Greetings to everyone. On behalf of my nation, the Algonquin people, I bring greetings to the CEO of the Bank of Montreal, Mr. Darryl White, and to the chair, George Cope, and to all the shareholders of BMO. My name is Claudette Commanda, and I am an Algonquin woman from the community of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg. I stand here on the ancestral homeland of my ancestors, the Algonquin people, and I welcome you into this homeland. I acknowledge the homelands of all indigenous peoples in Canada from coast to coast to coast. I'm very honored to bring to you this welcome blessing to the shareholders of the Bank of Montreal. It is said when we come together, we must acknowledge the greatness that the creator has given us. We must acknowledge the beauty of life. We must acknowledge one another as brothers and sisters. We must acknowledge the great work that we all do together for the community. We come together here today for this welcome blessing. It is my responsibility to welcome you into my homeland. It is my responsibility to bring forth a blessing. It is said when we come together is to bring the minds and the hearts and spirit. We must acknowledge the wisdom. We must acknowledge the strength, and we must acknowledge the vision. I say to each and every one of you, as we come together in this circle, this meeting of shareholders, let us put our minds together. Let us put our hearts together. Let us put our spirit together, and let us have that one prayer as we honor the great mystery. We call that great mystery the Creator, Gitchi Manitou. We say. Let us put our heart, our spirit, our voice together as one, and let us acknowledge the Creator, and we thank the Creator for bringing us together. We thank the Creator for all of his blessings. Let us put our hearts together. Let us put our minds together. Let us put our spirits together and our voice together as one to acknowledge the first mother that the Creator has blessed us with, that one mother who provides for all, our mother, the Earth. Let us put our minds together, our voice together, our hearts together, our spirit together, and we acknowledge that first grandfather, who blesses us each and every morning with his warmth and his beauty of love. We say. We thank our grandfather, the Sun. We put our minds, our voice, our heart, our spirit together as one, as we acknowledge that first grandmother, the grandmother whose light shines upon us each and every evening, so we may see our sisters, the stars, and we thank her for regulating the waters of Mother Earth. We acknowledge that first grandmother, our grandmother, the moon. Creator, it is my prayer for all who are here, the Bank of Montreal, the shareholders and the community of the Bank of Montreal, that you continue to bless them with good life, good health. Bless them with strength. Bless them with wisdom. Bless them with knowledge. Bless them, Creator, with love. As we come together as shareholders of the Bank of Montreal, the work that we do is community spirit. That spirit of community for the people that the Bank of Montreal represent, the spirit of community that the Bank of Montreal gives out to community members, to its clients. Let us acknowledge one another as Canadians and Indigenous peoples, that we will walk this road together in a place of healing and a place of reconciliation. To you, the shareholders of the Bank of Montreal, continue doing the good work, and may your minds be open and your hearts to feel, and your spirit to know that the greatest gift of all is what we give to one another in this work that we do, community. Thank you. Well, thank you, Claudette. Claudette is a member of the Bank's Indigenous Advisory Council, a group of leaders from across Canada who provide feedback and guidance to the bank to help us drive positive change internally and within the community. I wanna thank Claudette, as you can see the amount of work she would have put into that for us, and all the members of the IAC for their invaluable service they provide the bank as we seek to ensure that there are zero barriers to inclusion in our company. My name is George Cope. I have the honor of serving as your Chair of the Board of Directors, and I'd like to call this meeting to order. Let me begin by warmly welcoming everyone who's joining us, and especially those that are joining us in person after, as we all know, over two years of having to hold our meetings remotely only. For those who are joining us remotely, thank you. Whether or not you're online or on telephone lines, thank you for taking the time this morning. I'm joined on stage today by Darryl White, our CEO, Tayfun Tuzun, our CFO, Sharon Haward-Laird, our General Counsel, and Barbara Muir, our Corporate Secretary. The other members of the bank's board of directors and members of the bank's senior management team are also joining us today, some in person, some remotely. Members of your board will be introduced to you when it is time for the election of our directors. The secretary has confirmed that notice of this meeting was duly in accordance with the Bank Act and that a quorum of shareholders as prescribed by the laws of the bank is present and in person or represented by proxy. I therefore declare this meeting to be properly constituted for the transaction of business. I appoint Steve Gilbert and Claire Girard, representatives of Computershare Trust Company of Canada, who are joining us by telephone to act as our scrutineers for the meeting, and Barbara Muir, our Corporate Secretary, to act as secretary. The shareholder auditors for fiscal 2021, KPMG LLP, are also joining us today, and we thank them for their service and dedication to the bank. I will turn it over to our Corporate Secretary, Barbara Muir, for some of the meeting's procedures. Barbara, over to you. Thank you, Chair. Closed captioning is being provided over the webcast, and the meeting is being broadcast in both official languages. Usually, and this year is no exception, the vast majority of our shareholders submit their proxy or voting instructions in advance of the meeting, with only a small number of shareholders choosing to vote their shares at the meeting. Each year since the start of the pandemic, we have worked hard to improve the experience of those participating virtually. I will describe the main differences in how we conduct today's meeting. First, in how voting will occur, and second, in how shareholders can ask questions. On registering for the meeting today, proxy holders and registered shareholders wishing to vote in person should have received a paper ballot. The ballot covers the items described in the management proxy circular that are being voted on today. Alternatively, any shareholder or proxy holder who has registered in advance with Computershare may log into the online platform and vote from your mobile device while in the meeting hall. If you do vote online today and also complete a paper ballot, the paper ballot will be given priority. Any proxy holder or registered shareholder wishing to vote in person this morning by ballot who did not receive a paper ballot at registration, please raise your hand, and a representative from Computershare will give you one. Those of you participating in the meeting virtually can vote using the virtual voting platform on the webcast. Only registered shareholders and proxy holders who have registered in advance with Computershare are eligible to vote during the meeting. If you have voted in advance of the meeting, your voting instructions have been recorded, and you do not need to do anything more. Detailed instructions on how to log into the meeting as either a registered shareholder or proxy holder can be found on our investor relations website, the URL of which is now on the screen. For those who are already registered as the shareholder and proxy holder in the section on the voting platform, when you tap the voting icon, the meeting resolutions will be displayed. To vote, tap on one of the voting options. Voting will remain open during the formal voting portion of the meeting. You may vote on all agenda items and change your vote at any time during this period. If you have logged on as a guest, you will not be able to vote at the meeting unless you log back in using your 15-digit control number or your 4-digit alpha number as applicable. Registered shareholders and proxy holders participating by webcast may pose their questions in writing or verbally by clicking on the messaging tab at the top of the webcast page. Insert your question