NDP calls on CPP to dump Palantir
Investment board bought into U.S. firm dealing in data, surveillance tools
The federal New Democrats are calling on the Canada Pension Plan’s board to reconsider its stake in Palantir, a U.S. surveillance and big data company that assisted the Trump administration with its immigration crackdowns.
Palantir sells itself as a big data analytics company, marketing its products to business, police and intelligence agencies, and governments.
But the company has come under heavy criticism for its surveillance capabilities, with Amnesty International warning in September that Palantir risks “contributing to serious human rights violations” by facilitating the Trump administration’s crackdown on migrants.
That same month, the Canada Pension Plan’s Investment Board (CPPIB) became Palantir’s second-largest institutional shareholder, buying up shares worth $244 million.
“This has made Canadian pension savings complicit in the use of technologies that raise serious questions of ethical and human rights violations,” wrote NDP ethics critic Charlie Angus in a Dec. 1 letter to CPPIB president Mark Machin.
“I ask that you seriously reconsider the purchase of these stocks, and that you divest immediately into companies that take human rights and human lives seriously.”
The CPPIB declined to comment when contacted by the Star.
“It is our good practice, in the interests of the fund, to not provide detailed comment on specific public companies out of the 10,000 investible universe that we hold,” wrote Darryl Konynenbelt, a spokesperson for the fund, in a statement. Palantir also declined to comment.
The company was created by Peter Thiel, the billionaire cofounder of PayPal and a significant force in Silicon Valley. Named after magical seeing stones in the “Lord of the Rings” series, Palantir specializes in big data analytics, helping clients find patterns in massive amounts of information.
Amnesty International reported in September that Palantir’s products were used by Department of Homeland Security immigration officials to find, detain and deport undocumented migrants. The company is also central to the Trump administration’s plans to roll out a COVID-19 vaccine.
David McNaughton, Canada’s former ambassador to the U.S. and a close adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, was hired to assist Palantir’s Canadian operations. In September, the federal ethics commissioner ruled McNaughton broke conflict of interest laws by discussing Palantir’s potential to respond to COVID-19 with senior cabinet ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.
The NDP is pushing for legislative changes to how the CPPIB looks at investing, calling for the board to further consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. The changes are contained in a private members bill put forward by Alistair MacGregor, the NDP MP for Cowichan-MalahatLangford.
If passed, Bill C-231 would stipulate that shares can’t be held in companies that have acted contrary to ethical business practices or violated human, labour or environmental rights.