Miranda Hubbs takes CIRO chair role while holding board positions at PSPIB, Nutrien, and Red Cross
The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) has appointed Miranda Hubbs as chair of its Board, with the decision taking immediate effect; the appointment was made unanimously.
Hubbs, a corporate director and former investment industry executive, joined CIRO’s Board as an independent director in 2023. She also held the role of chair of the Governance Committee.
She currently holds board positions with Nutrien, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSPIB), and the Canadian Red Cross, where she is chair.
Her previous roles include board memberships at Spectra Energy and Agrium. Hubbs was also executive vice president and managing director at McLean Budden until her retirement in 2011.
Her new role at CIRO follows her appointment by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) as an independent director for the new self-regulatory organisation created from the merger of IIROC and MFDA.
As reported by Wealth Professional, Hubbs and other directors began their terms on January 1, 2023.
Hubbs is also a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors and sits on the ICD Climate Strategy Advisory Board and the Global Risk Institute Sustainable Finance Advisory Committee.
Her appointment comes amid ongoing criticism of her concurrent role on the boards of Imperial Oil and PSPIB.
According to Benefits and Pensions Monitor, Hubbs is facing calls for removal from the PSPIB board, which manages $240bn in assets for nearly 900,000 federal employees and retirees.
The demands follow the 2022 tailings leak at Imperial Oil’s Kearl site, which released 5.3 million litres of wastewater.
Critics have questioned Hubbs’s role as chair of Imperial Oil’s community collaboration and engagement committee, citing oversight concerns and delayed communication around the leak.
A letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and cabinet stated: “Hubbs has been responsible for the oversight of Imperial Oil when it has failed to ethically address climate risks, environmental degradation and impacts on Indigenous communities.”
Environment and Climate Change Canada is currently investigating potential federal law violations related to the incident.
“Throughout her career, Hubbs has demonstrated exemplary character,” said Christine Randall, spokesperson for Imperial Oil.
She added that Hubbs’s integrity and commitment to sustainability bring significant value to the company and its board, which provides risk oversight and strategic direction across all areas of the business.
“Someone who serves as the director of a company that violates Indigenous rights, works to undermine Canada’s climate commitments and casually pollutes our country’s lands and waters should not be on the board of my pension fund,” said Tony Ferguson, a program officer at Natural Resources Canada and pension plan member.
According to Benefits and Pensions Monitor, the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation and the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario opposed her re-election to Imperial Oil’s board, citing concerns about climate risk oversight.
