News Archive Article

Councillors quit hydro board

MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO - Three Mississauga councillors who sit on the board of the city's hydro utility have resigned after their extra salaries were slashed by city council.

In a statement, Councillors Nando Iannicca, Carmen Corbasson and Sue McFadden said they had no choice but to resign, accusing fellow councillors of "crass politics, hypocrisy and cowardice" for cutting their pay.

"The personal attacks by council became an issue of confidence, so we did the honourable thing and resigned," the statement said.

It came one day after the board of Enersource, based on legal advice, decided that only Mississauga, which owns 90 per cent of the utility, and minority shareholder Borealis could determine salaries, not board members themselves.

The saga began in April, when council slashed the salaries of its eight appointees to the 10-member board. Earning $32,000 to $45,000 a year, Enersource's board members had been among the highest paid at a GTA municipal utility. Their pay was slashed by council to $15,000; the chair's pay from $75,000 to $45,000 a year.

Following a quiet rebellion by the three councillors on the board, city council eliminated their salaries for Enersource service altogether, except for a $500 stipend to attend committee meetings.

Borealis had initially vetoed the pay cuts, leading to a tense standoff between the shareholders.

But late in October it agreed to the council-ordered cuts.

Iannicca, Corbasson and McFadden refused to agree to the council-ordered cuts and instead joined the board in seeking the opinion of an outside consultant on their salaries. Just last month, the three refused to sign an "irrevocable" agreement to accept the reduced compensation.

That's when council voted 5-3 to cut their pay (though not of the citizen appointees) down to nothing.

Mayor Hazel McCallion, who also sits on the board, deftly sidestepped criticism by giving up her board salary entirely when the pay issue became controversial earlier this year.

Related News

indonesia coal

Energy Ministry may lower coal production target as Chinese demand falls

JAKARTA - The Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Ministry is considering lowering the coal production target this year as demand from China has shown a significant decline since the start of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the country late last year, a senior ministry official has said.

The ministry’s coal and mineral director general Bambang Gatot Ariyono said in Jakarta on March 12 that the decline in the demand had also caused a sharp drop in coal prices on the world market, which could cause the country’s miners to reduce their production.

The 2020 minerals and coal mining program and…

READ MORE

BC Hydro rebate and B.C. Affordability Credit coming as David Eby sworn in as premier

READ MORE

For Hydro-Québec, selling to the United States means reinventing itself

READ MORE

gaza power plant

Gaza’s sole electricity plant shuts down after running out of fuel

READ MORE

hydro one logo

Hydro One wants to spend another $6-million to redesign bills

READ MORE