into the messaging box. I will read aloud your name and your question. If you wish to address the meeting verbally instead, insert into the messaging box your phone number and question topic. The webcast operator will telephone you at the number you provided, and you will hear an automated message with instructions on joining the queue. Please mute the sound on your computer to avoid a delay between what you hear on the phone and what you hear over the computer. When you are invited to ask your question, you will hear a beep, and your phone will be unmuted. To avoid feedback, please do not use a speakerphone, use a handset, or a headset. Shareholders attending the meeting in person who wish to ask a question regarding an item of business that is before the meeting should line up behind one of the microphones in the meeting hall at the appropriate time. You may ask your question once the chair invites you to do so. Items of a more general nature will be addressed during the question and answer session following the formal business of the meeting. We will do our best to respond to all your questions during the meeting. Any questions not answered will be answered following the meeting. You can also join our meeting this morning in listen-only mode by calling into our English or French language phone lines. The phone numbers are on your screen now and can be found on our website. You cannot vote or ask questions over the phone lines. Thank you, Barbara. We would like to thank the thousands of registered and beneficial shareholders who took the time to vote by proxy prior to this meeting. The agenda today will consist of an address by the bank's leader and our CEO, Darryl White, followed by the submission of the bank's 2021 annual financial statements. There will then be three resolutions proposed by management. First, to elect the board of directors for the year. Second, to appoint the shareholder auditors for fiscal 2022, and third, to consider an advisory resolution on the bank's approach to executive compensation. We will then consider the shareholder proposals. There were 9 shareholder proposals submitted this year. Four proposals were submitted for a vote, and five were withdrawn. Three of the proposals going to be voted are from Le MÉDAC. The fourth proposal was submitted by Harrington Investments, Inc. Four of the withdrawn proposals were from MÉDAC and one was from the BC General Employees' Union General Fund and BC General Employees' Union Defense Fund. MÉDAC's proposals will be addressed following the votes on the three resolutions proposed by management, and then Harrington's proposals will be addressed. Following that, we will have time for questions in an answer session. On behalf of those speaking today, I note that their comments may include forward-looking statements, which involves assumptions that have inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from forecast projections or conclusions in the forward-looking statements. I would remind listeners that the bank uses non-GAAP financial measures to arrive at adjusted results. Management measures performance on a reported and adjusted basis and considers both to be useful in assessing underlying business performance. Unless otherwise noted, speakers will be referring to adjusted results in their remarks. Details regarding forward-looking statements and non-GAAP financial measures are on screen and can also be found in the bank's 2021 annual report as updated in our first quarter 2022 report to shareholders. At this point, I wanna introduce our CEO, Darryl White, who will describe the bank's performance in 2021 and our plans for the future. As your directors, we are again very satisfied with the bank's agile response to the changing circumstances. Despite the uncertain economic condition and significant global unrest, we believe the bank remains well-positioned for strong growth. The bank's announcement of its definitive agreement to acquire California-based Bank of the West is particularly exciting, and Darryl will tell us all about that. There's so much to talk about, and without any further delay, let me turn the podium over to our CEO, Darryl White. Thank you, Chairman, and good morning, everyone. Bonjour à tous. [Foreign language] Good morning, everyone. I wanna take a moment to acknowledge the humanitarian and economic crisis being experienced as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Shining through this turmoil, the resolve of the Ukrainian people and the global outpouring of support is sustaining hope for peace. [Foreign language] To support our Ukrainian and Russian employees, customers, and community members, we've waived fees for personal and wire transfers from Canada to Ukraine, donated to the Canadian Red Cross' Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal at our branches across Canada. We're facilitating donations on behalf of the Red Cross in our branches. Our U.S. customers may donate directly to the American Red Cross. It has been a long and difficult journey through the pandemic, and current events create further uncertainty for many, including for our customers. The economic impacts being felt by customers with rising inflation impacting everyday purchases like groceries and gas, while disruptions to global supply chains and labor markets are making it harder for businesses to recover. While the downside risks to global growth are mounting, there is also reason for optimism. Households remain well cushioned with excess savings. Growth has had solid momentum in the first few months of the year. Canadian unemployment is at its lowest rate on record since 1976, and reopening opportunities are waiting in the wings as the pandemic abates. As we adjust our lives from the pandemic to the endemic, and as global economies assume the challenges of continued resilience in the face of rising inflation and slowing growth, the communities we serve are turning the corner from crisis to recovery. Recovery brings renewed hope and opportunities for progress, which is what we'll talk about today, progress. As one of North America's leading banks, we are driving forward with energy and confidence because the stronger we perform, the greater our ability to turn our progress into progress for our customers, our clients, the communities we serve, and for you, our shareholders. 2021, we took significant steps to achieve our ambition to be a high-performing, digitally-enabled, future-ready bank, and we delivered very strong financial performance. As we continue to grow the bank, our growth powered our capability to live out our purpose to boldly grow the good in business and life. Our diversified business mix across personal and commercial banking, wealth management, and capital markets delivered strong, solid, well-balanced results. Our continued investments in technology and product innovation and advisory capabilities have yielded significant improvements in customer loyalty. As you can see from this slide, BMO made impressive progress to deliver peer-leading financial performance across a range of indicators. In fact, we led our competitors in PPPT growth and efficiency improvement, and we delivered revenue growth almost double the peer average, enhancing our ability to invest for the future. We've been taking targeted actions to improve our long-term profitability and our competitive position by allocating capital and resources to those areas that are positioned to deliver strong returns, including divesting of our EMEA asset management business, our private banking businesses in Singapore and Hong Kong, and our non-Canadian energy portfolio. These decisions enhanced our ability to make higher returning strategic investments. We also continued with our focus on disciplined expense management. The outcome of these actions can be seen clearly in this chart, showing the intersection of BMO's return on equity and efficiency over time. You'll recall that we set out bold commitments to strengthen our competitive position, and we've delivered significant improvements in efficiency and ROE over the past three years. What you see here is where BMO was compared to our peers in fiscal 2018. We had work to do. Here is where we were in fiscal 2021. The first quarter of fiscal 2022 continued our acceleration. With our strong financial performance and capital position, we've made deliberate and disciplined investments to position BMO for future growth, improving efficiency and returns, and delivering sustainable long-term profitability. Our superior risk management