Bonjour and hello. My name is Jaimie Lickers, and I'm the Senior Vice President of Indigenous Markets at CIBC. I'm also Haudenosaunee and a member of the Onondaga Nation from the community of Six Nations of the Grand River here in Southern Ontario. Today, I'm delighted to open CIBC's 2021 Annual General Meeting, and I would like to begin by acknowledging that the land from where I speak to you today in Hamilton, Ontario, is the traditional territory of my people, the Haudenosaunee, as well as the Mississauga, Erie, and Wendat peoples. These lands are also governed by the Dish With One Spoon Treaty, a treaty between the Anishinaabe, the Mississauga, and the Haudenosaunee people, whereby we agreed to share and protect these lands. Today, the meeting place of Hamilton is home to many Indigenous peoples, and we are grateful to have the opportunity to both live and work in this community and in many communities across Turtle Island. We offer this land acknowledgement to start our AGM in recognition of the extensive contributions of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples today and throughout history, and also to demonstrate that as a leading financial institution in North America, we are committed to reconciliation. Reconciliation is about establishing and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada, and it's about recognizing the prior occupation of these lands by Indigenous peoples. Reconciliation requires that we acknowledge the history of harm that has been inflicted on Indigenous peoples through various government policies, including the residential school policy, which removed Indigenous children from their homes, their families, and their communities with a view to stripping the Indian out of the child, and the '60s Scoop, which saw the intentional adoption of Indigenous children outside of their cultures, homes, and communities, and the policy of forcibly relocating many communities of Indigenous people throughout history for the purpose of opening lands to settlement and resource development. Reconciliation requires that we both acknowledge these harmful practices perpetrated against Indigenous people and that we embrace the teachings from our past to ensure that such injustices are never repeated. For CIBC, reconciliation is also about reinforcing inclusion as the cornerstone of our bank's culture and working together so that we all feel like we belong. Without these actions, true reconciliation will never be achieved. Nyawa, merci, and thank you. I would now like to pass things over to John Manley Manley to continue our meeting. Thank you, Jaimie, and good morning, everyone. My name is John Manley Manley. I am the Chair of CIBC's Board of Directors. Welcome to the 2021 Annual Meeting of CIBC. Bonjour, bienvenue à l'Assemblée Annuelle 2021 de la Banque CIBC. I've received satisfactory proof that notice of this meeting was duly given and that a quorum is present. There we go. No, there we don't go. Therefore, I declare the Annual Meeting of Shareholders duly constituted, and I call the meeting to order. Also attending today are Victor G. Dodig G. Dodig Dodig, President and Chief Executive Officer; Kate Stephenson, Director and Chair of the Corporate Governance Committee; and Michelle Caturay, Senior Vice President, Associate General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary. In support of public health efforts to manage COVID-19, we're holding this meeting virtually. The health and well-being of our clients, employees, communities, and shareholders continues to be a top priority. This includes taking steps to protect the well-being of our team involved in today's meeting. Victor G. Dodig G. Dodig, Kate, and Michelle, as well as our team behind the scenes, are all following public health guidance and have additional measures, and we have additional measures in place. I'm participating remotely as a result. À l'appui des efforts de santé publique visant à gérer le COVID-19, nous tenons à. In support of public health efforts to manage COVID-19, we are holding this meeting virtually. The health and well-being of our clients, employees, communities, and shareholders continues to be a top priority. This includes taking steps to protect the well-being of our team involved in today's meeting. Victor G. Dodig G. Dodig, Kate, and Michelle, as well as our team behind the scenes, are all following public health guidance, and we have additional measures in place. I am participating remotely as a result. Our shareholders and guests who are joining our meeting today through our live webcast or listening on the telephone, I'll ask Michelle to explain how the meeting will proceed. Michelle, over to you. Thank you, John Manley. Remarks will be made in both English and French today, and simultaneous translation will be provided over both our English and French webcast and phone lines. Many shareholders submitted their votes before the meeting. Thank you. A very small number of shareholders have decided to vote at the meeting. If you voted in advance and you do not wish to change your vote, no further action is required. If you are a shareholder or proxy holder who wishes to vote during the meeting, you must use our virtual meeting platform. After you log into the webcast, click on the Vote tab at the top of your screen, and a separate browser window will open. You can register to vote by entering your control number as a username and entering cibc2021, all lowercase, as your password. You would have received a control number with your meeting materials by mail or email, or you received it when you registered as a proxy holder with AST Trust Company, our transfer agent. Voting will be open throughout the formal portion of the meeting. If you wish to make a comment or ask a question, you have two options: online or telephone. To submit a question or comment online, you select the message icon at the top of your screen and type your question or comment in the text box at the bottom of the screen. Please indicate whether you are a shareholder or a proxy holder. Once you finish typing, click the Submit button. To make a comment or ask a question through our phone line, press Star and 1. You will be asked to say your name to the operator. The operator will put you in the queue. When it is time for you to ask your question or make your comment, the operator will introduce you by your name. Before you ask your question, please state whether you are a shareholder or a proxy holder. Your question may be about the motion being considered or something more general. We will answer questions on a particular motion at the appropriate time in the meeting. Please hold your general questions for the comment period after the formal business of the meeting is concluded. We also received some questions before the meeting started. We will answer those questions first, then