home » Conference 2004

Pensions at Work Conference, 16 – 17 October 2004

Fairmont Winnipeg Hotel

This conference was an opportunity for university researchers and labour pension trustees and activists to engage in discussion on cutting-edge research issues. It was the first of three annual conferences of a research/education project on the socially responsible investment of union pension funds in the new economy, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. This small conference was structured to allow for full dialogue by all participants. Each research presentation was followed by a commentary from labour partners. The Canadian Labour Congress and all Federations of Labour are partners in this project.

Saturday, October 16, 2004

2:00 Conference Convenes

2:05 Overcoming a Double Life:
Making Academic Research Relevant to the Labour Movement
Opening remarks by Professor Jack Quarter, Pensions at Work, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto (OISE/UT)

2:25 Educating Unions on Workers’ Capital: The Manitoba Experiment
Manitoba Centre for Labour Capital, a presentation by Rob Hilliard, Manitoba Federation of Labour and Director of the Manitoba Centre for Labour Capital

2:45 The Effectiveness of Labour Representatives on Pension Funds
Moderator: Larry Brown, NUPGE

Research presentation:

Labour and Pension Funds: A Study of Labour Representatives on Pension Boards, Trustees and Committees by Professor Anil Verma and Johanna Weststar, Industrial Relations, University of Toronto

Labour commentary, Public Pension Reform: An International Perspective, by Bob Baldwin, Former Director of Social and Economic Policy, Canadian Labour Congress

4:30 Building Online Communities of Practice
Moderator: Jack Quarter, OISE/UT

Building Community—One Message at a Time, by Sherida Ryan and Professor Marilyn Laiken, OISE/UT, and Professor B.J. Richmond, Department of Education, York University

Labour commentary by Michel Lizée, Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique – Québec (FTQ)/Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec

Sunday, October 17, 2004

9:05 Measuring the Impact of Corporate Engagement
Moderator: Peter Chapman, SHARE

The Emergence of Non-Financial Rating Agencies in Corporate Engagement: A Review and Empirical Analysis of Two Databases, by Tessa Hebb and James Salo, Department of Geography, Oxford University

Labour commentary by: Daniel McCarthy, Carpenters Union, and François Rebello, Groupe Investissement Responsable, Québec

10:50 Labour Education, Pensions and Socially Responsible Investment
Moderator: Jo-Ann Hannah, CAW

Worker control, capital and pensions: An opportunity for dialogue with labour, by Isla Carmichael and Lisa Duggan, OISE/UT

Labour commentary, Before Corporate Governance, Louis Erlichman, IAMAW and Denise Gagnon, FTQ

The Fiduciary Obligation of Pension Trustees to Vote Proxies and Participate in Corporate Engagement

Acting Like Owners: Proxy Voting, Corporate Engagement and the Fiduciary Role of Pension Trustees, by Gil Yaron, Legal Director, SHARE

Labour commentary by Larry Brown, NUPGE

1:50 Applying Social Screens to Pension Investments
Moderator: Michael Jantzi, Michael Jantzi Research Associates Inc.

Research presentations:

In Pursuit of the Labour Practice Premium, by Professor David Wheeler and Jane Thomson, Schulich School of Business, York University

Pension Funds and Global Non-Financial Standards, by Ran Goel, Schulich School, York University

Labour commentary by Jordan Berger, OPSEU

3:35 The Financial and Collateral Impact of Economically Targeted Investment
Moderator: Arlene Wortsman

Research presentations:

The Financial and Collateral Impact of Economically Targeted Investments: What Impacts Matter Most?, by Edward Jackson, Carleton University

Developing a Social Accounting Framework for Economically Targeted Investments, by Laurie Mook, OISE/UT

Labour and business commentary by David Podmore, Concert Properties, and James Infantino, PSAC

5:00 Closing Address

Ken Georgetti, President, Canadian Labour Congress(CLC)

5:30 Conference Adjourns

[to top of page]