Nothing quite prepares you for the stench wafting off Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec – CDPQ to you and me – Quebec’s bloated pension fund manager that’s supposed to safeguard the retirements of hardworking folks. Instead, it’s knee-deep in scandals that’d make a mob boss blush. This is a cropped piece about a fund so mired in controversy I could have written a book about it. These bastards manage over $400 billion, promising ethical investing while dipping their snouts into troughs of bribery, human rights abuses, and financial fuck-ups that leave taxpayers holding the bag.

First off, let’s get this straight: CDPQ are shareholders in Cummins Inc., scandal attracts scandal yet again. According to recent filings, CDPQ bumped up their stake by 31.7% in the last quarter, now clutching 32,159 shares worth a cool $10.08 million. That’s right – yet another company in the Cummins ecosystem peddling alternative ideas on ethical behaviour, where “sustainable” means sustaining profits over planet or people. It’s like they’re collecting dodgy investments like stamps, and Cummins fits right in with their portfolio of moral ambiguity.

But Cummins is just a side dish. The main course is CDPQ’s own litany of controversies, a smorgasbord of corruption and incompetence that’s been simmering for decades. And remember, this is just some of the controversies – the list isn’t exhaustive, because who knows what other skeletons are rattling in their vaults? I’ve dug through the muck, and here’s the unvarnished truth, served up with the outrage it deserves.

The Adani Bribery Fiasco: Greasing Palms in the Name of Green Energy

Picture this: three former CDPQ executives – Cyril Cabanes, Saurabh Agarwal, and Deepak Malhotra – indicted in the US for orchestrating a $265 million bribery scheme tied to Gautam Adani’s empire. These pricks allegedly funneled cash to Indian officials to snag solar contracts, all while CDPQ pumped over $1 billion into Adani-linked ventures like Azure Power. It’s the kind of sleaze that turns “renewable energy” into a punchline. They even tried to cover their arses by deleting emails, charged with FCPA violations and obstruction. Quebec’s pensioners’ money, folks – your grandma’s nest egg – propping up a billionaire’s bribery bonanza. CDPQ sold off some stakes amid the heat, but they still cling to other Adani holdings like a bad habit. Lawmakers are howling for transparency, but these suits just shrug and count their bonuses. It’s fucking criminal, and it exposes CDPQ as enablers in what media calls Canada’s “India nightmare.”

Betting on Brutality: Investments in Security Firms That Crush Souls

Then there’s CDPQ doubling down on Allied Universal, that US security behemoth accused of labour violations, beating the shit out of protesters, and running migrant detention hellholes. They poured cash into this outfit, which swallowed G4S – remember G4S? The pricks behind South Africa’s Mangaung prison scandal, where inmates were tortured and abused like animals. CDPQ’s ESG pledges? Bollocks – this is hypocrisy on steroids. Quebec politicians grilled them in hearings, demanding divestment, while human rights groups scream bloody murder. But no, CDPQ defends it as “long-term returns,” as if profiting off pain is just good business. It’s the gritty reality of pension funds: your retirement funded by cages and clubs. Outrageous? You bet your arse it is.

Complicit in Carnage: UN Fingers CDPQ in Gaza’s “Economy of Genocide”

Strap in for this one – a UN report accuses CDPQ of bankrolling over $14 billion in companies tied to Israeli settlements, arms deals, and Gaza operations. Weapons manufacturers, infrastructure firms enabling what critics call war crimes and genocide. Pro-Palestinian groups are up in arms, protesting in Quebec streets, demanding divestment. CDPQ? They deny it all, claiming compliance with international law, no encouragement of crimes here, guv’nor. But the blood’s on their hands, or at least their balance sheets. This isn’t abstract geopolitics; it’s real people suffering while CDPQ chases yields. In a world gone mad, this pension fund plays the villain, and it’s enough to make you spit out your coffee in rage.

Billions Down the Drain: Mismanagement and the Ciment McInnis Debacle

Flash back to the Ciment McInnis plant in Gaspésie – CDPQ sank fortunes into this white elephant, only to flog it to Brazilian interests at a $500 million loss. Blame lands on shoddy oversight and cronyism, with fingers pointing at execs like Christian Dubé, who later waltzed into a ministerial role. And don’t get me started on the $53 billion in opaque private funds they won’t disclose. Taxpayers fume as their pensions evaporate in market volatility, while CDPQ blames the economy. It’s the classic tale of hubris: big swings, bigger misses, and zero accountability. Fucking infuriating how these insulated elites gamble with public money like it’s Monopoly cash.

Auditor Slams and Conflicts: The 2003 Nepotism Nightmare

Way back in 2003, Quebec’s auditor general tore into CDPQ for conflicts of interest and nepotism, spotlighting exec Claude Gilbert’s self-serving deals. It sparked reforms, sure, but echoes in every subsequent scandal. This isn’t ancient history; it’s the rotten foundation propping up today’s mess. When your watchdog barks about insider bullshit, and you just tweak policies? That’s not fixing; that’s facade.

Silencing Whistleblowers and Shady Infrastructure Deals

The Quebec government tried to muzzle CDPQ whistleblowers amid billions in dodgy infrastructure gigs, like the REM light-rail system plagued by disruptions and overruns. Ties to SNC-Lavalin – that corruption-riddled firm from the 2019 federal scandal – only thicken the plot. Unions like CUPE decry it as accountability assassination. And let’s not forget opaque deals with tax havens, political favours, and execs like Pierre Fitzgibbon juggling conflicts like circus knives. It’s a web of secrecy that’d make a conspiracy theorist cream their jeans.

Insider Trading and Exec Sleaze: Sabia’s $2.2 Million Suit

Former CEO Michael Sabia? Sued by Quebec’s regulator for $2.2 million over “unfair, abusive, or fraudulent” stock trades for his family, undisclosed and dodgy as hell. Executive ethics at CDPQ? More like executive excess. This is the top brass feathering their nests while preaching prudence.

Fresh Fiascos: Northvolt Deaths, Innergex Rip-Offs, and Indian Fines

Lately, CDPQ’s $500 million-plus in Northvolt – that Swedish battery flop – comes under fire after workplace fatalities and cash haemorrhages. They stonewall on McKinsey reports, fuelling opacity claims. Then the $10 billion Innergex privatisation: overpriced at a 50% premium, smelling of fraud and insider favours via Brookfield and Fitzgibbon. Add a $32 million fine for a CDPQ-controlled Indian firm’s corruption, and you’ve got a pattern: international ventures gone pear-shaped, ethics optional.

The Broader Rot: Tax Havens, Political Cosiness, and Endless Excuses

CDPQ’s heavy on tax havens, political ties (hello, Mark Carney and Liberal chums), and corruption in deals like Quebec’s tramway or high-speed rail with SNC-Lavalin ghosts. It’s pay-for-play writ large, with X chatter labelling it systemic sleaze. They tout ethical investing, but actions scream otherwise.

This exposé scratches the surface – CDPQ’s controversies run deeper than a Montreal pothole. In a TCAP world, we’d call it out over a stiff drink: these fuckers need hauling over the coals, not more billions to squander. Quebec deserves better than this gritty grind of greed.

Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project

Shareholder Spotlight : A Look Through the Keyhole at Quebec’s Pension Behemoth – A Dive into CDPQ’s Murky Behaviour