bontancorp_asm2009.htm
BONTAN
CORPORATION INC.
ANNUAL
SPECIAL & GENERAL MEETING
2009
|
Bontan
Corporation Inc.
47
Avenue Road, Suite 200
Toronto,
Ontario, Canada M5R 2G3
T: 416-929-1806
F: 416-361-6612
W: www.bontancorp.com
|
November
17th,
2009
Dear
Shareholder,
Enclosed
herewith you will find a Notice and Agenda of an Annual and Special Meeting of
Shareholders to be held on Friday December 18th,
2009, at the hour of 9:00 A.M. at suite 200 47 Avenue Road, Toronto, Ontario,
together with an Information Circular, Proxy form and Supplemental Mailing List
form.
The
Notice of Meeting and Information Circular describe the items of business to be
dealt with at the meeting and provide you with other pertinent information about
Bontan Corporation Inc., its directors and executive officers.
If you
cannot attend the meeting, it is important you represent yourself by
proxy. The form of proxy enables you to signify your voting
intentions in advance whether or not you plan to attend the
meeting. Please complete, date and sign the form and return to our
office in the envelope provided.
Yours
truly,
/S/ Kam Shah
Kam Shah,
CA CPA
Chairman,
Chief Executive Officer
And Chief
Financial Officer
NOTICE
OF ANNUAL AND SPECIAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS
NOTICE IS
HEREBY GIVEN that an Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders of Bontan
Corporation Inc. (the "Corporation") will be held at Suite 200, 47 Avenue Road,
Toronto, Ontario on the 18th day of December 2009 at the hour of 9:00 AM
(Toronto time) for the following purposes:
1.
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To
receive the consolidated financial statements for the year ended March 31,
2009, and the report of the auditors
thereon.
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3.
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To
appoint auditors and to authorize the directors to fix their remuneration
and/or appoint, if necessary, another auditor, as seen fit in the event of
a material event.
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4.
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To
consider and, if thought appropriate, pass a resolution authorizing
directors to introduce any additional compensation and or stock options
plans as deemed necessary and to allow discretion to the directors to
issue compensation shares and stock options under these plans as they see
fit.
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5.
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To
consider and, if thought appropriate, to pass a resolution to consolidate
the issued capital of the Corporation such that one share be issued in
exchange for up to fifteen old issued common shares of the Corporation, at
the discretion of the Directors of the Corporation to be exercised before
the next Annual Meeting.
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6.
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To
consider and, if thought fit, to pass a Special Resolution changing the
name of the Corporation as shall be acceptable to the Directors and the
Minister of Consumer and Commercial
Relations.
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7.
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To
consider and, if thought fit, to pass a special resolution to amend the
Articles of the Corporation to move the jurisdiction of the Corporation to
the USA or change to Federal jurisdiction at the discretion of the
Directors.
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8.
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To
transact such further and other business as may properly come before the
meeting or any adjournment thereof.
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A Management
Information Circular, a form of proxy, a supplemental mailing list reply form
and a return envelope accompany this notice of meeting.
SHAREHOLDERS
WHO ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND THE MEETING IN PERSON ARE REQUESTED TO COMPLETE, DATE
AND SIGN THE ENCLOSED FORM OF PROXY, AND TO RETURN IT IN THE ENVELOPE PROVIDED
FOR THAT PURPOSE.
All
instruments appointing proxies to be used at the above meeting must be deposited
at the office of the Corporation AT 47 Avenue Road, Suite 200, Toronto, Ontario,
M5R 2G3 on or before the close of business of the last business day preceding
the day of the meeting or any adjournment thereof at which the proxy is to be
used, or deliver it to the chairman of the meeting on the day of the meeting or
any adjournment thereof, prior to the time of voting.
We
encourage you to review the Audited Financial Statements of the Corporation for
the year ended March 31, 2009, and Annual Report in form F-20 filed and
available on www.sedar.com (Canadian Securities Administrators) and on
www.edgar.com (United States Securities and Exchange Commission).
Please
contact Miss. Kailey Chapman at 416-929-1806 or fax 416-929-6612 for copies of
any of the above documents.
DATED at
Toronto this 17th day
of November, 2009.
BY ORDER
OF THE BOARD
/s/ Kam
Shah
________________________________________________
Kam Shah,
Chairman, Chief Executive and Financial Officer
INFORMATION
CIRCULAR – AS AT November 17, 2009
MANAGEMENT
SOLICITATION OF PROXIES
THIS INFORMATION CIRCULAR IS
FURNISHED IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOLICITATION BY MANAGEMENT OF BONTAN
CORPORATION INC. (the « Corporation » ) of
proxies to be used at the Annual and Special Meeting of the shareholders of the
Corporation to be held at 47 Avenue Road, Suite 200, Toronto, ON
M5R 2G3 , Canada on Friday, December 18th, 2009 at the hour of
9 :00 (Toronto time) and at any adjournment thereof for the purposes set
forth in the enclosed Notice of Meeting. The proxies will be solicited primarily
by mail and may also be solicited personally or by telephone by the
directors and/or officers of the Corporation. The cost of
solicitation by management will be borne by the Corporation.
