Government fails to reign in university executive salaries: NDP

NDP MPP Peggy Sattler today asked the President of the Treasury Board to prohibit double-salary deals for university presidents, and called on the government to move forward with her Private Member’s Bill on postsecondary compensation. 

“Speaker, my question is to the President of the Treasury Board. Yesterday, former Justice Stephen Goudge released his review of presidential compensation practices at Western University. The review was conducted because of a double-salary payout that allowed the president to legally earn almost $1 million last year – a payout that Justice Goudge believes should no longer be permitted,” Sattler said.

In a report published Monday by Western University, Goudge stated the university’s board chair, Chirag Shah, approved a deal allowing the university’s president, Amit Chakma, to strengthen the terms of his pension before his tenure expired. Shah also single-handedly signed off on the deal without the approval of an executive committee.

“Speaker, this is yet another example of this government’s failure to reign in executive compensation. In the last few months, Ontarians learned about a $4 million wage package for the CEO of Hydro One, $1 million salaries for CCAC home care contractors, and $5.7 million bonuses for Pan Am Games executives.”

“Speaker, will the Minister act now to prohibit million dollar salaries in the postsecondary sector, by implementing the Private Member's Bill I introduced in April?”