Mark Machin, head of Canada’s largest pension fund, according to people familiar with a Covid-19 vaccine shot in the Middle East before millions of Canadians wait for one of the Western world’s slowest implementations.
The 54-year-old CEO of the $ 379 billion investment board of the Canada Retirement Plan arrived in the United Arab Emirates with his partner earlier this month and received the first dose of vaccine developed by Pfizer. Inc.
and Germany’s BioNTech SE,
according to people familiar with the matter. Some of these people said he had stayed in the United Arab Emirates and that he would receive his second dose in the coming weeks, he said.
Mr. Machin made no comment when reached by phone and email. A CPPIB spokesman and Mr. Machin said he had “deeply personal” reasons for traveling to the UAE. I can assure you that there has been no influence on you or that it does not want to be applied ‘to get the vaccine, the spokesperson said. .
The 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. It reports to a board of directors elected by the Canadian finance minister.
A spokesman for the Canadian Ministry of Finance said that although the CPPIB is an independent organization, it is very worrying. The federal government was clear with Canadians that now is not the time to travel abroad. We were not made aware of this journey. ”
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 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 mostly do not live – received doses of a Chinese vaccine in Abu Dhabi.
The UAE, a federation of seven emirates that includes the commercial hub of Dubai, has surpassed almost every country in the world with an ambitious vaccination campaign led by its rapid embrace of the Chinese-made vaccine. Since December, the shot has been readily available and free to any adult resident or citizen. The country also offers the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, which is more effective in clinical trials, but was scarcer. It is mostly reserved for people over 60 or with chronic health conditions in the UAE
As head of CPPIB, Mr. Machin responsible for overseeing retirement money set aside for about 20 million Canadians who contribute to the country’s public pension plan. CPPIB is one of the largest pension funds in the world, floating in foreign markets and companies worldwide.
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 the $ 5.4 billion share debut of Kuaishou Technology, a Chinese video streaming company, with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, a large UAE sovereign wealth fund.
Mr. Machin’s vaccination, which has not been reported before, 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. The country’s federal government has been criticized for its sluggish rate of vaccinations, which lags behind in the United States, the United Kingdom and the largest European countries. About 4% of the Canadian population has received at least one dose, compared to 20% in the US, according to a Oxford University tracker.
Amid the pandemic, the journey of officials and business leaders was scrutinized with great attention. Ontario’s finance minister resigned in December after an overseas vacation amid federal and provincial travel advice.
The advice does not prohibit travel by officials, but Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford said the resignation shows that “our government is taking our commitment to maintaining a higher standard seriously.” Linda Hasenfratz, chief executive of auto parts manufacturer Linamar Corp., resigned last month from a government task of Ontario over the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines after traveling abroad. Me. Hasenfratz said in a statement that she regrets her decision to travel.
The CPPIB spokesperson said that business travel had been stopped almost completely due to the pandemic, but that business and personal travel were still taking place, pointing out that the fund owned assets abroad.
He was a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. investment banker for two decades. 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 medicine at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
Write to Jenny Strasburg at [email protected], Summer Said at [email protected] and Jacquie McNish at [email protected]
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