questions submitted during the meeting through the webcast, followed by questions from those on the phone. I will read questions sent in advance or online. The appropriate person will address them. If we receive a number of questions on the same topic, we will group the questions together and provide a comprehensive response. We will respond to as many questions as possible during the meeting. If we are not able to address your question here, we will respond to you directly after the meeting if you provide your email address or a telephone number. Back to you, John Manley. Thank you, Michelle. The remarks you hear today may include forward-looking statements, and actual results could differ materially. Also, some of the matters discussed today may include references to non-GAAP financial measures. Details about forward-looking statements and non-GAAP financial measures are in our financial reports. Welcome to the 154th Annual Meeting of Shareholders of our bank. Welcome to the 154th Annual Meeting of Shareholders of our bank. We're very pleased to be able to meet with you, our shareholders, again this year. As Michelle mentioned, this meeting is being webcast in both English and French, and it will be available on CIBC's website at www.cibc.com for future reference. Our executive management team and our board of directors are also attending remotely. In the event of a technical disruption at my end, Kate Stephenson is at the ready to chair the meeting. Michelle will act as Secretary of the Meeting. Michelle is a shareholder and a proxy holder, and I will ask her to both move and second the motions that are put before the meeting. Jennifer Anderson and Pat Lee of AST Trust Company will act as scrutineers. Our agenda for today's meeting will begin with the presentation of the 2020 Annual Financial Statements, followed by remarks from our CEO, the election of directors, the appointment of auditors, the advisory resolution on our executive compensation approach, and a shareholder proposal. Once we complete the formal business of the meeting, we will open the meeting for comments and questions and then read the preliminary vote results. Let's get started. I'm pleased to present the Annual Financial Statements and Auditor's Report for the year ended October 31, 2020, which can be found in our annual report. CIBC's Annual Report, Management Proxy Circular, and First Quarter Report are available on our website. Michelle, are there any comments or questions on the financial statement? Please hold your questions not related to the financial statements to the comment period later in the meeting. John Manley, there are no questions coming from the webcast. Operator, are there any questions on the phone? There are no questions at this time. Thank you, Operator. Back to you, John Manley. Thank you, Michelle. I'm now pleased to invite Victor G. Dodig G. Dodig Dodig, President and Chief Executive Officer, to address the meeting. Victor G. Dodig G. Dodig? Good morning. Last year, we came together for our first virtual AGM in the history of our bank, just a few weeks after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Families and businesses had their lives and their financial ambitions upended virtually overnight. There was uncertainty, and there was fear. Just one year later, there's every reason for cautious optimism. The path out of the pandemic will not be a straight line, and we're seeing continued fluctuations in the spread of the virus across different regions. However, looking ahead, we can see the inflection point in this pandemic through mass vaccinations and continued adherence to public health guidelines. It was a long and difficult year, and there's more to do, but the fact that an end is in sight is a testament to the incredible impact of people and of purpose. We've seen it in the researchers and scientists who brought numerous vaccines to market in such a short time frame, the frontline healthcare workers who care for others, and the everyday efforts of those who are keeping shelves stocked, delivering goods and services, and helping to keep us all safe. I want to recognize their efforts on behalf of everyone at CIBC. I want to thank them on behalf of CIBC. A heartfelt thank you to the over 44,000 CIBC team members at our bank who continue to honor our history and live our purpose to help make our clients' ambitions a reality. Our team has been selfless, professional, steadfast, genuinely caring, and fully committed to the task at hand, and I couldn't be more proud or grateful. I'd like to extend a special thank you to those CIBC team members who have come into the office over the course of the pandemic to provide vital services to our clients. As the pandemic set in, I said that we are at a moment of truth. Now, one year later, I would say that we're approaching a moment of opportunity, economically and for CIBC. Today, I'll focus my remarks on three key areas. The first is our economic recovery from this crisis and what it will take to achieve long-term prosperity in a post-pandemic world. The second is CIBC's resilience through this crisis and our demonstrated capacity for growth. The third is the future. The pandemic will change banking, and those changes present significant opportunities for banks making the right investments today to meet changing client needs into the future. I believe our bank is very well positioned for the post-pandemic economy. Broadly speaking, the North American economy has held up reasonably well under the circumstances, but we should be aware of risks on the horizon if we do not plan for the long term now. We were resilient through the onset of the pandemic thanks to early, coordinated actions by governments and other stakeholders. While near-term certainty remains, we are moving towards a consumer-led recovery in the coming quarters. Households are expected to spend more of their income as the economy reopens, supported by the buildup in household savings. This will help businesses recover lost ground, notably in services that have been unavailable during the pandemic. Current forecasts from our economics team have CIBC GDP growth at 5.5% for 2021 and the U.S. growing at approximately 6%, in part due to a faster rollout of vaccines across their population. That's the good news, but we must be mindful of what we could face beyond the initial rebound. In the long run, higher spending may prompt inflation. That could make debt more expensive to carry when compared to historically low interest rates today. That could make the challenge of managing higher pandemic-induced debt loads that much greater for governments, for corporations, and for consumers alike. It's not enough to just bounce back. We need to use smart policy, progressive strategies, and the momentum of the economic recovery to attract and build financial, human, and social capital