APPOINTMENT
AND REVOCATION OF PROXIES
The
persons named in the enclosed form of proxy are either directors or
representatives of the Corporation. A SHAREHOLDER DESIRING TO APPOINT
SOME OTHER PERSON, WHO NEED NOT BE A SHAREHOLDER OF THE COPRORATION, TO
REPRESENT THEM AT THE MEETING MAY DO SO by inserting such other person’s
name in the blank space provided in the form of proxy and depositing
the completed proxy at the office of the Corporation, Suite 200, 47 Avenue Road,
Toronto, Ontario, M5R 2G3.
A proxy
can be executed by the shareholder or his/her attorney duly authorized in
writing, or, if the shareholder is a corporation, under its corporate seal by an
officer or attorney thereof duly authorized.
In
addition to any other manner permitted by law, the proxy may be revoked before
it is excercised by instrument in writing and delivered in the same manner as
the proxy, at any time up to and including the last business day preceding the
day of the meeting or any adjournment thereof, at which time the
proxy is to be used or delivered to the chairman of the meeting on the day of
the meeting or any adjournment thereof, prior to the time of voting and upon
either such occurance, the proxy is revoked.
DEPOSIT
OF PROXY
By
resolution of the directors of the Corporation duly passed, ALL PROXIES TO BE
USED AT THE MEETING MUST BE DEPOSITED at the office of the Corporation AT 47
Avenue Road, Suite 200, Toronto, Ontario, M5R 2G3 on or before the close of
business of the last business day preceding the day of the meeting or any
adjournment thereof, a proxy may be delivered to the chairman of the
meeting on the day of the Meeting or any adjournment thereof, prior to the time
for voting.
INSTRUCTIONS
FOR COMPLETING PROXY FORM
1. Please
complete and sign the proxy authorization form.
2. Your
vote will be recorded on receipt of the proxy authorization form.
3. Please
use the return envelope provided.
4. If
you have any questions regarding the enclosed documents, please contact the
Corporation at 416-929-1806
5. Exercising
your right to vote is an important part of investing. We urge you to
review the enclosed material and exercise your voting rights by returning the
enclosed proxy authorization form immediately.
6. You
may send your entire proxy authorization form by facsimile to
416-929-6612. Please ensure the proxy authorization form is completed
and signed.
If you
plan to attend the meeting, or designate another person(s) to attend on your
behalf, please strike out the names of the appointed persons as proxy holders
and print your name or that of your delegate(s), in the space
provided. You may vote on the resolutions now or you may elect not to
vote until the meeting.
It is important to sign,
date and return the proxy authorization form in the envelope provided as soon as
possible. An unsigned proxy form cannot be
counted. Please note, if you appoint
yourself or another person(s) on your behalf, you or your delegate(s) must
attend the meeting for your vote to count.
VOTING
VOTING
OF SHARES AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS THEREOF
The
authorized capital of the Corporation consists of an unlimited number of Common
Shares. As of November 16, 2009, there were 48,338,429 Common
shares out standing, each carrying the right to one vote per
share. The Board of Directors fixed the close of business on November
16, 2009, as the record date for the purpose of determining shareholders
entitled to receive notice of the meeting, but failure to receive a notice does
not deprive a shareholder of the right to vote those shares at the meeting upon
producing properly endorsed share certificates, or otherwise establishing share
ownership, and demanding the inclusion of his/her name in the list of
shareholders not later than ten days before the date of the
meeting.
To the
knowledge of the directors and officers of the Corporation, as at November 16,
2009, the following shareholders beneficially own or exercise control
or direction over more than 5% of the common shares of the
Corporation:
Name
of Shareholder
|
No.
of Shares
|
% of Issued
Shares
|
Stacey
Robinson
|
3,750,000
|
7.76
|
|
|
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PetroMed
Corporation
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8,617,686
|
17.83
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PROVISIONS
RELATING TO VOTING OF PROXIES
Proxies
are only voted when a poll is required. A poll is a vote by written
ballot which gives one vote for each common share registered in the name of the
member.
IF THERE
IS CERTAINTY OF INSTRUCTIONS, THE PERSON NAMED IN THE ENCLOSED PROXY WILL VOTE
(EXCEPT WHERE THERE IS A DIRECTION TO WITHHOLD VOTING) THE SHARES IN RESPECT OF
WHICH HE OR SHE IS APPOINTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE DIRECTIONS OF THE MEMBER
APPOINTING THE PROXY HOLDER. IN THE ABSENCE OF SUCH DIRECTIONS, IT IS
INTENDED THAT SUCH SHARES WILL BE VOTED IN FAVOUR OF THE MOTIONS PROPOSED TO BE
MADE AT THE MEETING AS REFERRED TO IN THE ATTACHED NOTICE OF
MEETING. IF TWO DIRECTIONS ARE MADE IN RESPECT TO ANY MATTER, SUCH
SHARES WILL SIMILARLY BE VOTED FOR THE ADOPTION OF SUCH MATTER.
