Doug Ford Makes Commitment to Fire Hydro One’s $6-Million Man

Today, Ontario PC Leader Doug Ford announced his intention to fire the current CEO, as well as the entire Board, of Hydro One, and put an end to the Liberal practice of making millionaires on the backs of taxpayers, should the Ontario PCs form government after June 7.  

“It is morally indefensible, at a time when seniors are fearful of heating their own homes, when businesses are closing down and good jobs are moving out of our province, and when taxpayers are facing financial hardships – all due to skyrocketing hydro bills – that this Board and this CEO are laughing themselves to the bank,” said Ford.

Ford’s announcement came shortly after the release of a Fraser Institute collection of research essays confirming how the Wynne Liberal hydro mess has had a devastating impact on families and jobs including:

• Residential electricity costs increased 71 per cent between 2008 and 2016, more than double the national average increase of 34 per cent.
• In 2016, Toronto residents paid, on average, $60 more a month for electricity than the average Canadian.
• Large industrial users in Toronto saw electricity prices jump 46 per cent between 2010 and 2016, while the average increase in electricity costs for the rest of Canada was only 14 percent for large industrial users.
• Ontario’s high electricity prices reduced employment in manufacturing by some 75,000 jobs between 2008 and 2015.

Despite presiding over this unprecedented rip-off, the CEO of Hydro One was handsomely rewarded with a $4.5 million salary, and $1.7 million performance raise in 2017, and now earns a total of $6.2 million a year.

“When families and seniors in Ontario are forced to choose between heating and eating, we have Liberal insiders and their friends getting rich on the backs of those struggling to make ends meet,” Ford continued. “This has got to stop.”

Under the Liberals’ watch, since 2003, Ontario residents have seen their hydro bills triple, adding up to more than $1,000 a year for the average Ontario family. 

“If the PCs are elected on June 7, and upon becoming Premier, my first act will be to use every tool available to the Government of Ontario remove Kathleen Wynne’s $6 Million dollar man and the entire Board of Hydro One, and restore accountability and trust for the people of Ontario,” concluded Ford.