for the long term. Financial capital is the raw material needed to fuel growth over the long term. In the Canadian context, our global ranking in foreign direct investment has declined pre-pandemic. As we look to the growth industries of the future, we've got to ask ourselves how to enable Canadian firms to start here, scale here, and stay here. That means creating deeper pools of capital to enable business growth so that Canadian success stories do not become exports. Human capital comes in the form of a highly skilled and educated workforce to power the growth industries of the future, like renewable energy, artificial intelligence, and other high-growth sectors. Social capital is increasingly becoming a prerequisite to attracting financial and human capital. Investment dollars and the brightest minds will flow to countries that can demonstrate that they're committed to a sustainable future where there's truly opportunity for all. We must invest in our social capital if we expect to achieve future success. In all of the markets where we operate, I believe the economies are well positioned for the future if we look beyond the coming economic recovery and invest now in people, progress, and the growth industries of tomorrow. Any stimulus measures being considered to help drive the recovery should be focused on long-term growth rather than short-term consumption. Our bank has proven to be highly resilient through this crisis. We closed out fiscal 2020 with adjusted earnings of CAD 4.4 billion. This was down from the year prior, primarily as a result of elevated provisions for credit losses related to the pandemic. On a pre-provision basis, we delivered record earnings, a clear sign of our capacity for growth. We also improved our capital strength, increasing our common equity tier one ratio to 12.3% as of the end of the first quarter. This gives us the flexibility to continue to support our clients while maintaining our dividend for our shareholders and investing in our business. Beyond the numbers, we lived our purpose, and it showed in our actions. Throughout the year, we prioritized the health and well-being of our CIBC team and focused all of our efforts on meeting the needs of our clients. We provided over 500,000 payment deferrals on CIBC credit products to give clients the flexibility they needed to manage through an uncertain time. For other clients, our conversations have been about growth, capturing business opportunities, or moving forward with plans to buy a home. In Canada, we were the first among the banks to reduce credit card interest rates for clients experiencing hardship. We leveraged digital technology to help as many clients as possible in the early days of the pandemic. We took special measures to keep our most vulnerable friends and neighbors, including our seniors, safe by prioritizing them in our banking centers and by reaching out proactively to help them bank online. Our team in the U.S. lived our purpose by managing the crisis with a constant focus on client relationships. As our competitors established web-based processes to handle incoming applications for government relief programs aimed at businesses, we did something different. We picked up the phone. We called our Commercial Banking clients directly and asked them what help they needed from us to ensure that they could weather the storm. Many of them were on a strong footing, but some needed the support. Globally, our teams in the Caribbean, the U.K., and Asia stepped up for our clients and delivered on their needs under challenging circumstances. The result of these actions was resilient financial performance and a shared experience that helped drive our purpose deeper than ever into our culture. Entering the new fiscal year, we're making good progress in all of our key focus areas. In the first quarter, we delivered adjusted earnings of CAD 1.6 billion, which is up 11% over last year, by executing on our strategic priorities. We're focused on revitalizing our Canadian consumer franchise, and we saw clear progress in the first quarter. Earnings were up 13% in this business year over year, and our mortgage business showed improved momentum with 8% balance growth versus the same quarter a year ago. Our direct financial services business, which meets the needs of our digital-savvy clients who prefer a self-serve approach, posted double-digit growth over the last year. We delivered strong results in Canadian wealth management with higher fund flows and award-winning investment performance. We continued our momentum in capital markets in the first quarter with a record quarter, and we focused on building and deepening relationships across our Canadian commercial banking business. In the U.S., our momentum in commercial banking and wealth management continued as we further expanded our business and delivered growth while deepening our North American relationships in key sectors. Our third strategic priority is accelerating the transformation of our bank. Over the last five years, we've generated over CAD 800 million in cost savings, enabling us to reinvest for growth in areas like artificial intelligence, cloud-based platforms, and other enhancements to advance the capabilities and the efficiency of our bank. That focus on transformation is going to be essential to our future prosperity as change accelerates in the post-pandemic era. First, digital technology has already become part of everyday banking for our clients, but usage trends and adoption surged during the pandemic across all age groups. Investments in our industry-leading mobile banking platform paid dividends for us over this past year and positions us very well for the future. We recently added CIBC Mobile Insights to our mobile banking platform, using AI to give clients insights about their everyday spending patterns to help them make informed decisions. We also created the CIBC Goal Planner platform, which empowers our clients to start the goal-setting process through their mobile device before they meet with one of our Imperial Service Advisors so that together they can map out a plan to achieve their financial ambitions. There is more to do here, but we have clearly established a strong position at a time when digital engagement will remain permanently elevated. Second, relationships will become entrenched as the currency of banking. Clients will have long memories for the actions their bank took during this time. Looking at the last 12 months, I am extremely confident about the investments we have made in our relationship capital. I see the feedback from our clients every day about the difference our team has made in helping them achieve their ambitions. Looking back at the last 12 months, I'm extremely confident about the investments we've made in our relationship capital. I see the feedback from our clients every day about the