Our pensions must be divested from for-profit long-term care

We are deeply concerned that the Public Service Pension (PSP) is the sole owner of Revera Inc. and its long-term care and nursing homes.

81% of all deaths in Canada caused by COVID-19 have been in long-term care homes.

More than 9,650 staff members in long-term care homes have been infected by COVID-19 – over 10% of all COVID-19 cases in the country. Nine people who worked in long-term care facilities have died.

Rates of COVID infection and deaths are higher in privately owned long-term care homes.

Long-term care homes have larger COVID-19 outbreaks and more resident deaths from COVID-19 than non-profit and municipal homes. We believe that privately owned long-term care homes in Canada should be moved into the public sector.

PSP Investments should not be making profits for our pensions from long-term care homes.

PSP Investments should divest itself from Revera Inc. and negotiate to transfer administration and ownership to provincial governments in each province. This policy is supported by 2/3 of Canadians according to a recent Angus Reid poll.

We made our position clear to PSP Investments in a recent letter.

Read our letter

We are disappointed with the inadequate response from PSP Investments.

PSP Investments President and CEO, Neil Cunningham, has no plan to divest from Revera. He has no plan to move Revera to the public sector to protect seniors.

He believes for-profit, long-term care facilities are an appropriate investment for public servants’ pensions and has offered no explanation for the high COVID-19 related death rates in these homes.

Read the PSP Investments letter

The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, President of the Treasury Board, has also replied to our concerns stating that PSP Investments are at arms length to the federal government and its “investment decisions are its own.”

Read the Treasury Board letter

We are committed to protecting our pensions, and investment in for-profit healthcare works against these aims. We believe that we can create a better health and safety environment for everyone in Canada. This means dramatically improving the situation in our long-term care homes for residents and for employees.

We are waiting for responses to our letters sent to the provincial health ministers in all provinces with Revera homes.

Published on 14 October 2020

11 February 2019

PIPSC testifies before the Senate Human Rights Committee on working conditions in Canada’s penitentiaries

On February 6, 2019, PIPSC President Debi Daviau and Steward Éric Massey, Nurse at the Archambault Institution in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Quebec appeared before the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights to discuss the issues faced by our members at correctional institutions across Canada, in particular those of our health care services members (SH Group).

16 January 2019

Salary overpayments caused by Phoenix: the government finally takes a step in the right direction

The federal government has just announced that it is proposing new measures to help correct the wide-ranging issue of employees having to repay the gross instead of the net amount of a salary overpayment caused by system, administrative or clerical errors. This is particularly significant for PIPSC members: tens of thousands of you have experienced this problem first-hand thanks to the calamitous Phoenix system.

15 January 2019

2019: The Year Ahead

The New Year will see the Institute continue to be very active in defending the interests of its members, and I would like to take this opportunity to keep you informed of some of the key issues we will be facing over the next twelve months.

11 January 2019

Scott Brison’s departure is a loss for Canada’s public service

Like many Canadians, I was sorry to learn yesterday that Treasury Board President and Minister of Digital Government Scott Brison is leaving Cabinet and will not be seeking re-election later this year.

4 December 2018

More Reasons to Smile: Improvements to Member Dental Plan Benefits

While PIPSC, alongside our union partners at the National Joint Council Dental Care Board of Management, is still negotiating hard to improve the majority of our members’ dental plan (NJC Component 55555), I am very pleased to announce that we have nailed down the following significant improvemen

30 November 2018

Phoenix: Work on the Next Generation Human Resources and Pay System is Underway

Earlier this year, in its 2018 Budget, the federal government announced its intention to replace the catastrophic Phoenix pay system with a new, functional alternative.