and strong capital position strategically position us for the changing economic environment. With a sustained track record of credit outperformance, our 30-year historical average loss rates remain well below our peers. We've consistently demonstrated this core strength through economic cycles, taking and managing risk responsibly and profitably, enabling us to continue to drive consistent shareholder returns. Those returns have included returning capital to shareholders. In fact, we hold the record for the longest-running dividend payout of any company in Canada at 193 years. When OSFI permitted banks to resume dividend increases last November, we increased our dividend by 25%, the highest of any bank, reflecting our confidence in delivering sustained long-term performance for our shareholders as we continue to strategically invest in areas of growth. Our U.S. operating segment is one such area of growth. While we've operated in the United States since 1818, we've been steadily growing our presence in the U.S. since our acquisition of Harris Bank in 1984. In 2011, we doubled that footprint with our acquisition of M&I. Over the past decade, we've strategically and significantly accelerated this strategy. I showed you the same slide at our annual meeting 3 years ago, and today I'm pleased to update you on our progress. BMO's commercial banking business now ranks among the top 5 commercial lenders in North America and works in strong collaboration with our U.S. wealth business, with approximately 30% of our U.S. commercial clients having a wealth relationship. We've expanded the scope of this business to a national basis, serving 14 industry verticals and opening five new offices in key growth markets since 2019. We've invested strategically in our U.S. capital markets business with revenues up 47% since 2019 and now contributing 50% of our total capital markets earnings. Through strategic scale-boosting digital investments, we've expanded our retail deposit capabilities to serve customers in all 50 states. In 2021, our U.S. operating segment generated 36% of BMO's revenue, with approximately half of that revenue originating outside of the Midwest. The picture is now clear. BMO's U.S. footprint is no longer defined as the Midwest. It is the U.S. If you were to compare where we are today to where we were in 2010, you'd see impressive performance improvement and organic growth. While our U.S. segment once delivered superior growth but lagged the rest of the bank on key profitability measures, it now has an efficiency and an ROE on par with the rest of the bank, and continues to drive superior growth. This is impressive fundamental improvement by our teams. Just before moving on, let's take a quick look at what our high-performing U.S. footprint will look like as we take the natural next step in BMO's North American growth strategy with our announced acquisition of the Bank of the West. Bank of the West is a well-run, well-performing bank with a competitive position in leading U.S. markets complementary to our own, including the highly attractive California market. As announced in December, if approved by regulators, BMO will have a top five position in 24 U.S. markets with strong share and growth opportunities in key MSAs, bringing our U.S. segment's revenue and PPPT to 44% of the total bank. Now, during 2022, your management team is working hard to deliver on our existing business priorities and planning carefully for the closing of the announced acquisition by the end of the calendar year. Based on the strong performance improvement of our U.S. segment and the quality of the Bank of the West people and its franchise, 2023 is shaping up to be a very exciting year in our history. We laid the groundwork for our North American expansion with significant and sustained investments in digital and a clear focus on enhancing the customer experience, increasing our speed to market, and driving our efficiency. Our early adoption of technology and innovation in banking has enabled our progress and led to promising applications of artificial intelligence, the ability to attract and retain talent that will transform banking, and increased innovation and efficiency for modernizing our development platforms. While the ultimate proof is always customer loyalty, we also appreciate the recognition we've received for our industry-leading customer innovations like BMO CashTrack, online banking for business, BMO Payment Hub, and BMO AdviceDirect. Our ability to leverage partnerships, whether from the very largest firms or the newest fintechs, has helped enhance our position to drive growth, disrupt competitors, and make progress against our efficiency commitments. Our digital-first agenda is about continuously evolving our customer experiences with increased speed and scale. Being digitally enabled helps our clients get faster and easier access to capital to grow their businesses and helps our customers make real financial progress by empowering them to manage their own finances. Our customer-centric approach is the key to competing in emerging North American open banking frameworks. Experiences in other jurisdictions have proven that a policy approach that prioritizes security, privacy, transparency, and a customer's control of their information is needed to enable all market participants to safely serve a full range of customer needs. I'm confident that the government of Canada will put in place a thoughtful and progressive open banking framework reflective of Canada's reputation as one of the world's strongest and most resilient financial systems. Our teams, in the meantime, have been proactively building the foundations and reimagining the customer experience to deliver seamless financial integration, proactive insights, and guidance that helps them make real financial progress while positioning BMO to grow market share in the process. While digital is how we do business, our purpose is why we do business. Our ability to live our purpose to boldly grow the good in business and life is fueled by the execution of our strategy and our ability to deliver the strong business performance that leads to exceptional financial results. As one of North America's largest financial institutions, we take seriously our responsibility to act on the most pressing issues of our time and leverage our market position to support progress for all. We've made bold commitments to grow the good in three areas, for a thriving economy, a sustainable future, and a more inclusive society. We're committed to creating a more inclusive and equitable society for groups facing systemic barriers by driving greater access to social and economic opportunities. Since renewing our 5-year zero barriers to inclusion, diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy last year, we made significant progress in 2021. In the U.S., we launched BMO EMpower to advance an inclusive economic recovery, pledging $5 billion over 5 years and exceeding our year one target by extending more than $2 billion in commitments. In Canada, we announced a CAD 12 billion commitment to finance affordable and accessible housing over a 10-year period, including support for financing affordable housing and infrastructure projects for indigenous people, both on and off reserves. We extended our BMO for Women program on both sides of the border, providing a dedicated bank-wide program that helps remove barriers to women's empowerment. We take pride in driving change, and we recognize the critical role of banks in catalyzing climate action by financing the energy transition as we manage our business and work with our clients on the path to net zero emissions by 2050. 