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News release 06-53
www.conferenceboard.ca

MAXXAM ANALYTICS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION WINS OVERALL NATIONAL AWARD IN GOVERNANCE

Toronto, February 9, 2006 – Maxxam Analytics International Corporation of Mississauga is the overall winner of the sixth annual Conference Board of Canada/Spencer Stuart 2006 National Awards in Governance, announced last night at a gala dinner and ceremony.

In addition to the overall winner, awards were presented in three categories to organizations that have implemented governance innovations. Maxxam won in the private-sector category. The Canada Foundation for Innovation, based in Ottawa, received the award in the public sector category. NeuroScience Canada of Montreal received the award for the not-for-profit sector. Watson Wyatt Worldwide and Deloitte sponsored the awards for individual sectors.

“Each of these award winners and all of the top contenders raised the standard of governance in their organizations, and are creating tomorrow’s best practices,” said Anne Golden, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Conference Board of Canada and co-chair of the awards program.

“These awards are all about how Boards and governing bodies can be creative and innovative in working ‘smarter’, not just ‘harder’, to secure the long-term success and sustainability of their enterprises,” said Andrew MacDougall, President, Spencer Stuart Canada and co-chair of the awards program.

Maxxam Analytics International Corporation (Maxxam) is the largest independent analytical testing laboratory in Canada, serving major companies in the environmental, food, oil and gas industries. A privately held corporation, Maxxam demonstrated a commitment to governance excellence and innovation by adopting the governance standards of a publicly-traded company. Its strongly-held belief that good governance is an essential element of being “fair to all shareholders,” especially in the context of sustainable long-term business success, has contributed to Maxxam winning business with national corporations.

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is an independent corporation created by the Government of Canada in 1997 to fund research infrastructure. By winning the public sector award, the CFI demonstrates that a board of a public institution, working within the bounds of its mandated reporting and accountability relationship, can be creative and innovative in its approach to governance. The CFI increased its interaction with a larger and more diverse community of researchers, funding partners and policymakers, and these consultation and communications initiatives have resulted in broader and more strategic thinking by the board.

NeuroScience Canada, a national non-profit organization that develops and supports collaborative, multidisciplinary, multi-institutional research across the neurosciences, won in its category for creating a new governance structure to support the integration of its science program and fundraising activities, and enhance the individual and collective contributions of directors. Since implementing this structure, NeuroScience Canada has strengthened the support of the science/research community, expanded its network of donors, partners and volunteers, created an internationally-celebrated science program, the Brain Repair Program™, and significantly increased its fundraising revenue.

Senior leaders from all three winning organizations will discuss their innovations at the Conference Board’s 2006 Corporate Governance Conference: Striking the Right Balance, today at 1:30 p.m. at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto.

In addition to the winning organizations, the top contenders in each of the three categories were:

Private sector

• CN (Montreal)
• Desjardins Group (Montreal)
• EnCana Corporation (Calgary)

Public Sector

• Crown Agencies Secretariat, Ministry of Finance, Government of British Columbia (Victoria)
• National Arts Centre (Ottawa)
• The Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences (Toronto)

Not-for-Profit Sector

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada (Burlington)
• Canadian College of Health Service Executives (Ottawa)
• Saskatchewan Construction Association Inc. (Regina)

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Brent Dowdall, Media Relations, The Conference Board of Canada
Tel.: (613) 526-3090 ext. 448
E-mail: corpcomm@conferenceboard.ca

Roger Clarkson, Spencer Stuart Canada, Tel: (416) 203-5585,
E-mail: rclarkson@spencerstuart.com

Angus McKinnon
Coordinator, Media Relations
Canada Foundation for Innovation, Tel: (613) 996-3160
E-mail: angus.mckinnon@innovation.ca

Jay Marteniuk, Media Relations,
Maxxam Analytique
Télé: (905) 817-5710
E-mail: jay.marteniuk@maxxamanalytics.com

Anie Perrault, Media Relations,
NeuroScience Canada
Tel: (514)258-7629