SUPPORTING STATEMENT: In 2023, we filed a shareholder proposal requesting disclosure of the languages spoken by the directors of approximately 20 public companies. Following discussions, almost all of these companies – including the 7 major banks – agreed to disclose the information. This year’s new proposal calls for the same information to be disclosed about senior executives, or at the very least the “named executive officers”.1 CIBC PROXY CIRCULAR 107 Shareholder Proposals In recent years, a number of public controversies about language have tainted the reputation of prominent public companies in terms of their social responsibility and their interpretation of their duties and obligations with respect to diversity, an inherent component of our societies. Language is at the heart of our democratic institutions and is a fundamental attribute of the community. The recurrence of such situations, which are harmful from any standpoint, must be prevented. For this reason – and for many others – it is appropriate for all interested parties (stakeholders) to be informed, through a formal and official disclosure, of the language fluency of the company’s executives. Obviously, “fluency” is meant to be understood as a level of language sufficient to allow its widespread use in all spheres of activity of individuals and entities; a level of language sufficient to allow each executive to fully assume his or her duties and functions in relation to his or her teams, shareholders and all stakeholders.