Canada

US - BNP Paribas has created a specialised Americas Pensions Team, based in New York, to enable North American pension plans to gain access to the firm's global products.

CANADA/NZ - The C$99bn (US$85bn) Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan has bought Telecom New Zealand's Yellow Pages Group for NZ$2.24m (US$1.6bn).

CANADA - Private pension assets should not be lumped with the Canada Pension Plan (CCP), as the temptation to use funds for political aims would be too great, according to Steve Bonnar, principal at Towers Perrin.

CANADA - Many people want to work past retirement age and barriers preventing that must be removed, Bank of Canada governor David Dodge has claimed.

CANADA/US - The CPP Investment Board has invested US$300m in a joint property venture with TIAA-CREF Asset Management and a further $200m in direct real estate investments.

CANADA - OMERS has named Michael Nobrega, currently head of its infrastructure arm, as the fund's new CEO, replacing Paul Haggis who left the fund under controversial circumstances.

CANADA - Assets under management by Canadian pension funds topped C$1trn for the first time in 2006 mostly due to the recent strong performance of domestic and global equity markets.

CANADA - Pressure has increased on the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) staff due to the increased complexity of the Canadian pensions environment.

CANADA - The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec achieved net investment returns of C$17.8bn in 2006, but the fund's CEO warned of a dip in returns going forward.

CANADA - T. Rowe Price announced plans to open an institutional office in Toronto, to be headed by Watson Wyatt's Wendy Brodkin.