Queen’s Park – During question period Tuesday, NDP Energy Critic Peter Tabuns demanded that Premier Kathleen Wynne explain why she thinks families who can’t afford their skyrocketing hydro bills should pay for a 100 per cent raise for the Ontario Power Generation (OPG) CEO, who is now set to receive a whopping $3.8 million salary.
“How does the premier explain to families who may lose their hydro why she thinks they should pay for a 100 per cent salary increase for the OPG CEO?” said Tabuns.
Late last week, the Wynne government quietly announced that it had approved a massive increase in the salary ranges for OPG executives. The top salary of the OPG CEO is now $3.8 million, which is double his current salary, already the highest on the Sunshine List.
Meanwhile, starting on May 1, hydro disconnections will start again for ratepayers who have been unable to pay their hydro bills. “It is not surprising that a premier who thinks ratepayers should pay twice as much for OPG executives, also thinks ratepayers should pay twice as much for hydro,” said Tabuns.
“The connection between skyrocketing hydro CEO salaries and skyrocketing hydro disconnections could not be clearer. It speaks to the values of her government, which treats hydro ratepayers as cash cows for executives, private financiers and her other friends, while dismissing the struggles of ordinary ratepayers until her party has been backed into a political corner.
“Why does the premier always put the interests of the executive class ahead of the needs of ordinary Ontario families?”