Premier rips bonuses for OLG ‘fat cats’
Ford fumes as agency defends payouts based on last year’s results
A furious Premier Doug Ford is railing against Ontario Lottery and Gaming for awarding executive “fat cats” big bonuses in the middle of a pandemic that has closed casinos.
With some15,000 private-sector gambling employees laid off due to COVID-19, Ford, whose government floated publicly owned OLG a $500-million line of credit three months ago, expressed outrage at the “unacceptable” payouts.
“For all these big smart guys, they aren’t too frigging smart,” the premier thundered Friday.
“You’ve got to be sitting around the table and think, is this prudent to do this? And I understand the legal ramifications. I was told that the lawsuits will be flying everywhere. Well, save it. Maybe this year ... they should forgo a bonus. They’re making big bucks,” he said, noting departing OLG president Stephen Rigby earns $765,406 a year.
“There’s a couple thousand people that are struggling, can’t put food on the table, and they sit back (and on) the television and radio news and listen to these big wigs — the fat cats, I call them — all making a fortune.”
Ford said he has called Peter Deeb, whom he appointed as OLG chair, onto the carpet and would be having a word with Finance Minister Rod Phillips, whose ministry oversees the gambling agency.
“I’m going to be very, very clear about this. The finance minister knows about this. He’s going to deal with this issue. I talked to Mr. Deeb today and I told him how frustrated I am about this,” he said.
“Believe me, I don’t hold back on anyone. I don’t care if it’s my grandmother at the chair, they’re getting a tongue lashing, simple as that. It’s not fair to the 15,000 people out there.”
The provincial gambling giant — which, unlike private operators, has not been forced lay off staff — defended the bonuses that are based on last year’s results.
“OLG made performance-related payments to all eligible OLG employees for the year prior to the pandemic, consistent with OLG’s employment obligations,” said the corporation’s Tony Bitonti.
“These payments were earned for work completed last year and were paid out with board approval last week,” said Bitonti.
“Last year, OLG generated $2.3 billion for the province to help fund important priorities such as health care and education,” he noted.
However, Bitonti also confirmed that OLG’s compensation program is currently under review.
“Any compensation decisions for this year’s work will be subject to this review,” he added.
The agency would not disclose the amounts of the bonuses.
Green Leader Mike Schreiner said Ontarians deserve answers, not just tough talk from Ford.
“The premier thinks it is OK to give nothing more than a ‘tongue lashing’ to top OLG executives, or the ‘fat cats’ as he calls them, for their exorbitant bonus payouts while there are over 15,000 ... employees who haven’t worked in five months,” said Schreiner.
“It is also interesting that OLG also received a $500-million loan when the pandemic hit. In light of these bonus payouts, the premier should demand a full accounting of how that coveted government money was spent.”