2021 was a very busy year for your bank on this front. We declared our ambition to be our clients' lead partner in the transition to a net zero world, and we took steps to drive our financing activities and operations in support of this transition. We introduced the BMO Climate Institute, a new multidisciplinary organization harnessing science and analytics that's powered by innovation, technology, and industry-leading expertise. We joined the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, reinforcing our commitment to financing the climate transition. We created a dedicated energy transition group that's supporting our clients in innovative ways to help them achieve their energy transition goals. BMO is a recognized leader in sustainability, and for good reason. Our commitment for a sustainable future and the work we do to bring to life and make change means we consistently rank among the most sustainable companies in the world. After being included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the past 16 years, this year we reached new heights as one of only five companies in Canada and only two North American banks to be named to their prestigious world index. This recognition of our progress strengthens our resolve and confirms we are on the right path, enabling us to drive solutions not just here in North America, but on the world stage. Throughout the pandemic, while supporting our customers and communities, we never lost sight of what mattered, the people who bring the best of BMO to our customers and communities. Over the last two years, my colleagues have modeled our values of integrity, diversity, responsibility, and empathy as we all adapted the way we work to support our customers. Our winning culture drives us all to perform at our best, and that will accelerate our progress for the long term. We're embracing new ways of working, attracting and retaining talent as we grow, and modernizing our global real estate footprint to enable us to serve our customers where they are. In major hubs, we're building flexible workplaces that foster collaboration and innovation to support a better banking experience. We're creating world-class infrastructure in key markets like Toronto with BMO Place, our large new hub in the downtown core, opening later this year. In Chicago with BMO Tower, the tallest building west of Canal Street, and in Milwaukee, where our new state-of-the-art BMO Tower opened in 2021. We're also transforming our capital markets trading floors in Toronto, in New York, and in London. Branches across North America are being revitalized to improve the client experience. We have a competitive employee value proposition that has earned us the reputation as an employer of choice. Last year, BMO Harris Bank was recognized as one of the world's best employers by Forbes magazine. We are proud of our globally respected brand and our award-winning culture that's inspiring our people to live our purpose while making progress on their career goals. BMO's strong performance is fueling progress for each of our bank stakeholders as we remain focused on the continued pursuit of bold ambitions for the future. We care deeply about our communities, and we will seize these moments of significant change to help our customers make real financial progress. I know I speak for every member of Team BMO when I say that we're excited for the opportunities that lie ahead for your bank and the progress that we can all make together. This coming year promises to be one of our most impactful yet, and your bank is ready for what's next. Thank you. Merci. Thank you. Thank you, Darryl. Wow, 193 years of consecutive dividends. A year where we outpaced our peers on many metrics, as Darryl talked about. An exciting future, yet never losing an eye to our responsibilities to the communities across Canada, the U.S., and markets we serve around the world, all under Darryl's leadership. Darryl, thank you for your leadership, and thank you for a tremendous year for our shareholders in light of all the challenges that everyone's dealing with. Thank you. We'll have a chance to hear Darryl answer some questions for him. We now turn to some additional procedural matters. I have been informed by our transfer agent that over 648,475,000 votes have been cast or received by proxy from both beneficial and registered shareholders in respect of the matters of the business to come before this meeting, representing approximately 48% of the total outstanding shares eligible to be voted. We will conduct all votes in sequence, and later, when the votes are tallied, the scrutineers will report the outcome of each vote to this meeting. For shareholders and proxy holders who have accessed our online voting platforms, the polls are now open for voting and will close after our presentation of the items of business. If you have already voted or sent in a proxy, there is no need for you to do anything unless you would like to change your vote. When proxies are submitted to our registrar and transfer agent, they are counted and tabulated by their officers. Scrutineers of the meeting will then verify and report on the results. If you're on the webcast and wish to ask a question, you can now type your question or phone number and the subject matter of your question into the messaging box. Now to the first item of business is a submission of the financial statements. In March 2022, copies of our annual report for 2021 were either mailed to shareholders or made available online. The consolidated financial statements and notes for the October 31, 2021 year end were included on pages 146 to 211 of the annual report, and the auditor's report therein can be found on page 140. It will be taken as read. Are there any questions in the room related to the 2021 financial statements? Okay, seeing none, Barbara, have we received any questions with regards to the 2021 financial statements in advance of the meeting or online? We have not, Mr. Chair. Thank you. This brings me to the election of directors for the ensuing year. As determined by the board, the number of directors to be reelected today is 13, with all 13 having been elected previously. You will find biographical information about each of the nominated directors in the management proxy circular. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank our board members for their service. They are a special and immensely talented and dedicated group of folks. They work hard and will always share a view of what they believe is in the best interest of your bank. I am proud to serve with them, and quite frankly, it's a joy. I now call on Barbara Muir to present the nominees for election. I would ask that each of the nominees stand when their name is called. I know that Sophie Brochu is not able to join us in person today. Barbara. Merci, Monsieur le Président du Conseil. Thank you, Chair. I am a shareholder, and I confirm that I'm a proxy holder. I now nominate the following persons to be elected as directors of the bank until the next succeeding annual meeting of shareholders, or until their successors are elected or appointed. Janice M. Babiak, Sophie Brochu, Craig Broderick, George Cope, Stephen Dent, Christine Edwards, Martin S. Eichenbaum, David Harquail, Linda S. Huber, Eric R. La Flèche, Lorraine Mitchelmore, Madhu Ranganathan, Darryl White. Thank you, Barbara. I now call on Neil Puddicombe to second the nomination. Neil, where are you? Thank you, Chair. My name is Neil Puddicombe. I'm a shareholder and a proxy holder, and I second the motion. Thank you, Neil. If you have a question on the election of the bank's board of directors, please make your way to one of the microphones in the room. Are there any questions in the room related to the election of your bank's board of directors? Thank you. Seeing none, Barbara, have we received any questions on the election of the bank's board of directors in advance of the meeting or this morning? We have not, Mr. Chair. Great. Thank you very much. Thank you, board. Thank you, Barbara. We will now proceed to the vote. The bank provides for additional voting for directors. The Bank Act provides that you may vote for or withhold your vote for the election of each of the director nominees. I remind you that the board of directors and management recommended voting for all the nominees set out in the management proxy circular. We will pause for a few seconds to allow for voting. The next item of business is the appointment of the auditors for the ensuing year. To facilitate the motion at this year's meeting, we have asked Garda Farrell and Vlatka Puljic to move management's motions related to the appointment of shareholder auditors and the advisory vote on executive compensation. Both Garda and Vlatka are featured ambassadors for their work with the bank's various ESG initiatives across the globe. Hello. My name is Gardy Farrel. I'm Director, Global Markets, and I work in BMO's Montreal office. I'm also an employee giving featured ambassador. As ambassadors, we participated in many events to share our individual stories on why giving to the United Way is important to us, and to inspire our colleagues to donate. I am proud to say that with over 90% employee participation, BMO raised CAD 26 million for the United Way in 2021, which went to providing local community-based solutions to systemic issues. This aligned with our purpose to boldly grow the good in business and in life. I am a proxy holder. I move the motion to appoint KPMG as the shareholders auditors for the 2022 fiscal year. Merci, Gardy. I noticed you were able to sneak in that Habs hockey stick there too in the video. Well done. I call on Neil again to second the motion, if you could, please. Merci, monsieur. