Mark Machin, head of Canada’s largest pension fund, received a vaccine against Covid-19 in the Middle East, according to people familiar with the matter, ahead of millions of Canadians awaiting one of the slowest implementations in the western world.
The 54-year-old chief executive of the $ 379 billion Canadian Pension Plan Investment Council arrived in the United Arab Emirates earlier this month with his partner and received the first dose of a vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc.
and BioNTech SE from Germany,
according to people familiar with the subject. He told contacts that he used local connections to get the vaccines, some of these people said, and that he stayed in the United Arab Emirates and should receive his second dose in the coming weeks, they said.
Mr. Machin did not comment when contacted by phone and e-mail. A spokesman for CPPIB and Mr. Machin said he had “deeply personal” reasons for traveling to the United Arab Emirates. “I can guarantee that zero influence was applied or sought” so that he could get the vaccine, said the spokesman.
CPPIB is a crown corporation, which means that it is governed independently of the federal government, but it is the administrator of the pension obligations that are imposed by the government. He reports to a board of directors, which is selected by Canada’s finance minister.
A spokeswoman for the Canadian Ministry of Finance said that “although CPPIB is an independent organization, this is very worrying. The federal government has made it clear to Canadians that now is not the time to travel abroad. We were not informed of this trip. “
There is no evidence that Mr. Machin, a British citizen, broke any law to guarantee his dose. The Canadian government has asked residents to avoid traveling abroad, but has not banned them. The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, said that they are distributing vaccines to residents, a designation that foreigners can obtain through activities such as investing, buying real estate or starting a local company. There is no evidence that Mr. Machin is a resident.
The UAE made exceptions to the residency requirements. In January, the UAE-sponsored cycling team that won the 2020 Tour de France – a group of about 60 cyclists and mostly non-resident staff – received doses of a Chinese-made vaccine in Abu Dhabi.
The United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven emirates that includes the Dubai shopping center, has overtaken almost every country in the world with an ambitious vaccination campaign led by its rapid adoption of the Chinese-made vaccine. Since December, the injection has been available and free of charge to any resident or adult citizen. The country also offers the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which has been shown to be more effective in clinical trials, but has been scarcer. It was reserved mainly for people over 60 or with chronic health conditions in the UAE
As head of CPPIB, Mr. Machin is responsible for overseeing the retirement money of about 20 million Canadians who contribute to the country’s public pension plan. CPPIB is one of the largest pension funds in the world, with influence in foreign markets and companies globally.
The Canadian fund in March 2020 held stakes in several UAE companies, including Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC and Emirates Telecommunications Group Co. PJSC, according to the annual disclosures of the foreign equity fund. Last year, the fund invested in its $ 5.4 billion equity debut with Kuaishou Technology, a Chinese video streaming startup, alongside the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, a major UAE sovereign wealth fund.
Machin’s vaccination, which has not been reported previously, comes amid the furor in other parts of the world, where wealthy or well-connected people have managed to jump the vaccination line. Most of the world is carefully distributing doses to prioritize the most vulnerable or those on the frontline who are fighting the pandemic.
In Peru, dozens of government consultants, lobbyists, ministers and people connected to them, in addition to the former president and his family, received secret vaccines last year – triggering a scandal there now called Vaccine Gate. Last month, Florida restricted vaccines to those who provided proof of residence. Local authorities offered the injection to anyone over the age of 65, but were concerned that the state was becoming an attraction for vaccine tourism. Many Canadians, in particular, are looking for charter jets for quick round trips to Florida for vaccinations.
Vaccines are particularly scarce in Canada. The country’s federal government has faced criticism for its slow rate of vaccination, which lags behind rates in the United States, the United Kingdom and most major European countries. About 4% of the Canadian population has received at least one dose, compared with 20% in the United States, according to an Oxford University tracker.
In the midst of the pandemic, the travels of prominent employees and business leaders were closely examined. Ontario’s finance minister resigned in December after a vacation abroad amid federal and provincial travel warnings.
The notices do not prohibit employee travel, but Ontario premier Doug Ford said the resignation demonstrates that “our government takes seriously our obligation to remain at a higher standard”. Linda Hasenfratz, chief executive of auto parts maker Linamar Corp., resigned last month from an Ontario government task force to distribute the Covid-19 vaccine after traveling abroad. Ms. Hasenfratz said in a statement that she regretted her decision to travel.
The CPPIB spokesman said that employee travel has stopped almost completely as a result of the pandemic, but some business and personal travel is still taking place, noting that the fund keeps assets abroad.
A former investment banker at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for two decades, Mr. Machin has been the chief executive of the Toronto-based pension fund since June 2016. Previously, he oversaw its international operations. Before his career in finance, he qualified as a doctor in the UK after studying medicine at Oxford and Cambridge universities.
Write to Jenny Strasburg at [email protected], Summer Said at [email protected] and Jacquie McNish at [email protected]
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