difference our team has made in helping them achieve their ambitions. Looking ahead, we've invested in the advisory capabilities of our team, which will serve us well in 2021 and beyond. For our retail clients, we've enabled virtual meetings across our front line, and we've added mobile advisors to reach more clients where and when they need us. On the commercial side of our business, we continue to invest in cross-border capabilities for our mid-market clients. We also continue to build on our advantage in our innovation banking business, focused on meeting the needs of growing firms with forward-thinking ideas. With our corporate clients, we've significantly expanded our team and our capabilities in sustainable finance. We've invested in the growth of our team, added advisory capabilities globally, and made significant progress to our goal of mobilizing CAD 150 billion in capital in this area by 2027. This is reflected in our leadership position and league tables in this growing space. Third, the future of work at CIBC will be more flexible, with many team members operating in a hybrid model of remote work coupled with an in-person component. We see upside here in terms of employee engagement, productivity, work-life balance, and critically, in our ability to attract and retain top talent as part of a winning culture at our bank. Our investment in our new headquarters, CIBC Square in Toronto, will also be a game changer for us. Our modern physical presence at Square enables us to accommodate social distancing in the near term while enhancing our ability to collaborate with each other, engage with our clients, and foster the health and the well-being of our team over the longer term. Underpinning these trends is a commitment to sustainability and to building the social capital I spoke of earlier. Banks play a critical role in fostering a sustainable, inclusive economy. As a lender, we can enable companies to achieve their sustainability ambitions. As an advisor, we can help connect innovative companies with market opportunities for growth. As a major employer, we can lead by example through a commitment to sustainability, diversity, equity, and inclusion. On this measure, we either established or furthered targets for hiring and advancement for visible minorities, including the Indigenous and Black communities. We're committed to the advancement of women in our bank, and we've taken a clear stand against racism in all its forms through numerous activities, including our involvement with the Black North Initiative. These efforts are more than a social imperative. They're also an economic imperative because growth and sustainable performance will only come when an organization leverages human capital to its full potential and creates an environment where everyone can achieve their ambitions. In this moment of opportunity, CIBC is very well positioned thanks to the investments we made in the technology that is shaping our industry, in the relationships that will drive growth for the long term, and in the culture that will enable us to modernize how we work to meet the changing needs of our clients. I'd like to recognize and thank the outgoing Chair of our Board, the Honorable John Manley Manley, for his leadership, wise counsel, and humor, as well as for his role in furthering our strategy and a culture of inclusion at CIBC. Through John Manley's leadership, our bank navigated a period of significant change in the industry with an eye to the future, investing in long-term growth opportunities and always staying focused on what our clients would need from us today and tomorrow. John Manley is a champion for inclusion because he understands the value inclusion brings to organizations and to society, and he's been a tireless advocate for the kind of sustainable growth that is now on the agenda of organizations globally. John Manley, on behalf of all our stakeholders, I want to thank you for your contributions to CIBC on our Board and wish you all the best. John Manley, on behalf of all of our stakeholders, I want to thank you for your contributions to CIBC on our board, and I wish you all the best. I would also like to welcome Kate Stephenson, our incoming Board Chair. Kate's leadership capabilities, her forward-thinking approach to emerging issues, and commitment to sustainability is an ideal fit for our bank in this moment of opportunity. I look forward to working with her to further our growth and progress on behalf of all of our stakeholders. I'd like to close by emphasizing our team's support for our communities. In a year when many charitable causes face their own moment of truth, our bank remains steadfast in our support of the organizations and causes that are keeping our communities strong. We reimagined key fundraising events like the CIBC Run for the Cure and CIBC Miracle Day as virtual events. Our team also stepped up through our One for Change campaign, where CIBC matched the contributions made by our team members. In total, our bank contributed CAD 75 million to community organizations across the U.S. and Canada in 2020. To everyone on our CIBC team globally, thank you for everything you've done to bring our clients, our communities, and each other through a year that challenged all of us. Our resilience in this time is a tribute to your efforts. To everyone on our CIBC team globally, thank you for everything you've done to bring our clients, our communities, and each other through a year that challenged all of us. Our resilience is a tribute to your efforts. Continues to play their roles in keeping us safe and well, I extend our sincere gratitude. To our stakeholders, including our shareholders, I want to thank you for your confidence in our bank and assure you that we are focused on delivering in this moment of opportunity for CIBC. Thank you, merci. Thank you, Victor G. Dodig G. Dodig, merci. On behalf of the board, I'd like to thank you and the entire CIBC team for the remarkable response to the global pandemic and the meaningful contributions to our stakeholders while continuing to position our bank for the future. There was no playbook for this, but you've done a remarkable job. At this point, I'd like to move to the formal business of the meeting. For shareholders and proxy holders who have registered to access our online voting platform, polls are open and will remain open until we complete the formal business of the meeting and allow sufficient time for those voting online. If you have already voted, no further action is required unless you wish to change your vote. The next item is the election of directors, and the meeting is now open for the nomination of directors for the coming year. First, I would like to acknowledge Brent Belzberg, who is retiring after having reached his maximum tenure of 15 years. We have been very fortunate to have had the benefit of Brent's experience for the last 15 years, and we wish him much continued success. On behalf of our shareholders, the board, and all the employees of CIBC, I want to thank Brent for his dedicated service and contribution to CIBC's board and each of our board committees. I, too, will be retiring from the board having reached my maximum tenure. CIBC plays a vital role in the lives of its clients, employees, and communities, and it's been a great privilege for me to serve as Chair of CIBC's Board of Directors. This year, the number of directors to be elected is 14. They are Charles Brindamour, Nancy Caldwell, Michelle Collins, Pat Daniel, Luc Desjardins, Victor G. Dodig G. Dodig Dodig, Kevin Kelly, Christine Larsen, Nicholas Le Pan, Mary Lou Maher, Jane Peverett, Kate Stephenson, Martine Turcotte, and Barry Zubrow. I call on Michelle for her first move. I am pleased to move and second the nomination for election of each of the 14 persons named in the 2021 Management Proxy Circular as a director of CIBC until the close of the next annual meeting of shareholders or until their successors are elected or appointed, whichever is earlier. Thank you, Michelle. Are there any comments or questions on the election of directors? Please hold any questions not related to the election of directors to the comment period at the end of the meeting. John Manley, on the webcast, we have no questions about the election of directors. Operator, are there any questions on the phone? There are no questions at this time. Thank you, Operator. Back to you, John Manley. Thanks, Michelle. I declare nominations closed. All the persons nominated are standing for election. If you are a shareholder or proxy holder and have used your control number to log into our webcast, you may record your vote on the election of directors now unless you have already done so. Please remember that if you voted in advance of the meeting and you do not wish to change your vote, no further action is required. I will pause for a moment to allow time for those casting their votes. Next item of business is the appointment of our auditors, and I call on Michelle for a motion. I move and second that Ernst & Young LLP be appointed as the auditors of CIBC until the close of the next annual meeting of shareholders. Thank you, Michelle. Are there any comments or questions on the appointment of auditors? Once again, questions of a general nature should be held until the comment period later in the meeting. John Manley, on the webcast, we have no questions on the election of auditors. Operator, are there any questions on the phone? There are no questions at this time. Thank you, Operator. Okay, John Manley, over to you. Please record your vote on the appointment of auditors. Again, remember that if you voted in advance and you do not wish to change your vote, no further action is required. The next item of business is an advisory resolution on the executive compensation approach. The board considers this vote to be an important part of our shareholder engagement process, and we review the results of the vote when considering future executive compensation decisions. Michelle, I'd like to hear the motion from you. I move and second that the shareholders accept the approach to executive compensation disclosed in CIBC's Management Proxy Circular for the 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Thank you, Michelle. Are there any comments or questions on the advisory resolution on executive compensation approach? Please hold your questions of a general nature for the comment period later in the meeting. John Manley, there are no questions from the webcast on the advisory resolution. Operator, are there any questions on the phone? There are no questions at this time. Thank you, Operator. John Manley, over to you. Please record your vote on the advisory resolution on our executive compensation approach. Once again, if you voted in advance of the meeting and do not wish to change your vote, no further action is required at this time. Next, we move to the shareholder proposal that was received for voting upon at this meeting. Le mouvement d'éducation et de défense des actionnaires de MEDAC a soumis huit propositions. Has submitted eight shareholder proposals and after discussion with CIBC has decided to submit one of their proposals to a vote at today's meeting. We are pleased to have Mr. Willie Gagnon join us virtually today to present MEDAC's proposal. Mr. Gagnon, I would like to acknowledge and congratulate MEDAC on recently celebrating their 25th anniversary. Please move your proposal. Mr. Chairman, good morning. Can you hear me? I don't know whether we should deal with all of the proposals right now or whether you would like to deal only with the proposal that is actually put to a vote. I will assume that we are dealing right now with the proposal that is being put to a vote and that the other proposals will be addressed later. We had submitted eight proposals to the bank this year on behalf of MEDAC, which is, as you have said, celebrating its 25th anniversary. Following a sustained dialogue with the bank, we have decided not to request that seven of the eight proposals that we had sent be put to a vote. Among those eight proposals, seven had been sent to all other major banks in Canada. The proposal that is being put to a vote today, proposal number one, deals with the circular economy. It proposes that the bank produce a report on loans made over the last few years in support of the circular economy. We have agreed with two other banks not to put that proposal to a vote at their annual meetings on the basis of the fact that those two banks, National Bank and the Bank of Montreal, had signed up to the UN Principles for Responsible Banking. We hope that CIBC will eventually also sign up to those principles and therefore we would not be coming back with a similar proposal in future if that were the case. I understand during our discussions that you are considering signing up to those principles and we very much hope that you will. We would invite all shareholders to support our proposal, which focuses on the principle that the banking industry and public companies in general should put in place financial indicators in order to measure the weight of the banks and of all financial institutions' involvement through their investment and loan portfolios in the circular economy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I assume that I will have an opportunity to discuss the other proposals subsequent to the vote. Yes, you're right, Mr. Gagnon. It's regarding proposal number one. John Manley, we have no questions on proposal number one from the webcast. Operator, are there any questions on the phone? There are no questions at this time. Thank you, Operator. Back to you, John Manley. Thank you, Michelle. Le conseil d'administration. The board of directors and management are recommending shareholders vote against this resolution for the reasons set out in the Management Proxy Circular. Please record your vote on shareholder proposal number one. Again, please remember that if you voted in advance of the meeting and you do not wish to change your vote, there is no further action required. Ceci me fait aux questions. This completes the matters to be voted on, and I will pause for a moment so that shareholders and proxy holders can finish voting. Merci. Le scrutin est. Thank you. The polls are now closed. I will now invite Mr. Gagnon to comment on the MEDAC proposals which were withdrawn. Mr. Gagnon, over to you again. