“This is really outrageous and it understandably offends people,” said Clancy. “How can they possibly justify these bonuses when the fund lost over $23 billion dollars last year? That defies common sense.”
Ottawa (29 May 2009) – James Clancy, the national president of the 340,000-member National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE), today expressed outrage over the million dollar bonuses being paid to the top executives at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) when the fund is losing billions of dollars.
“This is really outrageous and it understandably offends people,” said Clancy. “How can they possibly justify these bonuses when the fund lost over $23 billion dollars last year? They performed poorly and then rewarded themselves with million dollar bonus payouts? That defies common sense.”
The CPP Investment Board became a Crown corporation in 1997. It operates independently of government and is responsible for investing billions of dollars in CPP contributions to fund public pensions for millions of Canadians.
According to the fund's annual report just released by the CPP Investment Board, the fund lost $23.7 billion for the last fiscal year. Despite this loss, David Denison, the president and CEO of the CPPIB, along with his top four executives, will take home a total $8.5 million in pay and bonuses for the last fiscal year. Additionally, the executives are due another $7 million in long-term awards that will be paid out over the next three fiscal years.
“Our economy is in a serious recession, thousands of Canadians are losing their jobs everyday, lineups at food banks are soaring, and at the same time these guys are giving themselves million dollar bonuses. I mean, give me a break. What are they thinking?” said Clancy.
“We shouldn’t be in this position, but there are a number of ways we can get out of it," Clancy said.
"The government should pursue every possible legal avenue to block these bonuses.”
“The Prime Minister and Minister of Finance should also use their public offices to express outrage on behalf of Canadians and let these executives know that their actions violate fundamental Canadian values such as fairness.”
“Finally, the executives themselves, as a sign of moral leadership, could voluntarily give back the bonuses," said Clancy.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE
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