Letter from Doug Ford to Premier Wynne RE: Hydro One
Dear Premier Kathleen Wynne,
While you have been holding campaign style media availabilities on the taxpayer dime, I have been criss-crossing the province and meeting directly with the people. I sit down with young families, small-business owners, and seniors, and I ask them, “what’s the biggest thing the government could do to make your life easier.”
The answer every single time is “clean up the Liberal hydro mess.”
I hear heartbreaking stories about how folks are struggling under your government. There are families who are being forced to choose between heating and eating, seniors who are afraid to turn their heaters on in the middle of winter, and long-time business owners who have been forced to close their doors and lay-off staff who are like family to them because of skyrocketing rates.
Meanwhile, we read in the news about insider executives at Hydro One getting rich at their expense. The CEO at Hydro One made $6.2 million last year, not to mention the lofty $14.2 million the top executives paid themselves.
Which brings me to the point of my letter today. I was disgusted to read on the front page of the Globe and Mail this morning that in secret, behind closed doors, the board of Hydro One voted to increase severance packages for the CEO and executives at Hydro One.
They saw the polling numbers and knew that the people of Ontario were ready for change, and thought they’d pull the fast one on the people of Ontario – one last taste at the trough.
The CEO of Hydro One is already your six-million-dollar man, but this secret vote means that he now can become the ten-million-dollar man.
This is unacceptable. The CEO of Hydro One is now holding Ontario taxpayers hostage. If the CEO of Hydro One truly cared about the people of Ontario he’d do the right thing and resign.
When you sold off Hydro One in a fire sale, you assured the people of Ontario that we would retain control of the board. You assured the people of Ontario that we would have a voice.
Which is why I am asking for you to answer the following questions:
- Did the Liberal government give Hydro One direction to change the severance packages?
- When did you first learn about the changes to the severance packages for the executives at Hydro One?
- When you first learned about these changes what action did you take to ensure the interests of the people of Ontario were represented?
- Will you use Ontario’s leverage as the single largest shareholder at 47 per cent to change these severance packages?
- Do you believe the Board of Hydro One should resign?
The people of Ontario deserve answers. We look forward to hearing them.
Regards,
Doug Ford
Leader of the Ontario PC Party