The
enclosed Form of Proxy confers discretionary authority upon the person named
therein with respect to any amendment, variation or other matter to come before
the meeting, other than the matters referred to in the Notice of Meeting,
HOWEVER IF ANY SUCH AMENDMENTS, VARIATION OR OTHER MATTERS WHICH ARE NOT NOW
KNOWN TO MANAGEMENT SHOULD PROPERLY COME BEFORE THE MEETING, THE SHARES
REPRESENTED BY THE PROXIES HEREBY SOLICITED WILL BE VOTED THEREON IN ACCORDANCE
WITH THE BEST JUDGEMENT OF THE PERSON OR PERSONS VOTING SUCH
PROXIES.
VOTING
BY NON-REGISTERED SHAREHOLDERS
Only
registered shareholders or the persons they appoint as their proxies are
permitted to vote at the meeting. However, in many cases, common shares owned by
a person (a “non-registered holder”) are registered either (a) in the name of an
intermediary (an “Intermediary”) that the non-registered holder deals with in
respect of the common shares (Intermediaries include, among others, banks, trust
companies, securities dealers or brokers and trustees or administrators of
self-administered registered savings plans, registered retirement income funds,
registered education savings plans and similar plans); or (b) in the name of a
clearing agency (such as The Canadian Depository for Securities Limited (“CDS”))
of which the Intermediary is a participant. In accordance with the requirements
of NI 54-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators, the Company has
distributed copies of the Management Information Circular, the accompanying
Notice of Meeting together with the form of proxy and a supplemental mailing
list form (collectively, the “Meeting Materials”) to the clearing agencies and
Intermediaries for onward distribution to non-registered holders of common
shares.
Intermediaries
are required to forward the Meeting Materials to non-registered holders unless a
non registered holder has waived the right to receive them. Very often,
Intermediaries will use service companies to forward the Meeting Materials to
non-registered holders. Generally, non-registered holders who have not waived
the right to receive Meeting Materials will either:
a)
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be
given a form of proxy which has already been signed by the Intermediary
(typically by a facsimile stamped signature), which is restricted as to
the number and class of securities beneficially owned by the
non-registered holder but which is not otherwise completed. Because the
Intermediary has already signed the form of proxy, this form of proxy is
not required to be signed by the non-registered holder when submitting the
proxy. In this case, the non-registered holder who wishes to vote by proxy
should otherwise properly complete the form of proxy and deliver it as
specified above under “Appointment and Revocation of Proxies”;
or
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b)
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be
given a form of proxy which is not signed by the Intermediary and which,
when properly completed and signed by the non-registered holder and
returned to the Intermediary or its service company, will constitute
voting instructions (often called a “Voting Instruction Form”) which the
Intermediary must follow. Typically the non-registered holder will also be
given a page of instructions, which contains a removable label containing
a bar code and other information. In order for the form of proxy to
validly constitute a Voting Instruction Form, the non-registered holder
must remove the label from the instructions and affix it to the Voting
Instruction Form, properly complete and sign the Voting Instruction Form
and submit it to the Intermediary or its services company in accordance
with the instructions of the Intermediary or its service
company.
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In either
case, the purpose of this procedure is to permit non-registered holders to
direct the voting of the common shares they beneficially own. Should a
non-registered holder who receives either form of proxy wish to vote at the
Meeting in person, the non-registered holder should strike out the persons named
in the form of proxy and insert the non-registered holder’s name in the blank
space provided. Non-registered
holders should carefully follow the instructions of their Intermediary including
those regarding when and where the form of proxy or Voting Instruction Form is
to be delivered.
MATTERS
TO BE ACTED ON
Additional
details regarding each of the matters to be acted upon at the Meeting is set
forth below:
REPORT OF AUDITORS AND
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS – PROPOSAL ONE
The
Annual Report of the Corporation, which contains the Report of the Auditors and
the Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended March 31, 2009, will be
placed before the meeting. Additional copies will be available at the Annual and
Special Meeting. If any shareholder wishes additional copies of the
Annual Report prior to the Annual General and Special Meeting, please contact
the Corporation or download it from www.sedar.com or www.edgar.com
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS –
PROPOSAL NUMBER TWO
The
Directors of the Corporation are elected annually and hold office until the next
Annual General and Special Meeting. The Articles of the Corporation
currently provide for a Board of Directors consisting of not less than three (3)
and not more than ten (10) directors. Management proposes the persons
listed below be nominated for election as Directors of the Corporation for the
ensuing year.
