Under the Business Corporations Act (Yukon), the directors of the Company are required to manage the Company's business and affairs, and in doing so to act honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of the Company.  In addition, each director must exercise the care, diligence and skill that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in comparable circumstances.

The Board of Directors is responsible for supervising the conduct of the Company's affairs and the management of its business.  This includes setting long term goals and objectives for the Company, formulating the plans and strategies necessary to achieve those objectives and to supervising senior management in their implementation.  Although the Board delegates the responsibility for managing the day to day affairs of the Company to senior management personnel, the Board retains a supervisory role in respect of, and ultimate responsibility for, all matters relating to the Company and its business.

The Board needs to be satisfied that the Company's senior management will manage the affairs of the Company in the best interest of the shareholders, and that the arrangements made for the management of the Company's business and affairs are consistent with the Board's duty described above.  The Board is responsible for protecting shareholder interests and ensuring that the interests of the shareholders and of management are aligned.  The obligations of the Board must be performed continuously, and not merely from time to time, and in times of crisis or emergency the Board may have to assume a more direct role in managing the affairs of the Company.

In discharging this responsibility, the Board oversees and monitors significant corporate plans and strategic initiatives.  The Board's strategic planning process includes annual and quarterly budget reviews and approvals, and discussions with management relating to strategic and budgetary issues.  The Board also devotes at least one meeting per year to be devoted substantially to review of strategic plans proposed by management. 

As part of its ongoing review of business operations, at each Board meeting, the Board reviews the principal risks inherent in the Company's business, including financial risks, through periodic reports from management of such risks, and assesses the systems established to manage those risks.  Directly and through the Audit Committee, the Board also assesses the integrity of the internal financial control and management information systems.

In addition to those matters that must, by law, be approved by the Board, the Board is required  to approve annual operating and capital budgets, any material dispositions, acquisitions and investments outside of the ordinary course of business or not provided for in the approved budgets, long-term strategy, organizational development plans and the appointment of senior executive officers.  Management is authorized to act, without Board approval, on all ordinary course matters relating to the Company's business. 

The Board also expects management to provide the directors on a timely basis with information concerning the business and affairs of the Company, including financial and operating information and information concerning industry developments as they occur, all with a view to enabling the Board to discharge its stewardship obligations effectively.  The Board expects management to efficiently implement its strategic plans for the Company, to keep the Board fully apprised of its progress in doing so and to be fully accountable to the Board in respect to all matters for which it has been assigned responsibility.

The Board has instructed management to maintain procedures to monitor and promptly address shareholder concerns and has directed and will continue to direct management to apprise the Board of any major concerns expressed by shareholders.

Each Committee of the Board is empowered to engage external advisors as it sees fit.  Any individual director is entitled to engage an outsider advisor at the expense of the Company provided such director has obtained the approval of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee to do so.

The roles of Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Lead Director (if any) will be as set forth in position statements as may be established by the Board from time to time.

This Mandate will be reviewed periodically by the Board of Directors of the Company and supplemented as required from time to time.

Board Mandate