Tories defend Ontario Power salaries

Toronto Sun - June 6, 2002
By Alan Findlay

Ontario Energy Minister Chris Stockwell defended multi-million dollar executive salaries at Ontario Power Generation yesterday, one day after firing the board of its sister company over pricey executive contracts.

OPG president and CEO Ron Osborne is set to collect the same $2.2 million this year that Hydro One's president and CEO Eleanor Clitheroe made last year. OPG executive vice-president Eugene Preston also made $2.2 million last year.

Stockwell moved to fire Hydro One's board after it refused to scale back salaries, severance packages, pensions and other compensation. The board resigned instead.

When asked by reporters and opposition critics about similar salaries at OPG, Stockwell said executives there don't have the $12.5-million severance packages and six-figure pensions lined up at Hydro One.

"I give full support to Mr. Osborne," said Stockwell. "I think he's done a good job."

Stockwell is expected to announce a new board of directors for Hydro One today that will include former NDP premier Bob Rae, former Liberal cabinet minister Murray Elston and Darcy McKeough, who served in the Bill Davis government, according to CTV News.

Reached at home last night, Rae would not confirm his appointment.

The new board will renegotiate the salaries and compensation of Clitheroe and four of her vice-presidents.

One former Hydro One board member who helped set the old packages said the government was often updated on changes to executive salaries. Dona Harvey said the government even altered the compensation by yanking a provision for stock options prior to details being made public.

"Certainly, we had nothing to hide," Harvey said.

Hydro One and OPG are publicly owned successor companies of the former Ontario Hydro. Hydro One is expected to undergo some degree of privatization in a matter of months.

Opposition members accused the Tories of cutting the salaries out of embarrassment once they became public. Liberal MPP Sean Conway was ejected from the legislature after suggesting the government was lying about its role.

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