The Globe and Mail reports that it still operates a Russian bank that has been under Canadian sanctions since 2014 and a grain terminal.
The Globe also notes that the Canada Pension Plan and one for British Columbia employees are major investors in Viterra. It is controlled by Glencore of Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
An employee who tipped off the Globe said Viterra’s Ukrainian staff are angry that the company continued operations in Russia after the Feb. 24 invasion.
The risks attached to the decision to keep operating in Ukraine were made plain in June when Viterra’s sunflower seed oil terminal in the Black Sea port of Mykolaiv was struck by a Russian cruise missile. One Viterra employee was injured in the attack, which saw two of the company’s oil containers explode into flames, sending debris flying into the surrounding neighbourhood.
Viterra’s background includes the Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta wheat boards.