Management
does not contemplate that any of the persons proposed to be nominated by it will
be unable to serve as Director. If prior to the Meeting any such
nominees are unable or unwilling to serve, the persons named in the accompanying
form of proxy will vote for another nominee or nominees in their discretion if
additional nominations are made at the Meeting.
Name,
Province, Country and office held
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Director
since
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Number
of shares of the Corporation beneficially owned, directly or indirectly,
or over which control or direction is exercised at November 16, 2009
(1)
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Present
principal occupation or employment and if applicable, during the five
preceeding years
|
|
|
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Kam
Shah - Ontario, Canada - Chairman and Director
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January
3, 1999
|
910,000
|
Chief
Executive Officer & Chief Financial Officer, Chartered
Accountant
|
Dean
Bradley (2) - Florida, USA, Director
|
November
13, 2000
|
0
|
CEO
and director, Quasar Aerospace Industries, Inc., since March 2009 &
Business consultant
|
Brett
Rees (2)
|
December
8, 2006
|
0
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Insurance
broker and consultant
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Ontario,
Canada
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Director
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(1)
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The
information as to the shares beneficially owned or controlled, not being
within the knowledge of the Corporation, has been furnished by the
respective nominees individually.
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(2)
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Members
of the audit committee who are elected annually by the board of
directors.
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Corporate cease Trade orders
or Bankruptcies
To the
knowledge of the Corporation, no director or proposed director of the
Corporation is, or within the ten years prior to the date of this Circular has
been, a director, chief executive officer or chief financial officer of any
company, including the Corporation, that while that person was acting in that
capacity:
(a)
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was
the subject of a cease trade order or similar order or an order that
denied the company access to any exemption under securities legislation
for a period of more than 30 consecutive days;
or
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(b)
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was
subject to an event that resulted, after the director ceased to be a
director, chief executive officer or chief financial officer of the
company being the subject of a cease trade order or similar order or an
order that denied the relevant company access to any exemption under
securities legislation, for a period of more than 30 consecutive days;
or
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(c)
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within
a year of that person ceasing to act in that capacity, became bankrupt,
made a proposal under any legislation relating to bankruptcy or insolvency
or was subject to or instituted any proceedings, arrangement or compromise
with creditors or had a receiver, receiver manager or trustee appointed to
hold its assets;
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To the
knowledge of the Corporation, no director or proposed director of the
Corporation has, within the ten years prior to the date of this Circular, become
bankrupt or made a proposal under any legislation relating to bankruptcy or
insolvency, or been subject to or instituted any proceedings, arrangement or
compromise with creditors, or had a receiver, receiver manager or trustee
appointed to hold the assets of that individual,
Penalties or
Sanctions
No
proposed director of the Corporation has been subject to any penalties or
sanctions imposed by a court relating to securities legislation or by a
securities regulatory authority or has entered into a settlement agreement with
a securities regulatory authority, or has been subject to any other penalties or
sanctions imposed by a court or regulatory body that would likely be considered
important to a reasonable
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Security
holder in deciding whether to vote for a proposed
director.
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APPOINTMENT OF AUDITORS –
PROPOSAL NUMBER THREE
Unless
such authority is withheld, the persons named in the accompanying proxy intend
to vote for the reappointment of Schwartz Levitsky Feldman LLP, Chartered
Accountants, as auditors of the Corporation for the ensuing year, and to
authorize the directors to fix their remuneration and/or appoint another auditor
in the event of a material event if deemed necessary. Schwartz
Levitsky Feldman LLP, Chartered Accountants, was first appointed auditors of the
Corporation during the 2006 fiscal year.
ISSUE OF SHARES AND OPTIONS
FOR SERVICES RENDERED – PROPOSAL FOUR
The
purpose of stock compensation and stock options plans is to develop the interest
of directors, officers, employees and non-employees such as consultants who
provide bona fide services -- other than services rendered in connection with
the offer and sale of securities in a capital raising transaction -- to the
Corporation and its subsidiaries. By providing such persons with the
opportunity to acquire an increased proprietary interest, the Corporation may be
able to attract and retain persons of desired experience and ability without
excessive drain on its cash resources.
The
shareholders are now asked to pass a special resolution authorizing directors to
introduce any additional compensation and or stock options plans as deemed
necessary and to allow discretion to the directors to fix option price/
compensation share price and to issue compensation shares and stock options
under these plans as they see fit.
STOCK CONSOLIDATION
– PROPOSALS FIVE
The
management believes that the corporation may have to deal with acquisitions and
private placements situations in the pursuit of its new business strategy. These
situations may have profound effect on the number of shares to be issued and on
the market price of these shares.