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I second the motion. Are there any questions in the room related to the appointment of shareholder auditors? Seeing none. Barbara, did you receive any questions in advance or online? No, we did not, Mr. Chair. Thank you. I remind you that the board of directors and management recommended voting for the appointment of the shareholder auditors. We will pause for a few seconds now to allow for voting. The third item on the agenda is a consideration of an advisory vote on the bank's approach to executive compensation. I call now on Vlatka Puljic to present the motion. Vlatka. Hello. My name is Vlatka Puljic. I'm the Director, Strategic Initiatives, U.S. Industry Verticals, and head of BMO Women in Business at BMO Harris Bank in Chicago. Our Women in Business program offers access to affordable business credit for women and business owners, in addition to free financial education and connections to external partners that can further support the growth of women-owned businesses. I'm proud to say that in the last six months, BMO has helped more than 300 women pursue their dreams of owning and growing their own businesses. As a proxy holder, I move the motion to approve the advisory vote on the bank's approach to executive compensation. Thank you. Thank you very much. May I now call on Neil to second the motion? Thank you, Chair. I second the motion. Great. Thank you very much. Are there any questions in the room with regards to the motion? Seeing none. Thank you. Barbara, did we receive any questions in advance of the meeting on the bank's approach to executive compensation? We did not, Mr. Chair. Thank you. Again, I remind you that the board of directors and management recommended voting for the advisory resolution on the bank's approach to executive compensation. We will now proceed to a vote. Okay. We will now turn to shareholder proposals number 1 through 3, submitted by the MÉDAC. MÉDAC's proposals and supporting arguments as well as the bank's position and recommendations are set out in full on pages 90-93 of the English management proxy circular, and pages 97-100 of the French management proxy circular. Mr. Willie Gagnon is with us this morning on the phone line platform to make a statement and move MÉDAC's motions. Mr. Gagnon, good morning. Would you please address the meeting and move MÉDAC's motions set forth in shareholders proposals number 1 to 3. Nice to hear from you again this morning, sir. I'll turn it over to you. Good morning, Mr. Chairman. Can you hear me well? Yes. You hear me well? Okay. My name is Willy Gagnon. I represent Mouvement d'éducation et de défense des actionnaires, or MÉDAC. As is the case each year, we made proposals to the bank as well as to all other banks. We made seven proposals, of which three are being put to a vote. The first proposal deals with becoming a benefit company. It is proposed that the bank explore the possibility of becoming a benefit company and report thereon to the shareholders at the next annual meeting. The idea is that the bank's commitment to live its purpose and comply with ESG principles be added to the bank's bylaws and charter. The Supreme Court has determined that in a benefit company, directors may take into account the interests of stakeholders. We believe that directors must take into account the interests of stakeholders, and we would have wished this to be included in the bank's charter. You state that it is not possible. We disagree. We believe it is possible to do so. It would have been possible to include this requirement in the bank's bylaw or charter in order that any future change would require a special shareholders meeting with a qualified majority. That was the purpose of our proposal, and we call on all shareholders to support it. The second proposal, an advisory vote on environmental policy. It is proposed that the bank establish an annual advisory vote policy regarding its environmental and climate targets and action plan. We want to go into the reasons why climate change is an important issue. It will become increasingly important in the foreseeable future. We believe that your policy, as well as all other public companies' policies, ought to be put to an advisory vote of shareholders, as is the case for executive compensation. We would request shareholders support this proposal. We believe this would be an additional way to allow shareholders to express their views. Proposal number three deals with French as official language. It is proposed that the language of the bank be French, more particularly the language of work in Quebec, including the language spoken at annual meetings. Its official status must be formally recorded in writing in the letters patent of the bank. As you know, there have been a number of language issues that have been raised in the annual meetings of a number of companies, as well as in the media. I'm referring to Air Canada. We believe it is deplorable that this kind of situation can exist, and we submit that this proposal is a reasonable approach to the situation. It is based on the fact that the bank's registered office is in Quebec. We've sent the same proposal to all the companies in our portfolio. Since the bank's registered office is in Quebec, we would have hoped that this rule might have been enshrined in the bank's documents. As was the case with our benefit company proposal, in order that any future change would have required a special meeting of shareholders with a qualified majority. Given the specific and delicate nature of this question, we asked all public companies for the opportunity to communicate directly with a director, which was not possible with the bank, and we are disappointed about that. We invite all shareholders to support this proposal. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I understand that, the other proposals that we had submitted will be addressed after all issues have been put to a vote. Is that right? Yes, Mr. Gagnon, I will come back to you in a few moments to follow up on the other items. But thank you for your comments on these specific resolutions. Let me now turn and see, are there any questions in the room related to the shareholder proposals that were just submitted? I'll take it. Barbara, did we receive any questions in advance of the meeting or today online? Not with respect to these proposals, Mr. Chair. Thank you. I remind you that for reasons stated in the management proxy, the board of directors and management recommend voting against these shareholder proposals number 1 through 3. We will now proceed to the vote. Okay, thank you. Now, MÉDAC has submitted 4 additional proposals which were subsequently withdrawn after a constructive dialogue with the bank's management. We would like to thank you for your willingness and availability to engage with the bank on those conversations. The withdrawn proposals, including MÉDAC's statement and the bank's response, have been reproduced on pages 94-97 of the English management proxy circular, and pages 100-104 of the French management proxy circular. I believe Mr. Gagnon would like to speak briefly to the withdrawn proposals. Mr. Gagnon, back over to you. Merci. [Foreign language] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I shall be brief. I want to indicate the reasons why we have agreed that these proposals not be put to a vote. The first proposal addressed formal employee representation and strategic decision-making. In its response, the bank stated that management has undertaken to carry out a study of the ways in which the bank's employees provide input into strategic decision-making, and we understand that the bank will be reporting back next year. We are very happy with that. We understand as well that the bank will explore best practices abroad, especially in continental Europe and the United Kingdom, which was what we wanted. Thank you. We had made a proposal on women in leadership, promotions, advancement, and upward mobility. We were seeking improved disclosure of data on women in leadership at every level, and the bank stated that it will continue improving disclosure on this topic. We gave as examples the disclosure made by other banks, which we felt was