Good morning, everyone. I'm Hank Ketcham, Chair of the Board of Directors of West Fraser. I'll act as Chair of this meeting, and Tom Theodorakis, our Corporate Secretary, will act as recording secretary. I appoint Anita Bassi from Computershare's Investor Services to act as Scrutineer for the meeting. I'm also pleased to inform you that members of our Board of Directors and executive management team are joining us today. On behalf of the Board of Directors and the management team, I'm pleased to welcome you to the 2023 annual general and special meeting of West Fraser, including those of you joining us through the live webcast.
West Fraser welcomes our friends and partners, the Lhtako Dene Nation, who are present with us today. We acknowledge Lhtako as the traditional custodians on whose lands we meet, work, live, and learn. We thank Lhtako Dene Nation for joining us today. We're also joined today and would like to welcome Mayor Ron Paull and Acting Mayor Mitch Vik. Before we commence with the formal business of the meeting, on behalf of the board, I'd like to acknowledge and thank our Director Robert Phillips, who will be retiring from the board, for his long service to the company. We've all benefited greatly from Rob's wise guidance and contribution over the years. This year, we've nominated Doyle Beneby, an experienced corporate director and seasoned former senior executive officer to the West Fraser Board.
Unfortunately, he was not able to join us in person today, but we're excited to have him join our board. We'll first deal with the formal items of business. At the end of the meeting, our President and CEO, Ray Ferris, will provide an update on the company's operations. Following Ray's update, if there are any questions, we would be happy to answer them. I'd like to set out a few procedures for the orderly conduct of the meeting. I'll introduce the various motions or resolutions and request that each be proposed and seconded by a registered shareholder or proxy holder. Voting on the motion to appoint the auditor and fixing the number of directors would be conducted by a show of hands unless a ballot is demanded.
In order to have an accurate record of the votes for the election of each director for the purposes of our majority voting policy, and to properly record the vote on the resolutions approving the amendment, restatement, and continuation of the company's shareholder rights plan, and the company's say-on-pay advisory resolution, we will conduct the vote on each of these resolutions by ballot. Most shareholders will have already submitted a proxy, which will be counted in the vote. If you have not previously submitted a proxy, you may vote by ballot. The scrutineer has provided a form of ballot for these resolutions to each shareholder or authorized representative present in person, and each proxy holder who is present and has not already submitted a proxy. If you're one of those persons but do not have these ballots, please raise your hand.
When voting on the resolution to elect the directors, please mark an X on your ballot in the box under the heading four to the right of the name of each director you wish to elect. If you do not wish to elect a certain nominee, mark an X in the box under the heading withhold to the far right of the name of the director you do not wish to elect. When voting on the other resolutions by ballot, please insert the number of shares being voted for or against on your ballot. Are there any questions at this point on the procedures for the meeting?
For the shareholders joining us through the webcast, questions in respect of a motion may be submitted by any registered shareholder or duly appointed proxyholder who have properly logged in with their control numbers or username by using the instant messaging service on the Lumi platform. Please note that there may be a slight delay in questions being submitted to us. Questions on the formal meeting items will be addressed as each item is tabled. Any questions received of a more general nature will be addressed at the end of the meeting. If we're unable to address your general question during the meeting, a representative of West Fraser will reach out to you following the meeting with a response. Are there any questions at this point in the proceedings of the meeting? British Columbia Business Corporations...
Hold on.
For the shareholders joining us through the webcast, questions in respect of a motion may be submitted by any registered shareholder or duly appointed proxyholder who have properly logged in with their control numbers or usernames. The notice calling this meeting, the management information circular, and the form of proxy were mailed to shareholders on or around March 17, 2023. I will dispense with the reading of the notice of meeting. Copies of the notice of meeting, management information circular, and other meeting materials are available under the company's profiles on SEDAR, EDGAR, and on the company's website. Our transfer agent, Computershare Investor Services, has attested to the proper mailing of the notice calling this meeting.
