In deciding whether or not to support a shareholder proposal calling for full disclosure of Enbridge’s scope 3 emissions on May 8th, Canada’s largest pension funds need look no further than their own policies, reports or membership in Climate Engagement Canada.

On May 8th, Enbridge is holding its Annual General Meeting (AGM), where the shareholders and executives of Canada’s largest fossil fuel pipeline company will gather to make key decisions about the coming year. Shareholders will be voting on a proposal asking the company to “annually disclose all of its scope 3 emissions using accepted definitions and in absolute terms.”

For Canada’s pension sector, voting for the scope 3 emissions proposal at Enbridge’s AGM should be a no-brainer.

On November 5, Alberta's Finance Minister wrote in the Montreal Gazette that the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec's (CDPQ) decision to eliminate oil and gas stocks from its portfolio will affect the return on Quebecers' collective savings. This is strange, to say the least. The Sortons la Caisse du carbone coalition has shown that the Caisse's 50 largest oil and gas stocks have had a negative return in seven of the last ten years.

The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec’s (CDPQ) move to exclude investments in oil producers from its portfolio by the end of 2022 is a welcome and significant move that improves the CDPQ’s position as a climate leader among Canada’s major financial institutions. It is amazing that it took until 2021 for a Canadian pension fund to finally recognize that protecting our retirement savings from the worsening climate crisis inevitably requires abandoning market exposure to high-risk fossil fuels.