On Friday, CCPIB, the country’s largest pension fund, said it has accepted Machin’s resignation and appointed John Graham as chief executive officer, reports Global News. Graham had been serving as the senior managing director and global head of credit investments.
“While the CPPIB is an independent organization, we are very disappointed by this troubling situation and we support the swift action taken by the Board of Directors,” said Kat Cuplinskas, press secretary for Canada’s Ministry of Finance, per Reuters.
The federal government has actively discouraged people from traveling abroad and has recently implemented strict quarantine measures for those returning home.
Our President and CEO Mark Machin talks about global investing risks and opportunities with BNN-Bloomberg’s @Amandalang during Toronto’s @elevatetechfest. @BNNBloomberg pic.twitter.com/WhnC5uBMu4
— CPP Investments (@cppinvestments) September 26, 2018
A number of politicians and healthcare workers have become high-profile flashpoints of public criticism for going outside the county, despite public health advice to stay home, according to CBC Canada.
The former CEO of the London Health Sciences Centre is now fighting litigation after his travel to the U.S. prompted the hospital to terminate his contract. And Rod Phillips, Ontario’s former finance minister, resigned his post in December after vacationing in the Caribbean.
Quebec Liberal MNA Pierre Arcand had to apologize after traveling to Barbados, while Coalition Avenir Québec MNA Youri Chassin says he left for Peru to be with his spouse, who lives there and whom he hadn’t seen for nearly a year.
Machin sent an internal memo to CPPIB staff acknowledging that he took a personal trip and was in Dubai for a number of reasons, some of which were “deeply personal”, a source told Reuters. The trip was supposed to be “very private” and Machin was disappointed it had become the focus of “expected criticism”, according to the source.
What is interesting is that the UAE ays it provides COVID-19 vaccinations to residents and citizens only, free of charge, and proof of residency is required. It was not immediately clear how Machin, a British national, secured the vaccine by traveling to Dubai.
