risks throughout the Corporation
Develop risk profiles at key levels
Report changes to CCC’s risk portfolio to the Board of Directors

Audits and special examinations

The Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG), conducts a financial audit of CCC each year. Our current Annual Report includes the most recent Independent Auditor’s Report.

The OAG also undertakes a Special Examination of federal Crown corporations, including CCC, at least once every 10 years. These objective of a special examinations is to provide an opinion on the corporations systems and practices. A special examination answers the question – Do the Corporation’s key systems and practices provide reasonable assurance that its assets are safeguarded, its resources are managed economically and efficiently, and its operations are carried out effectively? The most recent Special Examination of CCC was completed in 2019.

Internal audit

CCC’s Internal Audit group conducts audits based on an audit plan which is approved by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. After each audit, a report is issued which includes CCC’s opinion on the related internal controls, a summary of each finding and recommendations.

Purchasing policy

As a Federal Crown Corporation, CCC operates at arm’s length from the Canadian government and in accordance with commercial principles. In support of our mandate CCC is required to purchase goods and services to meet corporate requirements.

As outlined in the Purchasing Policy, enacted in 2005 and updated in October 2015, CCC will purchase goods and services in a manner that is professional, efficient, effective, and economical and in accordance with applicable legislation and trade agreements. This Policy applies to all staff of the Corporation as it pertains to the administrative purchases of goods and services for the benefit of CCC and/or its employees and supersedes any prior policy.

Pricing policy

CCC fees generated by CCC’s participation in transactions are the sole funding source for the Corporation. CCC fees are set at a level sufficient to meet the overall risk profile of each transaction as well as the financial requirements of the Corporation for ongoing operations. The CCC Pricing Policy provides direction to staff on the pricing of CCC’s services. Please contact your CCC account manager for more information on how this policy applies to your specific transaction.

Travel, hospitality, conference, and event expenditures policy

As of August 15, 2016, the rules and principles governing travel and hospitality expenses at CCC are consistent with Treasury Board guidelines, including the Directive on Travel, Hospitality, Conference and Event Expenditures. The purpose of these directives is to provide for the reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred during travel on government business. The rules and principles outlined in the CCC Travel, Hospitality, Conference and Event Expenditures Policy provide for the application of these directives.

Leadership and Governance

Board of directors