The
shareholders are therefore asked to pass a special resolution authorizing
directors to consolidate the issued capital of the Corporation such that one
share be issued in exchange for up to fifteen old issued common shares of the
Corporation, at their sole discretion until the next Annual
Meeting.
NAME CHANGE – PROPOSAL
SIX
The
Management is of the opinion a new name may be desirable for the Corporation if
it better reflects its current business strategy or if it acquires a new
business which may have a different business strategy than its current
one.
The
shareholders are therefore asked to pass a special resolution authorizing the
directors to change the name of the Corporation to some other name at their sole
discretion and subject to its acceptance by the Ministry of Consumer and
Commercial Relations.
CHANGE OF JURISDICTION –
PROPOSAL SEVEN
Management
believes that the Corporation may be able to raise further funds more easily and
reduce its compliance costs if it incorporates in the USA or in the Canadian
Federal Jurisdiction.
The
Shareholders are therefore asked to consider and approve a special resolution to
amend the Articles of the Corporation to move its reporting jurisdiction to the
State of Delaware or any other State in the USA or to move to Federal
jurisdiction at the discretion of the directors of the Corporation.
A HOLDER
OF SHARES ENTITLED TO VOTE ON THE RESOLUTION MAY DISSENT. SUCH DISSENTING
SHAREHOLDER WILL BE ENTITLED TO BE PAID THE FAIR VALUE OF THE SHARES IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THE ONTARIO BUSINESS CORPORATION
ACT
Statement of executive
compensation
For
purposes of this Information Circular, “named executive officer” of the
Corporation means an individual who, at any time during the year,
was:
(a) the
Corporation's chief executive officer (“CEO”);
(b) the
Corporation's chief financial officer (“CFO”);
(c) each
of the Corporation's three most highly compensated executive officers, or the
three most highly compensated individuals acting in a similar capacity, other
than the CEO and CFO, at the end of the most recently completed financial year
and whose total compensation was, individually, more than $150,000
for that financial year; and
(d) each
individual who would be a named executive officer under paragraph (c) but for
the fact that the individual was neither an executive officer of the Company,
nor acting in a similar capacity, at the end of the most recently completed
financial year; (each a “Named Executive Officer”).
Based on
the foregoing definition, during the last completed financial year of the
Company, there were
two Named
Executive Officers, namely, its Chief Executive & Finance Officer, Mr. Kam
Shah and Key Consultant, Mr. Terence Robinson.
Compensation
Discussion and Analysis
In
assessing the compensation of its executive officers, the Company does not have
in place any formal objectives, criteria or analysis; instead, it relies mainly
on Board discussion, with input from and upon the recommendations of the
executive officers.
The
Company’s executive compensation program has three principal components: fee,
incentive bonus plan and stock options.
Fees for
all executives are set out in their respective consulting contracts which are
usually for a five year term . Usually, fee portion is kept to the minimum and
normally paid by way of common shares to save Corporation’s cash flow for
business purposes. The Corporation currently has only one employee.
Incentive
bonuses, in the form of cash payments or shares , are designed to add a variable
component of compensation based on corporate and individual performances for
executive officers and employees.
There
were no bonuses paid to executive officers and employees during the most
recently completed financial year.
The
Corporation has no other forms of compensation, although payments may be made
from time to time to individuals or companies they control for the provision of
consulting services. Such consulting services are paid for by the Company at
competitive industry rates for work of a similar nature by reputable arm’s
length services providers.
Summary
of compensation table
The
following table discloses the compensation paid by the Corporation to these two
named executives and also to the two remaining directors for the year ended
March 31, 2009.
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LONG-TERM
COMPENSATION
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Awards
|
|
Payouts
|
|
Name
and principal position
|
Fee
|
Bonus
|
Other
annual compensation (4)
|
Securities
under options/Stock appreciation rights granted
|
Shares
or units subject to resale restrictions
|
Long
term incentive plan payouts
|
all
other compensation
|
|
($)
|
($)
|
($)
|
(#)
|
($)
|
($)
|
|
Kam Shah - CEO and
CFO
|
129,030
|
|
|
5,874
|
|
|
6,424
|
Terence Robinson -
Consultant
|
122,198
|
|
|
44,431
|
|
|
5,824
|
Dean Bradley - an
independent director
|
5,000
|
|
|
4,656
|
|
|
|
Brett Rees - an
independent director
|
5,000
|
|
|
4,337
|
|
|
|
Incentive
plan awards
Outstanding
share-based and Option –based awards
The
following table sets forth the options granted to the named executive officers
and directors to acquire securities of the Corporation outstanding as at March
31, 2009:
Name
|
Number
of securities underlying unexercised options
|
Option
exercise price in US$
|
Option
expiration date
|
Value
of unexercised in-the -money options
|
Kam
Shah
|
100,000
|
$0.15
|
11-May-10
|
nil
|
|
250,000
|
$0.15
|
18-Aug-10
|
nil
|
Terence
Robinson
|
1,690,000
|
$0.15
|
18-Aug-10
|
nil
|
|
1,100,000
|
$0.15
|
5-Dec-11
|
nil
|
Dean
Bradley
|
15,000
|
$0.15
|
11-May-10
|
nil
|
|
25,000
|
$0.15
|
28-Mar-14
|
nil
|
|
5,000
|
$0.15
|
18-Aug-10
|
nil
|
Brett
Rees
|
25,000
|
$0.15
|
13-Mar-14
|
nil
|
Expiry
dates were extended and option exercise prices were reduced by board resolutions
in December 2009.
