The green funds of Carney in Brookfield used the tax paradise of the Bermuda to attract investors

In his time in Brookfield Asset Management, the liberal leader Mark Carney has personally co-responsible for two investment funds dedicated to the transition to a net-zero carbon economy, for a total of $ 25 billion.

These funds have been recorded in the Bermuda, among other locations, allowing investors to benefit from significant tax advantages, according to information obtained from radio-henada.

The funds created while Carney was part of the Brookfield Board of Directors are the Brookfield Global Transition Fund ($ 15 billion) and the Brookfield Global Transition Fund II ($ 10 billion), launched respectively in 2021 and 2024.

According to Ontario Business Registry, the funds were recorded in Bermuda with the names of BGTF Bermuda GP Ltd. and BGTF II Bermuda GP Ltd.

In both cases, the provincial register indicates that the “government jurisdiction” for the companies is in the Bermuda.

Tax havens widely used

The legal structure of Brookfield funds is complex and includes many jurisdictions. However, experts say that their recording in Bermuda raises questions about the Carley approach to tax policy in Canada.

“All types of companies are doing it … but (Brookfield) are one of the major users of this type of scheme,” said Silas Xuereb, a political analyst with the Canadian group for fair taxation.

He says that he hopes that the next Federal Government imposes new limits on the use of tax havens, in particular by putting an end to bilateral agreements with countries such as Bermuda and strengthening international treaties to curb tax evasion.

Xuereb said that it may seem “ironic” that the environmental funds were recorded in a tax paradise.

But he said that Carney was understandably motivated by profit in the private sector and hopes that the liberal leader “has very different objectives now that it is in political power”.

Conservative deputy Michael Barrett said that Carney should explain the use of foreign entities by Brookfield.

“Mark Carney must explain to the Canadians why he used offshore accounts to avoid paying taxes for the funds he has created and managed. The Canadians deserve a leader who will put Canada first,” said Barrett in a written declaration.

On Wednesday, the leader of the ENP Jagmeet Singh criticized Carley and said that the liberal leader “chose to register (the funds) in another country to avoid paying these taxes. It is less money for health care. Less money for the elderly. It is less investments in our country”.

According to the press releases issued by Brookfield at the time, BGTF and BGTF II were “co-testa” by Carney. The other manager of the funds was Connor Teskey, CEO of Brookfield Renewable Power.

During a press conference in Windsor, Ontario, Wednesday morning, Carney said that the “structure of these funds is designed to benefit from the Canadian pension funds that invest in them”, citing the Caisse de dépôt et positioning du québec And the pension plan of the teachers of the Honetive.

“I understand how the world works and how these structures work,” said Carney.

Taxes are paid in Canada, added Carney, because the “flow through funds goes to the Canadian entities that pay taxes appropriately, unlike the taxes paid several times before they arrive there”.

A spokesperson for the liberal party refused to answer questions about Carney’s activities in Brookfield or if he had goods in tax havens before being placed in blind trust.

“Carryy worked for Brookfield from August 2020 to January 2025 and has not been involved with the company since then. Any questions specifically linked to Brookfield should be sent to the company,” said the spokesperson, Mohammad Hussain.

In a 2024 declaration, Carney said that “Brookfield’s global transition fund’s strategy aims to provide financial returns adequate to the risk for investors and to have significant environmental impacts for people and the planet”.

Located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, Bermuda is among the largest tax haven in the world. Investments from Canada to the country increased from $ 10 billion in 2011 to over $ 130 billion in 2023.

The question of tax havens often arouse passions in federal policy. Former Prime Minister Paul Martin was in particular targeted by the conservatives for use by his navigation company of tax havens.

In a report published in 2023, the Center for International Corporate Tax Responsibility and the Research have criticized Brookfield’s tax policies, including the use of entities in the Bermuda.

The company replied that it has respected all the tax rules, explaining that the company manages large infrastructure companies that pay taxes in the jurisdiction in which they are located.

“We would also notice that jurisdictions all over the world have substantially different tax rates and offer important tax incentives for investments, for example in sectors such as renewable energy in which Brookfield is a recognized global leader,” said the company.

In a press release at the beginning of this month, the NDP declared that the use of Brookfield of tax havens led to the loss of billions of taxes on companies.

In a statement, the NDP deputy Niki Ashton invited Carney to “become clean on his role in Brookfield’s exploitation practices to dodge taxes in Canada while the Canadians worked.”