adequate, especially RBC, and we are happy to see that the bank has undertaken to improve its disclosure practices. Thank you for that. We had made a proposal on decarbonization, asking the bank to adopt intermediate targets with determined timelines to reduce its financing of fossil fuel and polluting industries. We were happy to hear that the bank in the fall, along with several other banks, became a signatory to the Net-Zero Banking Alliance. We are happy that the bank has made this commitment, and we are convinced that it will comply with the principles of these various initiatives, which is why we agreed that this proposal not be put to a vote. Finally, we had made a proposal in respect of a climate change and environmental committee of the board. That was a recommendation from Mark Carney, the Former Governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, who is today the United Nations special envoy on climate action and finance. Following our discussions with the bank, we see that the responsibility for these issues is already vested in the governance and nominating committee and other committees. that this issue is specifically written into the mandates of these committees, which is why we have agreed that this proposal not be put to a vote. I would like to stress, Mr. Chairman, that our exchanges with the bank have been extremely fruitful, even though we were not able to agree on all proposals. We have noticed that in the CEO's address, a number of the issues we had raised have been addressed in a frank and open manner. Once again, thank you very much for your openness and we hope to hear your future disclosure and interventions on the areas of interest to us. Thank you. Merci. Thank you, Mr. Gagnon. Thank you for your engagement and, of course, willingness to engage with us before these meetings to make sure we are as productive and also taking your feedback as we have for many years and responded to much of it. Thank you for your time. We now turn to shareholder proposal number 4 relating to decarbonization financing. This shareholder proposal was submitted by Harrington Investments, Inc. It was originally submitted jointly with another proponent who agreed to withdraw the proposal following constructive interaction and engagement with the bank. Harrington's proposal, with their supporting comments, as well as the bank's position on the proposal, are set out in full on pages 88 and 99 of the English Management Proxy Circular and pages 105 and 106 of the French version. Mr. Harrington, good morning. Please proceed with your statement and move the Harrington motion. Thank you. It took a moment last year. We'll just give a second here for Mr. Harrington. I know Mr. Harrington was on the line as we started the meeting, Barb, as I recall. Let's just give it a moment. Mr. Chairman, can you hear me? We can. Good morning. Thank you. Good morning. Did you hear my introduction or not yet? No, we have not. Please, something must have happened. Please go forward. Yes. Okay. Well, thank you. Good morning. My name is John Harrington, and I'm President and CEO of Harrington Investments, a Napa, California-based ESG registered investment advisor, managing assets for individuals and institutions for over 40 years. In 2013, we divested from all fossil fuels. This is the third year we have filed a proposal on climate change at our bank. While Bank of Montreal's carbon funding has increased annually from over CAD 15 billion in 2020 to almost CAD 19 billion for 2021, increasing at almost 25%. Total carbon financing is now over CAD 117 billion for the last six years. Ironically, this resolution request is to adopt a policy by the end of this year to take actions to help ensure that its financing does not contribute to new fossil fuels supplied that would be inconsistent with the international inter-agency net-zero emissions by 2050 scenario. Following the latest finding of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN Secretary General called the latest report a litany of broken promises, putting the planet on a fast track to climate disaster. Our bank is financing deadly fossil fuels that have catastrophic results. Thousands of human beings have been killed and injured thanks to climate change, resulting in extraordinary weather events, including creating hurricanes and deadly wildfires. Unfortunately, I can personally attest to the horrors of climate change, as almost 40% of Napa County, California, has been devastated by wildfires since 2015, including the 2017 Atlas Fire, where my wife and I lost our home and barely escaped alive. With no warning on a Sunday night, winds of over 60-70 miles an hour erupted, blowing down power lines, creating a firestorm, filling the night sky with embers. We were separated and trapped as a downed tree blocked the road. Eventually, we were both able to escape, driving through fire and smoke, avoiding several burning vehicles. The story has been repeated in many parts of the world time and time again. It is our future. Thanks to climate change and our bank's continuing finance of fossil fuels. If our bank's serious about reducing fossil fuel financing, our boards could take action as a responsible fiduciary. That means adopting a board resolution, not making statements. This may be a numbers game for the board to maximize short-term materialistic self-interest, but it's a struggle to save our planet. Have you heard of the Extinction Rebellion? The UN Secretary General also warned that current total climate pledges would result in a 14% increase in emissions by the end of this decade. Scientists warn levels must peak before 2025 in two, three years at the latest, and be reduced by a quarter by 2030 to hit the target. It will never hit that target by expanding the funding of fossil fuels. It may already be too late. I really appreciate the dialogue we have had. I hope we have more dialogue. We appreciate Barbara Muir's examples of working with other people, and I really appreciate her attempting to talk more. We really feel that talking time is over, and we must take serious fiduciary interest and move this along. I really appreciate all the work that you've done to date, and we hope that we can work with you in the future. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for your comments, Mr. Harrington. Mr. Harrington, could I also just ask you to make the motion as well, please? Having not heard that, Barb, would you like to make the motion for Mr. Harrington, and then we will move forward? We will just, assume that he's made the motion for the time being. Okay. We will assume the motion was made. Thank you. Thank you for your comments again and your engagement. Are there any questions in the room related to shareholder proposal number four? Barbara, did you receive any questions in advance or online as we've had the meeting this morning in this regard? We did not receive any questions on this particular proposal. However, we do have a shareholder online, Jeff Carlson, who wants to ask the question generally about the shareholder proposals. Okay. Thank you. Good morning. Please go ahead, Mr. Carlson. Yes. Good morning. Very good. Can you hear me okay? Yes, we can. Thank you. As mentioned, my name is Jeff Carlson, and I'm a BMO shareholder. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for taking my question. We've now listened to several shareholder proposals and speeches by the special interest groups, MÉDAC and Harrington Investments. Shareholders have heard such proposals, often the same ones, in previous AGMs, and each time, these proposals have failed to pass, usually with an overwhelming number of votes cast against them. Addressing such proposals by BMO management requires considerable effort and time commitment, both of which impact shareholder value. My three related questions are one, what related specific dialogue has been had with these groups, including meetings and discussions of any kind? Two, who specifically from BMO has participated in these meetings and discussions? Three, when and how will the minutes of these meetings be made available to all shareholders so that we can properly understand the full nature and content of these discussions? Thank you. Barbara, do you want me to answer the first two questions, and you take the third? That would be fine. Thank you. Yes. Happy with that? Yes. First of all, thank you for the comment. There's very constructive dialogue with the organizations that make these motions. We take them extremely serious. I mean, ultimately, we, as the board and management, work for our shareholders. It is productive, as you can hear, even in the relationship with some of the motions this morning, they're positive relationships, all with the best interest of the bank we know at heart. Barbara Muir, our Corporate Secretary, is really our direct key relationships, as well as if there are other direct interest of major shareholders from an investor relations perspective. Of course, many of our senior management would be involved in those type of discussions. The third question, I'll turn over to our Corporate Secretary. