There’s a little-known scandal that cost Canadians $500 million in CPP fund money, involving the rise and fall of a European long-term care provider called Orpea (now known as EMEIS). CPP Investments was the largest shareholder, and had employees on the board of directors, including the audit committee, yet still failed to detect any of the embezzlement, fraud, and elder abuse that was taking place throughout the company’s facilities.After French investigative journalist Victor Castanet published a book on the scandal titled “Les Fossoyeurs” (The Gravediggers), the company collapsed and was eventually bailed out by the French government, causing CPP Investments to sell at a near-total loss. To this day, media coverage of this scandal is nearly non-existent in Canada, and CPP Investments has not addressed what went wrong.Joining me on the Millennial Moron Podcast to discuss this case, as well as other Canadian pension funds and their private equity style activities internationally, is Jason Ward, principal analyst and founder of CICTAR, the Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research.Sources:CPPIB’s Orpea Debaclehttps://cictar.org/all-research/care/cppibReports on Australian port investments by Canadian pension fundshttps://cictar.org/all-research/dp-world-taxes-australiahttps://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/01/dp-world-port-operator-australia-zero-taxCountry-by-country reportinghttps://www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/19/opinion/corporate-canada-tax-transparency CICTARhttps://cictar.org/ Support MillennnialMoron:Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/MillennialMoron Buy Me a Coffeewww.buymeacoffee.com/millennialmoron
You’ve probably heard about Brookfield’s use of tax havens in countries like Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, especially since Mark Carney became Prime Minister of Canada. But what exactly are these tax havens being used for?
Livi Gerbase from the Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research (CICTAR) joins Millennial Moron to discuss ways that Brookfield (and other Canadian pension fund managers) is leveraging tax havens and tax-advantaged programs to privatize public utilities in Latin America, with case studies of Isagen in Colombia and BRK Ambiental in Brazil.
We discuss the decline in capital investment into infrastructure, increases in prices to consumers, stagnant wages for workers, and the massive increase in debt charges to these former public utilities - which are potentially being used as a profit-shifting scheme to avoid paying taxes to the local governments where these utilities are located.
Paper on Isagen in Colombia
https://cictar.org/all-research/isagen/eng
Paper on BRK Ambiental and Privatization of Water Services
https://cictar.org/all-research/brk-ambiental-en
Livi Gerbase on X
CICTAR
Pension Funds Fuel Land Grabs in Brazil (GRAIN):
https://grain.org/en/article/5575-pension-funds-fuel-land-grabs-in-brazil
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Today, I’m joined by Richard Coffin, a.k.a. The Plain Bagel, to talk about policies proposed in the upcoming Canadian election, including income tax cuts, TFSAs, housing solutions and more!
Check out The Plain Bagel on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@ThePlainBagel
The Canadian Housing Crisis Explained:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y0SY6OoKV8
Millennial Moron on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@MillennialMoron
What is R-CG zoning in Calgary? Calgary is considering a plan to increase the base residential zone in the city as part of the affordable housing plan, which has been described as “blanket upzoning”. R-CG would allow the construction of multiplexes and row houses by default anywhere in the city of Calgary. What impact will this have on housing affordability, parking, traffic, utilities, infrastructure and neighbourhood character?
All these questions and more are answered on today’s Millennial Moron Podcast, where I’m joined by Calgary Ward 8 Councillor Courtney Walcott, Director of City and Regional Planning Josh White, and Co-Founder of More Neighbours Calgary Kathryn Davies.
Slides of charts/data:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1EG_yZ5zv4I0hOMtDNpfFiTEjmv-_5qRVL_y6kxsxdlE/edit?usp=sharing
Info sessions and feedback forms for rezoning in Calgary:
https://engage.calgary.ca/rezoningforhousing
More Neighbours Calgary:
https://www.moreneighbourscalgary.ca/
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Sara and Stephen Cole, also known as Manor & Maker on social media, sold their home in Fergus, Ontario and purchased a chateau in France. They now run a vlog documenting their experience with owning, maintaining, and renovating the property, as well as hosting events ranging from a peaceful writer's retreat to a Halloween rave.
We talk about some of the details of chateau ownership, living abroad as an expat, challenges of running a business with minimal access to credit, and the highs and lows of chasing your dream lifestyle.
For more Manor & Maker:
https://www.manorandmaker.com/
Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/c/manorandmaker
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/manorandmaker/
Tiktok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@manorandmaker
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Today I'm interviewing Michelle Farrugia, mortgage broker and host of the Cognitive Capital Podcast, about the details and potential pitfalls of investing in preconstruction homes, including a case study of a preconstruction speculator who planned on making a quick six-figure profit, but now may be facing a lawsuit and losses upwards of half a million dollars.
We also discuss the importance of understanding your investments, the appropriate use of leverage, and ways to improve the preconstruction buying process to reduce the potential for fraud.
Michelle’s original video:
https://www.tiktok.com/@mlfarrugia/video/7282461412608249093
Cognitive Capital:
Cognitive Capital Podcast on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@Cognitive.Capital/
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Support MillennnialMoron:
Patreon:
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www.buymeacoffee.com/millennialmoron
Outro music by david blicher from Pixabay