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Given that there are many proposals, I will simply outline the reasons for which we agreed following discussions and sustained dialogue with the bank, the reasons why we agreed that these proposals not be put to a vote. As you were saying earlier, and as I'm happy to reiterate now, this is our 25th anniversary, and we had designed a proposal that embodies all the values we have been promoting for 25 years that focuses on the purpose of the bank. We have agreed that this proposal not be put to a vote on the basis of your commitment to include in the mandate of the governance committee responsibility for overseeing the purpose of the bank. In addition to the board's general responsibility for this, we wanted responsibility to be enshrined in the governance committee. It is set out on page eight, I believe, of the circular, which sets out that the bank has undertaken to entrust the governance committee with the responsibility of overseeing the way in which the bank's purpose is implemented. We are happy with this addition to the governance committee's mandate. In terms of our proposal relating to a full-scale human resources committee, we are happy that you have added to the mandate of the human resources committee responsibility for ensuring the health and well-being of employees. That is an item that is set out in the mandate of the National Bank Human Resources Committee, and we are happy that you followed that example. We had made a proposal dealing with virtual meetings, and we are very happy that we are able to speak at meetings, that all shareholders can this year speak at the meeting, even though this is held remotely. This is progress over last year, and we are also happy that you have undertaken to organize such meetings in compliance with the principle that they should resemble face-to-face meetings to the extent possible. That is to say that the same kind of shareholder involvement is made possible. We have made a proposal relating to proposals related to health crisis. Your responses have been satisfactory. We have made a proposal dealing with global warming, your adhesion to the TCFD, and your commitment to moving towards developing financial indicators to measure quantitatively the bank's involvement through its loan and investment portfolio in companies that contribute to global warming. We are very happy with this. We had sent a proposal dealing with the exercise of the board's and the compensation committee's discretionary power in setting compensation. In your response, you state that, one moment, that the compensation and management resources committee has not exercised discretionary powers to revise compensation during 2020. This is the kind of disclosure that we would like to be published without the need for making a shareholder proposal each year. Namely, we believe this disclosure on the exercise of discretionary powers should be a matter of course. We had made a proposal relating to diversity, specifically to the proportion of women. We are agreed that you have agreed to a clause setting out your objective as being parity, and this reflects what other banks had been doing already. Not all banks have done this, and this is to your credit. We are happy that this provision is now in your official policies. I'm sorry to be taking so long, but we had made a lot of proposals. I would like to acknowledge the efforts undertaken by your staff to talk to us. It took a lot of meetings, a lot of discussions, and we have arrived at a result that is overall satisfactory this year. I would like to thank Ms. Dunning, Ms. Caturay, with whom I have had a lot of discussions, and their entire team. Thank you very much for your interest. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Gagnon, for MEDAC's continued engagement with CIBC in terms of governance. I can say that you have always been constructive and respectful and, therefore, effective. I'm convinced that this will continue over the coming years. On the voting results, I'm advised that the scrutineers have their preliminary report ready. Michelle, would you please read the scrutineer's report? Thank you, John Manley. The scrutineers report that 46.7% of eligible shares have been voted at this meeting. The shareholders present in person or represented by proxy have voted as follows. On the election of directors, a substantial majority of the votes cast at the meeting were voted in favor of each of the 14 nominees named in the Management Proxy Circular. On the appointment of auditors, 99% for, 1% withheld. On the advisory resolution on executive compensation approach, 95.7% for, 4.3% against. On the shareholder proposal relating to the circular economy, 22.5% for, 77.5% against, with less than 1% abstained. That concludes the scrutineer's report. Thank you, John Manley. Thank you, Michelle. Based on the vote results, I declare that each of the 14 nominees named in the 2021 Management Proxy Circular is elected as a director of CIBC until the close of the next annual meeting of shareholders or until their successors are elected or appointed, whichever is earlier. Ernst & Young LLP is appointed as auditors of CIBC. The advisory resolution on our executive compensation approach is approved, and the shareholder proposal is not approved. We thank you for your votes today. Your board and management team are committed to help build a sustainable future and continue evolving our ESG disclosure. The final vote results will be available after the meeting. At this time, I would invite shareholders and proxy holders with a question or comment about CIBC and its business to send your question online by selecting the messaging icon at the top of your screen. Type your message within the text box. Once you've finished typing your question, please click the submit button. You also have the option of asking a question through the phone line, and from the phone line, enter star and one. Star and one. Please mute the webcast audio if you're participating on both. You will be asked to say your name before you are entered into the queue. Once in the queue, the operator will ask you to speak by stating your