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you for your question, Mr. Carlson. These discussions that we have with the shareholders are confidential. Obviously, they're discussions where we're discussing information that they're interested in having, and we are able to share that, which, of course, we can from a public perspective. They are confidential. To the extent, however, that we have dialogue with them, you will have seen in our proxy circular, we have endeavored to state quite clearly the outcomes, the nature of the dialogue we had and the outcomes. For that reason, we think that that is good disclosure and would not propose to contain minutes and keep minutes of these meetings or make them public. Thank you for your question, Mr. Carlson. Barbara, was there any other questions online that you've received? Not with respect to the shareholder proposals. Okay. Thank you very much. I remind you that the board of directors and management recommended against shareholder proposal number four for the reason stated in the management proxy circular. We will now proceed to a vote. Okay. Thank you. That brings us to the end of the voting on the items of business before this meeting. I hereby declare that the polls are now closed with respect to all items of business. If you've completed a proxy ballot form, please raise it in the air, and someone from Computershare will pick it up for you if you happen to have one here this morning. The scrutineers will now count the vote and report back shortly. There was another shareholder proposal submitted but withdrawn this year. The BC General Employees' Union General Fund and the BC General Employees' Union Defense Fund submitted a proposal regarding the financialization of housing. After discussion with management on the bank's current practice and the bank's agreement to take certain actions, the proposal was withdrawn. Management has included information on the withdrawn proposal and the bank's response in the management proxy circular, which you will find on page 100 of the English proxy circular and page 107 of the French proxy circular. We'd like to thank the BCGEU for their constructive engagement with us, and you likely picked up that our CEO did discuss that specific issue in his speech. The scrutineers have completed their. I believe I will move forward now if we have time. Yes, the scrutineers have completed their preliminary reports on the results of the voting, and I now call on our transfer agent to read those results. Mr. Chair, we confirm the following preliminary results. No directors standing for election today received less than 95% of the votes cast for a director. For the appointment of shareholder auditor, approximately 93% voted for and approximately 6% voted withheld. On the advisory vote on the bank's approach to executive compensation, approximately 94% voted for and approximately 5% voted against. For the shareholder proposal number 1, approximately 3% voted for, approximately 95% against, and less than 1% abstained. For the shareholder proposal number 2, approximately 14% voted for, approximately 83% against, and less than 1% abstained. For the shareholder proposal number 3, approximately 1% voted for, approximately 98% against, and less than 1% abstained. For the shareholder proposal number 4, approximately 7% voted for, approximately 92% against, and less than 1% abstained. Thank you. Thank you very much. I therefore declare that the 13 nominees listed in the management proxy circular are all duly elected as directors. Thank you for your confidence, shareholders, in all of us. KPMG LLP is duly appointed as auditor for the ensuing year. The advisory resolution on the bank's approach to executive compensation has been approved. Shareholder proposals number 1, number 2, number 3, and number 4 have not been approved. The formal business of the meeting is now terminated, and we will move to the question and answer period. Questions should be by shareholders or proxy holders and should be of interest to all shareholders and not of a personal nature. If you have a personal question, financial or other issues, please take them offline after the meeting, and our management would be happy to chat with you. If you do have a question, please either line up behind one of the microphones here in the presentation hall, enter your question into the messaging box, or your phone number and the subject matter of your question into the messaging box if you wish to address the meeting. We will also read those questions received by the corporate secretary prior to the meeting that have not already been raised. Questions with common themes may be regrouped together for efficiency. I'll first of all go to our shareholders in the room, and once I recognize you to speak, would you please identify yourself and state whether you are a shareholder or proxy holder? Thank you, sir. Good morning. Yes. My name is Frederick From. I've been a shareholder for, probably half a dozen years. I want to congratulate the board on some really sterling results. My question has to do with the recent events. I'm sure many Canadians were shocked with the invocation of the Emergencies Act, the first time it's ever been used in Canada. Several hundred Canadians apparently found their bank accounts frozen. Testimony before the parliamentary committee in the past few weeks indicates that there was a considerable withdrawals from many financial institutions by people panicked about the safety of their money. I think obviously shareholders' and depositors' confidence is key to the- To the operation of the bank, and that confidence and security is vital. I would inquire whether the directors would consider a court challenge to the government, or to the powers that the government invoked in corralling the bank into the freezing or perhaps worse of people's money, people who've never been charged or convicted of anything. I think that, you know, confidence is really important. I put that to the directors. Would they consider a court challenge? Well, thank you first of all for your support of the bank. Thank you for your kind comments about the results of the bank. My comments will be very specific that we are a federally regulated corporation and as always have positive dialogue with the Canadian federal government, but of course follow as board members, as a company, what the regulator and what those requests are within the context, and that's how the company will continue to act. Thank you for the question and feedback. Any other questions in the room from any other shareholders? Barbara, do we have any questions online or that have been submitted? We do, Mr. Chair. Our CEO on the hot seat floor. We do. We have two questions online. The first one is from Emily DeMasi. Emily, please go ahead. Thank you. I thank the Chair, members of the board and fellow shareholders. My name is Emily DeMasi, and I work for EOS at Federated Hermes. I'm here as a proxy holder on behalf of our institutional investor clients who own CAD 1.7 billion in Bank of Montreal equity, effectively making them the bank's eighth largest shareholder. We are also active participants in the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, IIGCC. IIGCC's investor expectations for the banking sector include aligning the bank's financing with the delivery of the goals of the Paris Agreement, governance of climate risks and opportunities, and the bank's disclosure of its climate governance, strategy, risk management approach, and metrics and targets to be in line with the recommendations of the TCFD. Today, I would like to address the bank's climate strategy as it relates to a just transition, as we consider this important for the long-term success of Bank of Montreal. We appreciate the bank's net-zero by 2050 target. The alignment of its net-zero target with its business purpose, Boldly Grow the Good in Business and Life, and the initial sector-based decarbonization target set by the bank. We'll monitor