Mark Machin, the head of Canada’s largest pension fund, stepped down after traveling to the Middle East and receiving the Covid-19 vaccine, causing an adverse reaction.
In a statement, the Pension Plan Investment Council of Canada said that Machin traveled to the United Arab Emirates in a personal capacity and “provided for vaccination against Covid-19”.
His resignation, after discussions with the board on Thursday night, marked a quick departure from a $ 356 billion pension fund that is an important part of Canada’s retirement system for civil servants and a global financial burden it has played an important role in business, including the 2005 acquisition of the Neiman Marcus department store in the United States.
Machin, a 50-year-old former investment banker at Goldman Sachs who has led the CPPIB since 2016, did not immediately respond to a request for comment email.
The disclosure of his trip, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, generated outrage in Canada, where many elderly and vulnerable people are still waiting for the vaccine.
CPPIB, which manages about CA $ 450 billion ($ 356 billion) in assets, honored Machin’s leadership and announced another senior executive, John Graham, as his successor.
Wealthy people have been coming to the UAE in recent months to take advantage of an emerging gray vaccine market, informed people said.
Some are paying around several thousand dollars to get their jab. Government officials also offer vaccines to some non-residents. For example, Emirates Team Emirates, the UAE professional cycling team, in January received a jab in Abu Dhabi.
The official vaccination program is generally available only to residents, who are vaccinated free of charge. The United Arab Emirates delivered the second highest number of doses in the world, around 59 percent and behind Israel only.
Dubai authorities administer the BioNTech / Pfizer and Oxford / AstraZeneca jabs. Many more doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine have been provided by Abu Dhabi and federal health officials in all seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates.