National Union Calls on Public Service Pension Investment Board to Pull Out of the Business of Long-Term CareA May 26 press release from the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) informs that National President Chris Aylward has called on the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) "to end its investment" in the long-term care provider Revera and instead "put the second largest Canadian network of for-profit long-term facilities under public ownership and control."
PSAC notes that it made the call for a change in ownership of Revera as a result of "mounting evidence that the incidence of deaths and illnesses attributable to COVID-19 is disproportionately large in private, for-profit long term care facilities. Also, a class action lawsuit by family members of deceased former residents of Revera Inc., has exposed the risk that comes with owning the long-term care chain." In a letter sent on May 11 to the pension fund's president and CEO Neil Cunningham, PSAC President Chris Aylward wrote: "Regrettably, in the midst of this unprecedented global pandemic, we find ourselves having to write to you again on behalf of the approximately 140,000 members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) who currently contribute to [the] Federal Public Service Pension Fund pursuant to the provisions of the Public Service Superannuation Act (PSSA). As we have advised previously, the objectives of our organization include a commitment to ensure that quality services are provided to the Canadian public and that the compensation and working conditions of employees are conducive to fulfilling this responsibility." Aylward then highlights the issue of "the mounting and overwhelming evidence of an extremely disproportionate incidence of COVID-19 related deaths and illnesses amongst residents and employees of Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities," which he notes, "raises a number of troubling concerns. In this regard, and as you are aware, Revera Inc., as a wholly owned subsidiary of PSP Investments, operates the second largest network of for-profit LTCs in Canada." "Our organization has previously had to intervene with both yourself and your predecessors regarding the operations and conduct of Revera Inc. towards both residents and staff. The responses provided by PSP Investments have, quite frankly, been inadequate and dismissive." With regard to media reports about a class action lawsuit initiated in Ontario by family members of deceased former residents of Revera facilities which cite the lack of proper sanitation protocols and testing procedures in the face of the pandemic, Aylward notes that PSAC "suspects the foregoing is the first of many forthcoming on the horizon." Stressing that 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, he adds that such practices "could also pose long-term consequences for the contributors and beneficiaries of the Federal Public Service Pension Plan." "As a consequence of all of the foregoing, and in the interests of the residents, employees and stakeholders in Revera," Aylward concludes, "the PSAC membership is requesting that your office initiate immediate and formal comprehensive consultations with federal and provincial governments for the transition of the management and control" of Revera's operations, "to the corresponding provincial health authorities" in jurisdictions where Revera operates. A copy of that letter was sent to Treasury Board of Canada President Jean-Yves Duclos, to whom PSP Investments reports. Note1. "Taking Advantage of the Most Vulnerable and Then Passing the Buck," Diane Johnston, TML Weekly, May 30, 2020 (With files from PSAC and TML Weekly)
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Revera is a
wholly-owned subsidiary of PSP Investments, a
federal Crown corporation[