Larke Newell is a freelance journalist who divides her time between Canada and Panama. Being very concerned about the state of her country, she writes articles to draw attention to current issues.All eyes should be firmly placed front and centre on the current situation between Mark Carney and our Canada Pension Plan (CPP). His furtive sleight of hand is in action once again. In short, his latest method of eventually transferring our hard-earned fund over to his bedfellow Brookfield has begun.The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Brookfield have launched a $50 billion “Maple Fund.” Their explanation is that it will be utilized to funnel capital into critical infrastructure and other industries across Canada. Be afraid. Be very afraid.In 1965, the CPP, introduced by the government, was initiated in order to assist people who did not have a retirement pension. Employees gave a certain percentage of their income to the fund, and the employers matched that figure. To be exact, 15% of income before taxes.This fund consists of our hard-earned money, and we are receiving less than half of what that fund should be paying out. Here is an interesting question: What happened to all the money that was collected from those who passed away before ever collecting one cent of it? And what about the interest? That in and of itself should be thoroughly investigated.Now we have had this Maple Fund shoved down our throats. Brookfield Asset Management and CPP Investments will each commit up to $25 billion. The newly created sovereign wealth fund, created to utilize privatization of large assets such as airports, appears eager to commence. Theoretically, the fund is expected to grow through reinvestment and what is called “asset recycling.” This involves leasing or selling a government-owned asset to private sector investors..Regardless of the origin of the initial investment dollars, privatized/government projects have been repeatedly shown not to work. Mismanagement. Graft. Inflated salaries. Low and inefficient quality of work. Lack of organization.Then there is the illustrious Mr. Carney’s track record: Jackpine mine. Canadian Natural Resources (CNR) has repeatedly asked to expand the oil sands mine by 150,000 barrels per day. Approvals were secured in 2013, but in March of that year CNR deferred the project due to carbon pricing, methane policy, and pipeline egress. Even after Carney’s dramatic announcement in July of a new Alberta-Ottawa energy agreement, by August, Jackpine, as well as other oilsands expansions, were still on hold waiting for, you guessed it, government binding agreements.This identical procedure follows each and every one of Carney’s much publicized grand promises. Perhaps some of these promised projects should be actually completed before promising hundreds more to investors. Mr. Carney is a master of the grand press conference, but then the projects simply disappear into the wind. Is this scenario going to be played out again and again, with the final result being our hard-earned pension money ending up in Carney’s personal Brookfield accounts?CPP Investments is required to operate separately from the government. Prime Ministers have no right to decide where our pension dollars go. Nor do cabinet ministers or any other government lackeys.Most importantly, there must be full transparency. Our fund held $863.6 billion in June of this year. Protect it, invest it prudently, and not into Brookfield. And, most importantly of all, keep it independent.Larke Newell is a freelance journalist who divides her time between Canada and Panama. Being very concerned about the state of her country, she writes articles to draw attention to current issues.