The Secretary of the company has also confirmed that notice calling the meeting was mailed to all shareholders of the company entitled to receive such notice. Computershare has provided an affidavit of mailing. Accordingly, I confirm that the notice calling this meeting and all proxy-related meeting materials were delivered to the shareholders in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act, the company's articles, British Columbia Business Corporations Act, and Canadian securities laws. The articles of the company require that a quorum be present to ensure the meeting is properly constituted. I've been informed by the scrutineer that we have the shareholders present or represented by proxy, who hold a sufficient number of shares to constitute a quorum. I therefore declare that there is a quorum at this meeting. The scrutineer's report will be kept by the secretary with the records of the meeting.
The notice of the meeting, having been duly delivered and a quorum being present, I now declare this meeting to be duly called and regularly constituted for the transaction of business. I now table and submit to you the report of the auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, and the financial statements for the year ended December 31st, 2022. We have mailed to requesting shareholders a copy of the annual report containing the auditor's report and the financial statements with the notice of the meeting, and it has been filed on SEDAR and EDGAR and is available on our website. Are there any questions concerning the auditor's report or the financial statements? I declare that the financial statements and auditor's report have been received by the shareholders as submitted to this meeting. We will now proceed with fixing the number of directors to 11.
I now move that shareholders approve fixing the number of directors at 11. Would someone please second the motion? Thank you, Krista. All those in favor of the motion, please raise your hand. Thank you. Each of those against the motion, please raise a hand. Thank you. The motion is carried, and now I declare that the number of directors has been fixed at 11. We will now proceed with the election of directors for the upcoming year. The number of directors to be elected is 11. The company has implemented an advance notice policy requiring shareholders to provide advance notice of any additional director nominations. The Secretary of the company has advised that no nomination has been received other than those persons named as director nominees in the information circular for this meeting mailed to shareholders.
I would now like to nominate the following individuals to hold office as the directors of the company until the next annual meeting, and I would ask each nominee available to join us today to stand. Doyle Beneby, who's not here. Reid Carter. Ray Ferris. John Floren. Ellis Ketcham Johnson. Brian Kenning. Marian Lawson. Colleen McMorrow. Janice Rennie. Gillian Winckler, who is also not able to join us today, and myself, Hank Ketcham. These persons are management's nominees for election to the board, as stated in the information circular for this meeting. With there being no further nominations, I declare the nominations closed. I now move that shareholders approve the election of directors for the upcoming year. As previously mentioned, a vote by ballot will be conducted for the election of directors.
If you have previously voted on this matter by proxy and do not wish to change your vote, no further action is required. Please vote using the form of ballot on election of directors provided earlier. Please make sure that your name is printed clearly on the ballot. Will the scrutineer please collect the ballots? Okay. Thank you. We'll proceed with the next matter. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is currently the auditor of the company. I now move that shareholders approve the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Chartered Accountants, as auditors of the company at a remuneration to be fixed by the directors. You've heard the motion. Is there any discussion? All those in favor of the motion, please raise your hand. Each of those against the motion, please raise a hand. Thank you.
The motion is carried. I declare that PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Chartered Accountants, have been appointed as auditors of the company at a remuneration to be fixed by the directors. The next item of business is for shareholders to vote on the company's approach to executive compensation, also known as the say-on-pay advisory resolution. Our executive compensation philosophy, policies, and programs are based on the fundamental principle of pay for performance to align the interests of our executives with those of our shareholders. This compensation approach allows us to attract and retain high-performing executives who will be strongly incentivized to create value for our shareholders on a sustainable basis. I now move that shareholders approve the company's say-on-pay advisory resolution, as more fully described in the information circular.
As previously mentioned, a vote by ballot will be conducted for the company's say-on-pay advisory resolution. I would like to remind you that if you have previously voted on this matter by proxy and do not wish to change your vote, no further action is required. Would someone please second the motion? Thank you, Krista. Is there any discussion on this matter? Please vote using the form of ballot on the say-on-pay advisory resolution provided earlier. Please make sure that your name is printed clearly on the ballot. Would the scrutineer please collect the ballots? Thank you. The next item of business is for shareholders to vote on the resolution approving the amendment, restatement, and continuation of the company's shareholder rights plan.
The company's shareholder rights plan was ratified and confirmed by the company's shareholders at the 2020 annual meeting and will terminate on the conclusion of this meeting unless the shareholders approve its continuation. The rationale for the shareholders' rights plan is outlined in the information circular, but its basic objective is to deter abusive tactics like hostile takeovers or creeping bids. I now move that shareholders approve the ordinary resolution approving the amendment, restatement, and continuation of the company's shareholder rights plan, as more fully described in the information circular. A vote by ballot will be conducted for the ordinary resolution approving the amendment, restatement, and continuation of the company's shareholder rights plan. I would like to remind you that if you've previously voted on this matter by proxy and do not wish to change your vote, no further action is required.
Would someone please second the motion? Thank you, Krista. Is there any discussion on this matter? Please vote using the form of ballot on the amendment, restatement, and continuation of the company's shareholder rights plan provided earlier. Please make sure that your name is printed clearly on the ballot. Would the scrutineer please collect the ballots? Thank you. While we wait for the scrutineer's report, we will pause the meeting. I've been advised by the scrutineer that the ballots and proxies deposited for the meeting indicate that each director nominee received a majority of yes votes, and I declare them duly elected to act as directors of the company for the ensuing year.
Also, based on the preliminary results of voting, the two other resolutions by ballot, namely the amendment, restatement, and continuation of the company's shareholder rights plan and the advisory resolution on the company's approach to executive compensation, say-on-pay, have been approved. I direct that the results of the poll be included with the minutes of this meeting and the results of the voting be announced in the news release in accordance with TSX and New York Stock Exchange policies and filed on SEDAR and EDGAR. As the formal items of business as set out in the notice of meeting have now been dealt with, and as there is no further business to come before the meeting, I declare the formal part of the meeting to be concluded. I now call on Ray Ferris, President and CEO of the company, to provide an update on the company's operations.
Thank you, Hank. I'd like to thank each and every one of you for taking the time out of your schedules to attend our annual general meeting here today, either virtually or in person. I want to particularly thank our people that have traveled from across Canada, from across the U.S., the United Kingdom and Europe. Many of those who commuted throughout this past weekend to attend here today in Quesnel. In 1955, some 68 years ago, with the purchase of a small planer, our company was founded by the three brothers, Sam, Pete, and Bill Ketcham, and 12 very key employees.
This dedicated team of people established and lived the values that every person is important, that everyone should be able to meaningfully contribute, and that every person should be recognized and share in that success. That's how winning teams are built. The culture and values built by this pioneering team set the foundation of success that we have relied on and continue to this day. As we continue to grow beyond our humble beginnings, it is critical that we remember to embrace these values which have made us successful to this point. We're very proud to host our AGM here in Quesnel this year to acknowledge the significance of this community and our company's proud past and bright future. Now with over 11,000 employees, West Fraser operates in 11 US states, 4 Canadian provinces, as well as the United Kingdom and Belgium.
Our strategy has remained simple and durable. That is to be the low-cost producer, to reinvest in our business, and while maintaining a prudent balance sheet. This proven and resilient strategy has allowed our company to emerge from market downturns stronger and ready to execute. Our team is experienced in navigating these commodity cycles and has a proven track record and is ready to take on what we believe is an exciting future in wood products. Our company's accounts, ending December 31, 2022, and management information circular have already been disseminated. However, I would like to recap a number of key highlights from 2022, which was a strong year of performance for West Fraser. First, at West Fraser, safety is a core value and business priority.
In 2022, we reduced incidents by 50% while recording our second lowest injury rate in our history. Our approach to safety is to foster a culture of continuous improvement. Although we have improved significantly over the past few years, we recognize that we have much more work to do, and we'll continue to work relentlessly to reduce and eliminate serious incidents in our company to ensure all of our people go home safe each day. Our team accomplished much this past year, and it's important to provide a little context to the environment in which our teams operated. Unlike 2021, which saw many disruptive weather and wildfire events, 2022 was impacted more by world macro events.
