ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
Handling conflicts of interest and related person transactions
If a director or officer has a material interest in a transaction or agreement involving Enbridge, or otherwise identifies a potential personal conflict, he or she must declare the conflict or potential conflict. A director who has a material interest, conflict or potential conflict must abstain from voting on the matter at any Board meeting where it is being discussed or considered.
This approach is consistent with the requirements of the CBCA. In addition, the Board would review related person transactions in conjunction with making director independence determinations. Completion of annual questionnaires by directors and officers of the Company assists in identifying possible related person transactions. Further, as stated above, pursuant to our Statement on Business Conduct, all officers and directors are required to avoid conflicts of interest and to disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest. They must also annually certify their compliance with the Statement on Business Conduct. Disclosures of an actual or potential conflict of interest are reviewed by the Company’s Ethics and Compliance Department to ensure appropriate follow-up and reporting. Any waiver from any part of the Statement on Business Conduct requires the approval of the CEO. For executive officers, senior financial officers and members of the Board, a waiver requires the express approval of Enbridge’s Board. Since the beginning of 2022, neither the CEO nor the Board has waived any aspect of the Statement on Business Conduct.
For purposes of the foregoing, a “related person transaction” is a transaction in which the Company was or is to be a participant and the amount involved exceeds US$120,000, and in which any related person had or will have a direct or indirect material interest, and a “related person” means (i) a director, nominee director or executive officer of the Company; (ii) an immediate family member of a director, nominee director or executive officer, or (iii) a beneficial holder of greater than five per cent of the Company’s shares or an immediate family member of such holder.
In 2022, there were no related person transactions that required approval or disclosure in this Amendment No. 1 on Form 10-K/A.
Independence
The majority of our directors must be independent, as defined by Canadian securities regulators in NI 52-110, NYSE rules and the rules and regulations of the SEC. Our Governance Guidelines, available on our website (enbridge.com), provide that the Board shall consist of a substantial majority of independent directors. The Board uses a detailed annual questionnaire to assist in determining if a director is independent and makes this determination annually or more often, if required.
The Board has determined that 10 of our 11 director nominees, including the Chair of the Board, are independent. Mr. Ebel is not independent because he is our President & CEO. Each of the Board’s five standing committees is comprised entirely of independent directors.
The Governance Committee is responsible for ensuring the Board functions independently of management.
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