{"id":18513,"date":"2020-05-28T09:45:08","date_gmt":"2020-05-28T13:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.benefitscanada.com\/news\/public-sector-union-calling-on-psp-to-end-investment-in-long-term-care-operator-146414"},"modified":"2020-05-28T09:45:08","modified_gmt":"2020-05-28T13:45:08","slug":"public-sector-union-calling-on-psp-to-end-investment-in-long-term-care-operator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2020\/05\/28\/public-sector-union-calling-on-psp-to-end-investment-in-long-term-care-operator\/","title":{"rendered":"Public sector union calling on PSP to end investment in long-term care operator"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"123rf_Tyler <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Kelsey Rolfe<\/span> | May 28, 2020 <\/p>\n

The union representing more than 200,000 Canadian public sector employees says the Public Sector Pension Investment Board\u2019s investment in a for-profit, long-term care provider is inconsistent with its fiduciary and legal obligations to plan members.<\/p>\n

The Public Service Alliance of Canada is calling on the PSP to end its investment in Revera Inc., its wholly owned subsidiary, and to transfer its management and control to provincial health authorities across Canada. \u201cWe\u2019ve raised these issues in the past on several occasions, but we\u2019ve got nothing but lip service back,\u201d says James Infantino, pensions and disability insurance officer at the PSAC. \u201cWe think the way they\u2019ve managed these facilities put the [pension] plan in a situation of undue risk and that is contrary to its obligations toward plan members.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read: Unions across job sectors crying out for increased safety measures<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Revera, which operates long-term care and retirement homes across the country, is the target of a $50-million class action lawsuit launched by families of coronavirus victims in the company\u2019s Ontario facilities. The families allege the facilities lack proper sanitation and testing protocols to prevent the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n

In a May 11 letter to Neil Cunningham, president and chief executive officer at the PSP, Chris Aylward, the PSAC\u2019s national president, wrote that the union suspects the lawsuit will be the first of many. \u201cThe PSAC has long warned PSP Investments that the continuation of business practices without addressing the concerns of our organization would not only be detrimental to the residents and employees of Revera Inc. but could also pose long-term consequences for the contributors and beneficiaries of the Federal Public Service Pension Plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

The PSAC attempted to engage with the PSP about Revera in July 2012, when a labour dispute at one of the company\u2019s Edmonton retirement residences raised concerns that the organization was paying staff \u201csignificantly below industry standards.\u201d It also contacted the PSP in November 2018 after CTV W5 aired an investigation into class-action lawsuits against long-term care facility operators, including Revera, that alleged mistreatment and avoidable deaths in the facilities.<\/p>\n

Read: Considerations for institutional investors around divestment<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe got the same non-response [both times] and now it\u2019s culminated in this,\u201d says Infantino. When the PSP acquired Revera in 2007, it took the company private, so it\u2019s unclear how much the investment is worth, he adds.<\/p>\n

In a May 21 reply to Aylward, Cunningham wrote that the PSP insists partners operating the assets it invests in \u201cuse best industry practices in their operations, including, but certainly not limited to, health and safety concerns for the workers and all those who access our facilities. This is especially true for residents and staff of Revera-operated long-term care homes and other facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cunningham said the PSP implemented a public company-style governance structure at Revera when it was acquired, including an autonomous board of directors with two former medical professionals. The pandemic has highlighted structural issues in the long-term care system, he added, but Revera is committed to being part of a future solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would caution you against relying on media reports of potential litigation as a means of risk assessment of the PSP\u2019s investments or as justification for a divestiture decision,\u201d he wrote. \u201cPSP has a very robust risk management process and I can assure you that this investment has been subjected to appropriate scrutiny and does not in our view represent undue risk for the Federal Public Service Pension Plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read: Why are institutional investors ramping up allocations to private equity?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Read the full article at BenefitsCanada.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kelsey Rolfe | May 28, 2020 The union representing more than 200,000 Canadian public sector employees says the Public Sector Pension Investment Board\u2019s investment in a for-profit, long-term care provider is inconsistent with its fiduciary and legal obligations...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18513"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18513\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}