The year started off very strong, but as it progressed, we began to experience rising inflation across our business and broader economy more generally, which was in part driven by the escalation and conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Several years of accommodative monetary policy contributed to demand recovery of goods and services that amplified supply chain constraints coming out of the COVID pandemic. We also experienced the first significant interest rate hiking cycle in a number of years as central bankers began to combat inflation around the globe. As a result, the second half of 2022 was marked by significant cost inflation for many of our key inputs, while at the same time mortgage rates reached multiyear highs, reducing demand for new housing, thereby putting downward pressure on pricing for many of our wood products.
Despite these factors, our people not only persevered, but our resilient team thrived again by delivering West Fraser's second-best year of safety, performance, and EBITDA generation in the company's history. Just a little bit on sustainability. Now more than ever, the world needs sustainable, renewable building materials that sequester carbon and fight against climate change. At West Fraser, sustainability is more than just a commitment. It's the central principle upon which our business is predicated. The wood products we make are renewable, third-party certified, and are from sustainably managed forest resources. Importantly, West Fraser's renewable building products and renewable energy platform have an integral role to play in creating a low-carbon economy and combating climate change. Forest products are truly a natural solution, and we at West Fraser have a growing and exciting role to play in a more sustainable world.
We strive to be a leader in sustainability. In 2022, we achieved significant environmental and social milestones. In 2022, West Fraser was the first Canadian forest company to join the United Nations Global Compact, solidifying our commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Over this past year, West Fraser's sustainability performance also included new initiatives to improve the diversity of our workforce. This work includes a strong focus on people and company culture to create workplaces and leadership teams that reflect the diverse communities where we live and work. At our governance level, our board of directors is becoming increasingly more diversified, with representation of women at 45% and underrepresented minorities at 9%.
Our employees are the foundation of our ability to deliver on our strategy, and we believe inclusive and diverse teams create a more vibrant workforce, safer operations, and a stronger company overall. As a result of this enhanced focus, workforce representation of women increased to 15% and underrepresented minorities increased to 25%. As a company, we are committed to leaving the world better than we found it, and this includes investing in and valuing the communities in which we live and operate. Our work continued toward obtaining certification under the Progressive Aboriginal Relations program, which includes implementing a management statement and informing our forest management practices with traditional knowledge. Building on the foundations of employee and community relations, which are ingrained in our goals and values are all part of a deliberate social performance strategy which complement West Fraser's climate goals.
In 2021, we planted our 2-billionth tree. In 2022, we added a further 66 million seedlings throughout the company's managed forest area in Western Canada. We are also actively working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across our operations. Last week, we announced that West Fraser received approval of its Scope 1, 2, and 3 emission reduction targets by the Science Based Targets initiative. This validation further supports West Fraser's plan to achieve near-term greenhouse gas reductions across all its operations in the United States, Canada, the U.K. and Europe. Over 2022, our team undertook the necessary work to make material emission reductions by 2030. This is an important step in our sustainability performance strategy and signals our commitment to global climate action, thereby aligning with the Paris Agreement goals to materially reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Shareholder value. We believe all these things make us a better company for our employees, for our communities, and for our shareholders. With that, we believe we offer attractive long-term value for shareholders. As the world's largest producer of renewable wood-based building products, West Fraser offers many advantages. We offer financial resilience through a portfolio that is both product and geographically diverse. We do this by providing a wide range of home and building construction products across multiple markets in two continents with operations in five countries, helping us weather cyclicality while creating a solid platform to serve our customers. We serve markets with strong fundamentals. Although near-term fundamentals for U.S. housing are challenging, we like our exposure to U.S. housing. We enter 2023 with a recent rapid increase in mortgage rates, which has hampered near-term housing affordability.
