VANCOUVER –
A battle for control of Rogers Communications has gone from the boardroom to a courtroom in British Columbia, where the Toronto-based company is incorporated.
The hearing before B.C. Supreme Court Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick stems from a petition filed by Edward Rogers last week asking the court to declare legitimate a board he formed after being ousted as chair in September.
The son of late Rogers founder Ted Rogers claims he has the power to fire and appoint board members because he is chair of the Rogers Control Trust, which holds voting control through its ownership of 97 per cent of the company’s Class A shares.
His mother Loretta Rogers, sisters Melinda Rogers-Hixon and Martha Rogers and their associates say Edward Rogers’ board is illegitimate and the only valid board is the one that existed prior to his changes.
The dispute has left the telecom company with two boards that each claim to be in power and has publicly pitted members of the Rogers family against one another.
Loretta Rogers says in an affidavit filed Friday that the decision to oust her son as chairman of the board was an extremely difficult one for her and other family members after weeks of trying to work with him.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2021.