name. Please indicate whether you are a shareholder or a proxy holder when you are stating your question. Some shareholders send questions in advance, and we will begin with those. Michelle, will you please read the first question? John Manley, the first question comes from Carol Anne Da Silva, a shareholder of CIBC. Ms. Da Silva writes, "As a shareholder, I would like the following questions to be read and answered at the April 8th annual general meeting. My brother was an employee of the CIBC for 18 years. He developed severe anxiety and depression as a result of how he was treated at work. Tragically, in September, he took his life at age 54 while off on stress leave. In discussions with human resources, it was indicated to us that no changes were required to help prevent future employee suicide. I have two questions. Since our discussions with HR in November and December of 2020, has the bank changed their position on this? The second question, if the bank's position has changed, can you please outline what changes have been made or are planned to be made at the CIBC to help prevent employee suicide? Specifically, has there been any training of managers to recognize employees who are at risk and how to respond appropriately? Has a program been implemented to eliminate employee bullying? That concludes the questions from Carol Anne Da Silva, John Manley. Thank you, Michelle. Victor G. Dodig G. Dodig, would you respond? Ms. Da Silva, let me start by again extending our sincere condolences to you and your brother's wife. Losing your brother is a terrible tragedy for your family and a loss for all who knew him. Mental health is an important issue, and suicide is particularly complex, with many people finding it hard to get the help they need and where people often face stigma. With some 4,000 Canadians taking their lives each year, it's clearly an issue that we as a society must take seriously, and we need to do more to address it. Thank you for taking your time to share your concerns with us. I know that members of our senior management team have met with you to address your concerns directly. We are deeply saddened by his passing. I want to assure you that we're committed to ensuring that our bank is a respectful and genuinely caring place to work. We've got policies like our code of conduct that make our expectations clear and that no form of bullying or harassment is acceptable. We also have clear avenues for employees to escalate their concerns, investigate concerns raised, and take actions to address any issues that arise. I'd also like to assure you that we're committed to supporting our team's well-being, including their mental health. Now, this includes comprehensive medical benefits, which include coverage for psychologists and other specialists. It includes employee and family assistance programs. That includes counseling and awareness programs through our corporate medical director and online videos that speak directly to a range of mental health topics. Last year, we launched online education focused on training our people leaders in dealing with mental health. In addition, we're currently rolling out additional resources to support our team's personal resilience at a time when many of us are dealing with challenges, including mental health and well-being overall as a result of the pandemic. The well-being of our team continues to be an important priority and an area that we'll continue to invest in going forward. On behalf of our bank, I again extend our deepest condolences to you and your brother's entire family for your loss. Thank you, Victor G. Dodig G. Dodig. Michelle, do you have any other questions? Yes, John Manley. From the webcast, we have a question from Harry Rustam, a shareholder of CIBC. Harry writes, "CIBC has decided to invest significantly in dealing with climate change. This is a laudable decision. What specific actions has the bank taken, and what timelines have been established to meet these goals?" Thank you. Again, Victor G. Dodig G. Dodig. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for your question. The CIBC team is committed to sustainability and to our climate goals and to reducing our carbon footprint. You asked the question as to what we are doing specifically as a bank. For ourselves, we are committing to a carbon-neutral footprint by 2024. We've joined several organizations that are committed to carbon neutrality over time, including the Institute for Sustainable Finance. We've made ESG, which includes the environment, social items, and governance items, part of our leadership compensation, specifically measured year after year, and we've made commitments. We are a bank that's committed to a prudent transition to a carbon-neutral world. That includes working with our non-renewable energy clients who are all working toward reducing their GHG emissions and responsibly doing so. That also includes a commitment to renewable and sustainable finance of green energy initiatives. We have a commitment of CAD 150 billion by 2027. We're already well over CAD 40 billion in terms of that commitment. We're proud of that progress, and we're working in a very balanced and prudent way to make sure that we're contributing to a carbon-neutral world as a financial institution that plays an important role in the ecosystem in North America and around the world. Thanks, Victor G. Dodig G. Dodig. Michelle, any other questions? Yes. Jeff Carlson writes, "I am a beneficial shareholder who has appointed myself as a proxy holder for this meeting. The board seems to be focused on diversity and inclusion targets as ends in themselves. What is the board and senior management doing to ensure that the best, qualified, and capable people are working for CIBC, particularly in senior leadership roles?" I think on the executive side of that, I'll pass that to you, Victor G. Dodig G. Dodig. I would like to, though, underscore at this meeting that not only have we put before shareholders an equal number of men and women as nominees for our board of directors, but that our incoming chair, and some might say it's a bit late after 124 years, but nonetheless, our incoming chair is a woman. I think we've been making very substantial progress at the board level and are working very hard to progress in other elements of diversity as well for the simple reason that we definitely want the best people, but we want a variety of perspectives and points of view to also come to our deliberations. The executive team, Victor G. Dodig G. Dodig, over to you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Inclusion and diversity is a cornerstone of our culture at CIBC, and we're very proud of the progress that we've made. I've got to emphasize that being an inclusive and diverse bank doesn't make us any talented. In fact, it makes us more talented because we draw from all corners of