On April 7, 2009, the Company registered 2009 Consultant Stock Compensation Plan
with Securities and Exchange Commission in a registration statement under the US
Securities Act of 1933. 3 million common shares of the Company were registered
under the Plan.
SAR
Grants During year ended March 31, 2009
No stock
appreciation rights were granted during the year ended <March 31,
2009.
Termination
and change of control benefits
The
Company has entered into consulting agreements with both The Chief Executive
Officer who also acts as Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Kam Shah and its key
consultant, Mr. Terence Robinson. The agreement generally provides for the
payment of severance benefits if the named executives are terminated by the
company, owing to a change in control or any other reasons, other than for
cause. The named executives will receive a lump sum severance payment of
$250,000.
Directors
and officers liability insurance
The
Corporation maintains insurance for the benefit of the Corporation’s directors
and officers against liability incurred by them in their capacity as directors
and officers. The policy provides coverage in respect of a maximum total
liability of $ 3 million subject to a deductible of $25,000 per event. The
premium for fiscal year 2009 amounted to $ 17,280. The premium was paid by the
Corporation.
The
Corporation did not provide any indemnification nor make any payments to any
officer or director nor was there a claim under its D & O insurance for the
year ended March 31, 2009.
Indebtedness
of directors and senior officers
As
at March 31, 2009, fee advances totalling to $70,000 were made to the
Chief Executive and Financial officer, Mr. Kam Shah to be repaid when the
market price of the common shares of the Corporation stays at $0.50 or
above for a consecutive period of three
months.
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CORPORATE
GOVERNANCE
The
Canadian securities regulatory authorities have issued corporate governance
guidelines (the “Corporate
Governance Guidelines”) for all reporting issuers in Canada (other than
investment funds), together with certain related disclosure
requirements. The Corporate Governance Guidelines are recommended as
“best practices” for issuers to follow. A summary of certain aspects
of the Corporation’s approach to corporate governance is provided
below.
Board
of Directors
The Board
facilitates its exercise of independent supervision over the Corporation’s
management through frequent meetings of the Board, both with and without members
of the Corporation’s management (including members of management that are also
directors) being in attendance.
Multilateral
Instrument 52 – 110 – Audit
Committees of certain of the Canadian securities regulatory authorities
(“MI 52-110”) sets out
the standard for determining whether a director is “independent” for the
purposes of the Corporate Governance Guidelines and disclosure requirements of
the Canadian securities regulatory authorities. In accordance with MI
52-110, a director is “independent” if he or she has no direct or indirect
material relationship with the Corporation. A “material relationship”
is a relationship which could, in the view of the Board, be reasonably expected
to interfere with the exercise of the director’s independent
judgment. MI 52-110 also sets out certain circumstances where a
director will automatically be considered to have a material relationship with
the Corporation.
Based
upon the standard articulated in MI 52-110, a majority of the Corporation’s
directors are independent. Dean Bradley and Brett Rees are the
independent members of the Board. Kam Shah is not independent by
virtue of the fact that he is the Corporation’s Chief Executive and Financial
Officer.
Directorships
None of
the directors is presently a director of any other reporting issuers except Dean
Bradley who is a director in two other companies which are listed and traded on
respectively pink sheet and bulletin board of NASDAQ.
Orientation
and Continuing Education
Orientation
and education of new members of the Board is conducted informally by management
and members of the Board. The orientation provides background information on the
Company’s history, performance and strategic plans.
Ethical
Business Conduct
The Board
expects management to operate the business of the Corporation in a manner that
enhances shareholder value and is consistent with the highest level of
integrity. Management is expected to execute the Corporation’s
business plan to meet performance objectives and goals.
In
addition, the Board must comply with conflict of interest provisions in Canadian
corporate law, including relevant securities regulatory instruments, in order to
ensure directors exercise independent judgment in considering transactions and
agreements in respect of which a director or executive officer has a material
interest.
The Board
also adopted a Timely Disclosure, Confidentiality and Insider Trading Policy to
encourage and promote a culture of ethical conduct.
Nomination
of Directors
The Board
determines new nominees to the Board, although a formal process has not been
adopted. The nominees are generally the result of recruitment efforts
by the Board members, including both formal and informal discussions among Board
members and the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation. The Board
monitors but does not formally assess the performance of individual Board
members or committee members on their contributions.
