Mark Machin, CEO of the Canada Pension Fund, resigns after vaccinating UAE

Mr. Machin, who has been an investment banker for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for two decades. undertook the trip despite the Canadian government’s advice not to travel during the pandemic, and amid one of the slowest vaccinations in the West.

CPPIB is a crown company, which means that it is managed independently of the federal government, but that it is the manager of pension obligations that are mandatory by the government. Board members are elected by the Ministry of Finance. Katherine Cuplinskas, a spokeswoman for Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, said the minister spoke to CPPIB’s board on Thursday night about Machin’s trip to ‘make clear that Canadians place their trust in CPPIB and expect it to a higher standard will be kept. ”

“We are very disappointed with this worrying situation and we support the swift action of the Council,” she said. Cuplinskas said.

Mr. Machin did not comment when reached by the Journal by telephone on Friday. A CPPIB spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Machin’s trip came as a surprise to many people within the pension fund, and his resignation felt shocking, according to a person familiar with the matter. The global nature of the fund’s staff has caused a domino effect of calls and emails. As of mid-2020, the pension fund had more than 1,800 employees in nine offices, from Toronto to New York to London and Mumbai. Many of the employees still work from home.

On Thursday, the Journal reported that Machin, 54, received a Covid-19 vaccine shot in the United Arab Emirates, before millions of Canadians waited at home for one.

There is no evidence that Mr. Machin, a British citizen, has violated any laws to ensure his dose. The Canadian government has encouraged residents to avoid overseas travel, but has not banned it. The UAE, meanwhile, has said it distributes vaccines to residents, a designation that foreigners can get through activities such as investing, buying property or starting a local business. There is no evidence that Mr. Machin is not a resident.

The UAE has made exceptions to its accommodation requirements. In January, the UAE-sponsored cycling team that won the Tour de France 2020 – a group of about 60 cyclists and staff who were mostly non-residents – received doses of a Chinese vaccine in Abu Dhabi.

The UAE, a federation of seven emirates that includes the commercial center of Dubai, has surpassed almost every country in the world with an ambitious vaccination campaign.

As head of the CPPIB, Mr. Machin responsible for overseeing retirement money for about 20 million Canadians contributing to the country’s public pension plan.

In March 2020, the Canadian fund held interests in several UAE companies, including Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC and Emirates Telecommunications Group Co. PJSC, according to the fund’s annual disclosure of foreign equities. Last year, the fund invested in Kuaishou Technology’s $ 5.4 billion equity debut,

A Chinese video streaming, in conjunction with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, a major UAE sovereign wealth fund.

The vaccination of mr. Machin comes amid unrest in other parts of the world over cases in which rich or well-connected people were able to get a vaccine. Most of the world is carefully stopping the doses to prioritize the most vulnerable, or those on the front lines fighting the pandemic.

In Peru, dozens of government consultants, lobbyists, cabinet ministers and people connected to it, and the former president and his family, secretly received vaccinations last year – causing a scandal now called the Vaccine Gate. Last month, Florida restricted vaccines to those who could show proof of residence. Officials there offered the shot to anyone over the age of 65, but worried the state would become an attraction for vaccine tourism. In particular, many Canadians have been looking for fast return flights to Florida for vaccinations.

Vaccines are especially rare in Canada. About 4% of the Canadian population has received at least one dose, compared to 20% in the US, according to a Oxford University tracker.

Mr. Machin has been the general manager of the Toronto Pension Fund since June 2016. He has previously overseen his international operations. Prior to his financial career, he qualified as a medical doctor in the United Kingdom after studying at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

Write to Jenny Strasburg at [email protected] and Jacquie McNish at [email protected]