our population to serve the clients that we serve. We want to make sure that our team reflects the population that we serve. We build a culture of inclusion and diversity. There's no trade-off on talent. We've got targets in place to make sure that we've got gender diversity, to make sure that we have racial diversity, but to make sure that everybody brings their entire selves to our bank so that it's an inclusive culture where we collaborate and we deliver financial solutions to our clients better than anybody else can. Being a diverse and inclusive culture goes a long way to doing that. I'm proud of the progress that we've made from the executive committee level to the leadership levels of our bank to our focus on eliminating racism, anti-systemic racism in the Black community, against the Black community, the Indigenous community, and all forms of racism. Our bank's committed to the future. Our bank's committed to the diversity of our leadership team, and our bank is committed to attracting the most talented people to lead our bank. Thanks, Victor G. Dodig G. Dodig. Michelle, any other questions? François Melloch from ECHO says, "We commend CIBC for committing to measure financed emissions for its lending and investments. Will CIBC now aim to reduce those emissions to align with Canada's target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050?" Victor G. Dodig G. Dodig? I'll take that question, Mr. Chairman. As I said earlier, our commitment to sustainability is enduring and infinite. We are working toward that carbon-neutral world. We're working with our clients in the non-renewable sector as well as the emerging opportunities in the renewable sector, and we will make our important contribution to that carbon neutrality footprint that we talked about earlier. Thank you. Michelle? Ved Singal says, "How many CIBC branches are to be opened and closed in the next three to five years?" Thank you for your question. I will say a couple of things, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Singal. Branches, our banking centers, as we call them, play a very important role in the delivery of our financial services to our clients. We have well over 1,000 across Canada and the United States, and we're proud of what our employees do each and every day. Our commitment to digital technologies, as we advocated through my speech and in our presentations, remains a focal point of our bank, but that is not at the expense of branches. Some branches will close, some will open, but branches will play a very important role in delivering banking services to our clients. They're shifting in terms of their focus from a transaction-oriented approach to an advisory-oriented approach, which we find our clients are increasingly looking for as they establish deep relationships with our bank. Thank you, Victor G. Dodig G. Dodig. I think it's worth underscoring that those employees that have been working in our branches, in our banking centers, I should say, during the pandemic, are also frontline workers. We've done our very best to support them with measures to make sure that they are safe. I think we all recognize that they and others in essential sectors have faced increased risk as a result of the pandemic, and we salute them for their service. Michelle? Jeff Carlson says, "I am a beneficial shareholder who has appointed myself as proxy for this meeting. My question is, I understand that restrictions on increasing shareholder dividends that had been placed by federal regulators have not yet been lifted. If this is the case, what is CIBC doing, if anything, to convince regulators to remove these restrictions? If this is not the case, and if these restrictions have been lifted, what is CIBC's plan to once again resume regularly raising shareholder dividends and get back on track?" Mr. Carlson, thank you. As a shareholder, I'd like to underscore that's a really important question, Victor G. Dodig G. Dodig. What have you got to say? It is, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Carlson. It's an important question, and we're proud of our track record of paying dividends in an uninterrupted way every quarter in almost 154 years of our existence. As you know, with the onset of the pandemic, our regulator, our primary regulator, OSFI, put on hold any dividend increases and share buybacks. We are not allowed to increase our dividends or activate any share buybacks during the pandemic. They have not eliminated these restrictions. Those restrictions remain in place. They have indicated that they would lift them as the pandemic gets well behind us. That is a decision for the regulators to make. I will say that investing our capital prudently in terms of investing for growth in our bank, as well as returning capital to our shareholders in terms of share buybacks and dividends and dividend increases, is an important part of our strategy. When those restrictions are lifted by our regulator, we will continue to activate those levers of shareholder return. Thank you. Michelle? John Manley, there are no further questions submitted through the webcast. Let me check with the operator. Operator, are there any questions on the phone? There are no questions at this time. John Manley, there seems to be no other questions on the phone or through the webcast. Okay. Thank you, Michelle, and thank you to our shareholders and proxy holders for your questions and comments. Your participation in this meeting is important. As I shared at the beginning of our meeting, I have now officially retired from the board after 16 years. I am delighted that Kate Stephenson is now the Chair of the CIBC Board of Directors. Kate has deep governance experience, and CIBC could not be in better hands. I'm also pleased to note that as Kate takes the helm, she will be leading a board that is at gender parity. It's now my distinct pleasure to ask Kate, as your new Chair, to close the meeting. Kate? John Manley, Victor G. Dodig G. Dodig, thank you earlier in the meeting, but on behalf of our Board of Directors, I would also like to thank you. Your leadership and stewardship have left an indelible mark on CIBC. Your integrity and the way you draw on your experience and lead by example is second to none. Thank you for your service to our bank. As a financial institution, CIBC plays a vital role in society. Our commitment as a board, as leaders, and members of the CIBC team must be to create long-term sustainable value for our stakeholders, clients, team members, communities, and shareholders. John Manley, you will be really missed. I'm looking forward to working alongside my fellow directors, as well as with Victor G. Dodig G. Dodig and the leadership team, to continue to deliver on this commitment. I'd also like to thank our shareholders for your participation today. Stay well and stay safe. I now declare the meeting terminated.