Compensation
Chief
executive officer compensation is ultimately determined by the Board, in
consideration of the compensation paid by other similarly-situation public
companies operation within the same industry as the Corporation and of the
duties, responsibilities and demands placed upon the Chief executive
officer.
Directors
do not receive any compensation to act as directors.
Other
Board Committees
The audit
committee is the sole committee of the Board.
Assessments
The Board
has not implemented a formal process or means to regularly assess the
effectiveness of the Board, its committees or individual
directors. Effectiveness is informally assessed on an ongoing basis
however, based upon the ability of the directors to fulfill their duties and
responsibilities in a timely and efficient manner. The relatively
small size of the Board allows for the contributions of an individual director
to be informally monitored by the other Board members, in light of the
individual’s business and governance strengths and the specific purpose, if any,
for which the individual was originally nominated to the
Board. In accordance with its charter, the audit committee is
required to annually assess its charter and submit any proposed changes to the
Board for approval.
The
Corporation feels its corporate governance practices are appropriate and
effective, given its relatively small size and nature of its
operations. The practices allow the Corporation to operate
efficiently, with simple checks and balance that control and monitor management
and corporate functions without excessive administrative burden or
delay.
ADUIT
COMMITTEEE DISCLOSURE
MI 52-110
requires the Corporation to disclose annually in its management information
circular certain information concerning the constitution of its audit committee
and its relationship with its independent auditor, as set forth
below.
Audit
Committee Charter
A copy of
the audit committee’s charter is attached as Schedule “B” to this Information
Circular.
Composition
of the Audit Committee
The
Corporation’s Audit Committee is comprised of Messrs. Dean Bradley and Brett
Rees. As defined in MI 52-110, each of the committee’s members is
considered to be “independent” and “financially literate” for the purposes of MI
52-110. “Financially literate” includes the ability to read and
understand a set of financial statements that present a breadth of level and
complexity of accounting issues of the Corporation.
Relevant
Education and Experience
Each
member of the Audit Committee has extensive experience in dealing with financial
statements, accounting issues, internal control and other related matters
relating to public companies. Mr. Dean Bradley has been director and
chief executive officer of many corporations over the last more than thirty
years including real estate, mining, manufacturing and financial services. He
currently is a chairman and chief executive officer of two private companies
operating form Miami, Florida in light aircraft manufacturing business. Mr.
Brett Rees is a chartered financial consultant and planner and a licensed mutual
funds manager. He has over twenty years of experience in various insurance
products and financial planning and is currently an officer/director in five
Canadian private corporations including Resolution Oil & Gas Ltd. and
Platinum Equity Funding.
Pre-Approval
Policies and Procedures
In the
event that the Corporation wishes to retain the services of the Corporation’s
external auditors for tax compliance, tax advice or tax planning, the Chief
Financial Officer of the Corporation must consult with the chair of the audit
committee, who has the authority to approve or disapprove on behalf of the audit
committee, such non-audit services. All other permissible non-audit
services shall be approved or disapproved by the audit Committee as a
whole.
The
Corporation’s external auditors are prohibited from performing for the
corporations non-audit services of the following nature: (a)
bookkeeping or other services related to the Corporation’s accounting records or
financial statements; (b) financial information systems design and
implementation; (c) appraisal or valuation services, fairness opinion or
contributions-in-kind reports; (d) actuarial services; (e) internal audit
outsources services; (f) management functions; (g) human resources; (h) broker
or dealer, investment adviser or investment banking services; (i)
legal services; (j) expert services unrelated to the audit; and (k) any other
service that the Canadian Public Accountability Board determines is
impermissible.
Audit
fee
During
the Corporation’s most recently completed fiscal year, the Corporation’s
auditors did not perform any non-audit services. Audit Fees charged by the
Company’s auditors during the last two fiscal years were $25,000 for each of the
years. No other fees were charged.
4
Exemption
The
Corporation is a “venture issuer” as defined in MI 52-110 and is relying on the
exemptions provided to it with respect to audit committee composition and
reporting obligations.
OTHER
MATTERS WHICH MAY COME BEFORE THE MEETING
Management
knows of no other matters to come before the Annual and Special Meeting of
Shareholders other than as set forth in the Notice of
Meeting. HOWEVER, IF OTHER MATTERS, WHICH ARE NOT KNOWN TO
MANAGEMENT, SHOULD PROPERLY COME BEFORE THE MEETING, THE ACCOMPANYING PROXY WILL
BE VOTED ON SUCH MATTERS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE BEST JUDGMENT OF THE PERSON
HOLDING THE PROXY.