However, we believe that a near-term recalibration can improve housing affordability in the longer term, which should ultimately be good for consumers and the next generation of homebuyers, which should be positive for West Fraser. The lumber panel and engineered wood we produce serve a wide number of end uses. Not only do we produce the lumber and structural panels used to frame and sheathe houses, but a significant portion of the lumber products we manufacture are further remanufactured into wood products that are engineered, such as roof trusses, I-joists, and these are all critical components in single-family construction. These products are also foundational to the supply increasing trend in multifamily housing and other commercial construction projects where mass timber and other engineered or value-added wood products are increasingly being used to build taller structures.
We also reserve the repair and remodeling segment, where forecasted spending is expected to be stable in the near term as industry experts project the relative health of consumers to remain resilient. Generally, there is a greater relative demand for wood products in the repair and remodeling segment today than there was in the past. Residential improvement, for example, consumed an estimated 55% more lumber in 2022 than it did in 2000. If you contrast the growth in demand for wood products with the evolving North American supply constraints, it becomes increasingly evident that medium to longer-term fundamentals should be attractive for West Fraser in the years to come. We have a track record of disciplined and balanced capital allocation.
Our simple strategy of being low cost, maintain a prudent balance sheet, has allowed us to continue to invest in our business while maintaining financial flexibility in addition to regularly returning excess capital to shareholders. In this past year, we invested nearly $480 million in capital investments in our facilities while returning a total of nearly $2 billion to our shareholders through share repurchases and approximately $100 million through dividends. 2022 is another strong year of returns on investment, generating value with a 28% return on capital employed. We have the scope, the scale, and the expertise to unlock further opportunities. While we continue to grow into new products and regions to best serve our customers, our long-held values and proven strategy remain at the forefront.
An example of this investment strategy is illustrated with the Henderson Mill project that we announced last year. This is a $255 million brownfield mill modernization, which will deploy the most advanced technology to better drive value and ultimately lower costs that we expect will drive considerable EBITDA growth and attractive returns throughout the cycle as we leverage the current mill's local ecosystem to help reduce execution risk. We are well-positioned to benefit further from strong ESG and sustainability fundamentals, and in particular, the role of forest products as a natural solution to climate change. We remain optimistic about the continued growth and demand for types of sustainable and renewable wood products that West Fraser manufactures and for which the company is known for.
Finally, we have an attractive track record of creating shareholder value, in part owing to our culture, our values, and our operating philosophy. These actions have positioned us to create superior long-term value for our shareholders and have delivered an annualized total shareholder return of approximately 10% since 2006. Looking ahead, we are cautious over the near term but remain optimistic about our future. As we adjust to the economic headwinds created by higher mortgage and interest rates, we remain ready to execute on the opportunities driven by our market-leading capabilities. As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, our organization will continue to discover new, safer, and more efficient methods to conduct our business, which we believe improve our workplaces and create long-term value.
Further to this, in 2023, we anticipate investing an additional $500 million-$600 million in various improvement projects, many of which will have a focus on technology and the automation of our manufacturing process, and on projects targeted to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. We believe and plan to continue to invest in our people, furthering our commitment to being an employer of choice, where we strive to create an environment where our employees can achieve long-term, challenging, and rewarding careers with West Fraser. The culture and values that attract great people to the company was inherited by us and built by those who came before us, but they are still very relevant today. These values, the culture, and determination of the founding Ketcham family and those 12 planer employees have been key to our long-term and sustained success.
2022 was a strong year of performance. As we look to 2023 and beyond, I am confident and can say that I believe our future is one of great promise and opportunity. I am proud of our team and of West Fraser's position as a premier wood products company. I know I can say on behalf of all of our team that we look forward to demonstrate this in the years to come. Hank, that concludes my comments.
Good. Thank you, Ray. Now I ask that shareholders or duly appointed proxy holders who would like to ask a question to raise their hands and identify themselves, or to type their questions in the instant messaging feature of the virtual interface if they're joining us via the webcast. We will answer as many questions as time permits. We will now give attendees a moment to ask or type in their questions. As we've received no further questions on behalf of the board and management, thank you to our shareholders, executives and directors for participating in this meeting. With that, Lumi, we can now end the meeting.