the ongoing progress against these and the disclosure of more robust sector-based targets. We also acknowledge that BMO Global Asset Management is a member of Climate Engagement Canada, and therefore committed to engaging with Canadian investee companies on a just transition to net-zero. However, we need to understand more about how the bank itself is integrating considerations for a just transition into its financing practices and policies. Special consideration and plans should be detailed for communities most adversely affected by the fossil fuel industry. Our concern here is that as other financial institutions withdraw from these activities, a concentration of risk may occur within the Canadian banking sector. To mitigate against these risks, banks should be working with communities towards achieving a just transition. This engagement will support the Bank of Montreal in navigating risks and opportunities within the low carbon transition with respect to environmental justice and human rights. I ask the chair, will the Bank of Montreal explicitly commit to achieve a just transition with specific attention to impacts and opportunities for its key stakeholders, including workers, their families, and the communities most impacted by the low carbon transition? Will this commitment be supported by reporting on the specific actions the bank will take to achieve the just transition, including clarity on how borrowers' own commitments, capacity, and strategy to achieve a just transition is factored into financial decision-making? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for the question. Thank you for your support of the bank and, taking the time, at this morning's meeting to address obviously important issues, going forward for us, for Canada, for the bank and globally. Darryl, would you like to respond? Sure, Chairman. Thank you, Ms. DeMasi, for your thoughts as well as your questions. It is a very important topic, and it's a complex one, as you've well outlined. I will say that working to help our energy clients find opportunities to reduce emissions and contribute to an energy transition and a green economy while providing the needed energy and inputs as we transition to net zero is the framework which we operate within as we think about these questions. I think you know well, you articulated some of them well, frankly, our purpose commitments. We take those very seriously, and we lean in to create sustainable communities and a broader economic agenda as well. You know, a just transition is an important topic, and it reminds me that there are three letters in ESG, and E is a very important one. We've committed to supporting the communities that are affected by the transition, including supporting the climate agenda. We do have a purpose-driven financing commitment to support these communities specifically. We've set a goal to mobilize CAD 300 billion in capital in pursuit of sustainable outcomes by 2025. As you heard in the prepared remarks, our stated ambition is to be our clients' lead partner in the transition to a net-zero world. That to us is part of our contribution to the just transition as you called it. I will also emphasize that only in the last couple of years have we developed the momentum on the BMO Climate Institute, the energy transition group, the sustainable finance teams that I talked about in my prepared remarks and there's more to come on that front. ESG matters a lot. I think your governance here is excellent. On the community side, I spoke earlier about BMO EMpower, which is a series of long-term commitments to advance inclusive economic recovery in both the United States and Canada. I would say, Ms. DeMasi, we're very committed to the notion that you put forward and there'll be more to come. Thank you, Darryl. Mr. Chair. Yes. Sorry. Go ahead, Barbara. We have another question from Mr. Matt Price. Mr. Price, please go ahead. Good morning, everyone. This is Matt Price with Investors for Paris Compliance. We're a shareholder advocacy organization that closely tracks Canadian banks' net zero commitments, and we're a BMO proxy holder. My question today regards BMO's implementation of its climate pledges and the opportunities that may present. The BMO is to be congratulated as the only Canadian bank that set an absolute reduction target for scope three emissions for oil and gas, which is probably the most important target given this is where most of the emissions lie. While other U.S. and European banks have also set absolute targets like this, none of the other big Canadian banks have done so. Instead, setting what's known as intensity-based targets tied to production levels, thereby letting overall emissions actually go up with greater activity. This is something that climate can't afford. Of course, setting a target is only the first step, and now the hard work begins on meeting it, and BMO has more work that needs to be done in that regard. Financing of things like new fossil fuel production and coal mining remain issues for BMO to tackle. My question today is this. Climate-concerned Canadians, whether at the individual or corporate level, are looking to do business with companies that are taking climate change seriously. If BMO continues to open up daylight with its Canadian competitors on climate, what are the opportunities for the bank to build its value proposition around this? What specific steps can it take to capture that market as it emerges? Thank you. Thank you for the question. Darryl, I think it's appropriate you answer that as well. Sure, Chairman. Mr. Price, thank you for your question, and thank you for your engagement. I can't help but comment on the engagement as we have a couple times here, but I think we're big believers in staying on the sidelines is not a path to a better planet or a better anything. You're meeting us on the field, and having the engagement that we talked about earlier with the corporate secretary is very important. Thank you for that. On your question, I would say we're very proud of the commitments that we've made so far and at the same time, transition to a lower carbon economy represents, frankly, an enormous opportunity. It's very early days, but you heard me talk earlier about the energy transition group. You heard me talk earlier about our commitment to sustainable finance. We think we've been a leader as our client's partner of choice in many groundbreaking, sustainably linked loans and bonds. I think you should expect more of that. We were the first Canadian partner in the Breakthrough Energy Catalyst program, which allow us to work with growth stage companies on many things, including green hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel, direct air capture, long-term duration energy storage projects and capture. Those are just a few examples. We do think that it's important to work for the planet, and we also think there's an important commercial opportunity, and we consider both of those. I think you can look for more in our next climate report. Thank you for your question. Barbara, any additional questions? We do have one more question from Mr. Willie Gagnon. His question relates to today's voting results on the climate shareholder proposal submitted by MEDAC. I will read the question in French, and with your permission, I'll answer the question. Mr. Gagnon's question is as follows: The Laurentian Bank has undertaken to hold a say on climate vote as CN, CP, Nestlé, Glencore and many other major corporations already do. Given the results of the vote on this question today, do you contemplate doing so as well? The answer to your question, Mr. Gagnon, is that each year, we take into account throughout the year of the results of the votes at our annual meeting. This is a very important issue, and we will continue to consider it. There are always a number of factors that are taken into account, and we follow closely the change in the situation. Thank you for your question. Thank you, Barbara. Barbara, do you have any more questions online that you have seen or calls? We have no further questions at this time, Mr. Chair. Right. Seeing none in the room and that there are no further questions, let me thank everyone for joining us this morning. Your bank, as you can tell, is in very good hands with our senior management team leading us. A very exciting year, and we all would expect in this environment some challenges in front of us. None of us can plan for, but we will react appropriately in the marketplace. Thank you everyone very much for your time, and stay well.