INTEREST
OF INFORMED PERSONS IN MATERIAL TRANSACTIONS
Other
than as disclosed in this and previous Information Circulars, no insider,
proposed nominee for election as a director, or any associate or affiliate of
the foregoing, had any material interest, direct or indirect, in any transaction
or proposed transaction since April 1, 2008 which has materially affected or
would materially affect the Company or its subsidiaries
CERTIFICATE
OF APPROVAL OF DIRECTORS
The
foregoing does not contain any untrue statements of a material fact and does not
omit a material fact that is required to be stated. This Information Circular
and the mailing of the same to shareholders has been approved by the Board of
Directors of the Corporation
DATED
this 16th day
of November, 2009.
BY ORDER
OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
/s/ Kam
Shah
_________________________________________
Kam
Shah
Chief
Executive and Financial Officer
“Schedule
A”
Charter
of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors
General
The
primary function of the Audit Committee is to assist the Board of Directors of
the Company (the “Board”) in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities by
reviewing the financial information to be provided to the shareholders and
others, the systems of internal controls and management information systems
established by management and the Company’s external audit process and
monitoring compliance with the Company’s legal and regulatory requirements with
respect to its financial statements.
The Audit
Committee is accountable to the Board. In the course of fulfilling its specific
responsibilities hereunder, the Audit Committee is expected to maintain an open
communication between the Company’s external auditors and the
Board.
The
responsibilities of a member of the Audit Committee are in addition to such
member’s duties as a member of the Board.
The Audit
Committee does not plan or perform audits or warrant the accuracy or
completeness of the Company’s financial statements or financial disclosure or
compliance with generally accepted accounting procedures, as these are the
responsibility of management and the external auditors.
Effective
Date
This
Charter was implemented by the Board on August 2, 2005.
Composition
of Audit Committee
The
Committee membership shall satisfy the laws and policies governing the Company
and the independence, financial literacy and experience requirements under
securities law, stock exchange and any other regulatory requirements as are
applicable to the Company.
Relationship
with External Auditors
The
external auditor is required to report directly to the Audit Committee.
Opportunities shall be afforded periodically to the external auditor and to
members of senior management to meet separately with the Audit
Committee.
Responsibilities
1. The
Audit Committee shall be responsible for making the following recommendations to
the Board:
(a)
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the
external auditor to be nominated for the purpose of preparing or issuing
an auditor’s report or performing other audit, review or attest services
for the Company; and
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(b)
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the
compensation of the external
auditor.
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2. The
Audit Committee shall be directly responsible for overseeing the work of the
external auditor, including the resolution of disagreements between management
and the external auditor regarding financial reporting. This responsibility
shall include:
(a)
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reviewing
with management and the external auditor any proposed changes in major
accounting policies, the presentation and impact of significant risks and
uncertainties, and key estimates and judgments of management that may be
material to financial reporting;
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(b)
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questioning
management and the external auditor regarding significant financial
reporting issues discussed during the fiscal period and the method of
resolution;
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(c)
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reviewing
audited annual financial statements, in conjunction with the report of the
external auditor;
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(d)
reviewing any problems experienced by the external auditor in performing
the audit, including any restrictions imposed by management or significant
accounting issues on which there was a disagreement with management;
and
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(d)
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reviewing
the evaluation of internal controls by the external auditor, together with
management’s response.
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3.
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The
Audit Committee shall review interim unaudited financial statements before
release to the public.
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4.
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The
Audit Committee shall review all public disclosures of audited or
unaudited financial information before release, including any prospectus,
annual report, annual information form, and management’s discussion and
analysis.
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5.
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The
Audit Committee shall review the appointments of the chief financial
officer and any other key financial executives involved in the financial
reporting process, as applicable.
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6.
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Except
as exempted by securities regulatory policies, the Audit Committee shall
pre-approve all non-audit services to be provided to the Company or its
subsidiary entities by the external
auditor.
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7.
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The
Audit Committee shall ensure that adequate procedures are in place for the
review of the Company’s public disclosure of financial information
extracted or derived from the Company’s financial
statements, and shall periodically assess the adequacy of those
procedures.
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8. The
Audit Committee shall establish procedures for:
(a)
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the
receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by the Company
regarding accounting, internal accounting controls, or auditing matters;
and
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(b)
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the
confidential, anonymous submission by employees of the Company of concerns
regarding questionable accounting or auditing
matters.
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9. The
Audit Committee shall periodically review and approve the Company’s hiring
policies, if any, regarding partners, employees and former partners and
employees of the present and former external auditor of the
Company.
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10.
Meetings of the Audit Committee shall be scheduled to take place at
regular intervals and, in any event, not less frequently than
quarterly.
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Authority
The Audit
Committee shall have the authority to:
(a)
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to
engage independent counsel and other advisors as it determines necessary
to carry out its duties;
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(b)
to set and pay the compensation for any advisors employed by the Audit
Committee; and
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(c)
to communicate directly with the external
auditors.
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