2024 Canadian Pension Climate Report Card

Indigenous Rights Policies

As part of the 2024 Canadian Pension Climate Report Card, Shift identified the emissions reduction targets, additional climate targets, fossil fuel exclusions, fossil fuel investments, and Indigenous rights policies of 11 Canadian pension managers. Indigenous rights policies appear below.

Pension funds should adopt a transparent policy to respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples in investment decisions. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) explicitly requires Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for activities that may affect Indigenous Peoples or their territories. Furthermore, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action require Canadian investors and businesses to respect Indigenous governance and the rights of Indigenous Peoples to provide or deny consent. This is particularly relevant for resource extraction and land-use projects, as projects financed by pension funds can negatively impact Indigenous Peoples’ lands and waters.

The analysis of the extent to which Indigenous rights have been considered by pension managers in the investment process, including the existence of an Indigenous rights policy aligned with UNDRIP and FPIC is summarized in the table below (also available in pdf here).

The University Pension Plan (UPP) has made the most explicit disclosed commitment to Indigenous rights and reconciliation. Its updated proxy voting guidelines in early 2024 specify that the fund will support proposals calling for policies or disclosures related to Indigenous rights and reconciliation, and, in particular UNDRIP and the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action 92, which calls on the corporate sector to adopt UNDRIP as a reconciliation framework. 

The Investment Management Corporation of Ontario’s (IMCO) largest client, the Ontario Pension Board, states that it supports a transition to a net-zero economy informed by Indigenous perspectives that support Indigenous economic opportunities and encourages business practices that align with the principles of UNDRIP.

The British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), OMERS, OPTrust, and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP) include expectations of varying strength related to Indigenous communities and/or Indigenous rights in their proxy voting guidelines.

Shift finds no mention of Indigenous communities or Indigenous rights in the proxy voting guidelines of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP). And while AIMCo hired its first Manager of Indigenous Relations in 2023 and reported undertaking Progressive Aboriginal Relations certification in 2024, the investment manager, through its co-ownership of Coastal GasLink, has forced the construction of this fracked gas pipeline through unceded Indigenous territory without the consent of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs.

Information is current to December 31, 2024. View details and references in the pension fund analyses and in the pdf version of the table.

Pension Manager Policy
Policies that articulate some alignment with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
UPP Proxy Voting Policy specifies support for UNDRIP and the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action 92.

UPP will support shareholder proposals calling for policies or disclosures related to Indigenous rights and reconciliation, and in particular UNDRIP and the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action 92 [which calls on the corporate sector to adopt UNDRIP as a reconciliation framework]. UPP’s 2023 Annual Report reiterated a commitment to support such proposals.

Additionally, the fund’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Reconciliation Policy defines reconciliation as including “meaningful consultation” and "obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples” and the fund’s Organizational Sustainability Strategy includes an objective to establish and implement a 3-year Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Reconciliation roadmap.
OPTrust Proxy Voting Guidelines cite UNDRIP.

OPTrust’s Proxy Voting Guidelines state that the fund supports the “spirit and intent” of UNDRIP and that “We encourage corporations to adopt best practices to respect and incorporate these internationally recognized standards and support proposals that ask companies to adopt and/or comply with these frameworks.”
PSP Proxy Voting Principles cite free, prior and informed consent, but do not indicate how PSP will vote on shareholder proposals related to Indigenous rights.

As of its 2022 Annual Report, PSP stated that going forward it would “support shareholder proposals requesting that a company uphold the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples or create a policy or program to do so. We will also support proposals that ask companies to obtain and maintain free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous people (FPIC); develop, strengthen or implement an FPIC policy or guideline; or assess and report on the adoption of FPIC policies.”

But PSP’s Corporate Governance and Proxy Voting Principles appear to only partially fulfill this commitment. The Principles say that PSP “encourage[s] companies to adopt appropriate standards and as a minimum to support labour standards and human rights in all their operations. … Companies should strive to ensure that they maintain their long-term ‘social license to operate,’ gaining the support of communities who may be affected by their activities. This may include, where appropriate, the free, prior, and informed consent of indigenous peoples.” PSP’s Principles do not specifically indicate how the fund will vote on shareholder resolutions related to labour standards, human rights, or Indigenous consent.
Other policies
AIMCo No disclosed policy.

The Alberta investment manager reported in 2023 that it had hired its first Manager of Indigenous Relations. In 2024, AIMCo reported undertaking Progressive Aboriginal Relations certification, “reinforc[ing] AIMCo’s dedication to actively advancing truth and reconciliation.”

AIMCo is the co-owner of the Coastal GasLink pipeline, which has been forced through unceded Indigenous territory without the consent of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs.
BCI Proxy voting guidelines express support for "reconciliation and Indigenous inclusion".

Starting in 2023, BCI added a section to its Proxy Voting Guidelines addressing Indigenous rights and reconciliation. The guidelines state, “while we evaluate proposals on a case-by-case basis, we will generally support the disclosure or adoption of policies and practices related to reconciliation and Indigenous inclusion such as Indigenous community relations, hiring and retention practices of Indigenous employees, training on Indigenous reconciliation, and procurement from Indigenous-owned businesses.”

BCI reported in 2024 that it voted for two shareholder proposals at banks seeking reports on “the effectiveness of each bank’s practices in respecting internationally recognized standards for Indigenous Peoples” after the banks had withdrawn from the Equator Principles.
CDPQ No disclosed policy.

CDPQ reported in 2023 that it developed a new analysis grid that “targets issues to be considered when Indigenous (First Nations and Inuit) perspectives must be taken into account.” CDPQ did not provide an update on this tool in 2024.
CPPIB No disclosed policy.
HOOPP No disclosed policy.
IMCO No disclosed policy.

IMCO’s largest pension client, the Ontario Pension Board, stated in its 2021 and 2022 Annual Reports that it supports a net-zero transition that “is informed by Indigenous perspectives, supports Indigenous economic opportunities, and encourages business practices that align with the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples."
OMERS Proxy voting guidelines encourage consideration of impact on communities, including Indigenous peoples.

OMERS’ Proxy Voting Guidelines encourage companies to develop “policies and practices to address environmental and social matters that are relevant to their businesses, including… the impact of the corporation’s strategies and decisions on the communities, including indigenous peoples and other constituencies, directly affected by its products and operations.”

OMERS also reported in 2024 that its internal Inclusion and Diversity Statement was updated “to highlight OMERS’ commitment to advancing the principles of Indigenous Reconciliation as set forth in Call to Action 92 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.”
OTPP No disclosed policy.

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