Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Monday, September 29, 2014

Axed Pan-Am Games Execs To Get More Than $500,000 In Severance

TORONTO - The dismissal of two Pan Am Games executives will cost Ontario taxpayers more than half a million dollars.

Elaine Roper was let go as senior vice-president of human resources earlier this year and will receive a severance payment of $301,451.

Louise Lutgens was dismissed at the same time as senior vice-president of community and cultural affairs and will receive a severance payment of $271,180.91.

A spokeswoman for the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games said in a news release that the settlements follow terms in the former executives' contracts.

Other settlement costs include legal fees of $3,500 for each case, outplacement payments of $10,000 for each, deferred retirement benefits including an RRSP of $14,023.96 for Lutgens and $16,730 for Roper, as well as medical and health benefits through the severance period of about $3,500 for each.

The two executives were let go in March, when the games announced "streamlining" measures, and CEO Saad Rafi said Friday in a statement that those changes are going to mean that about $1.5 million that would have gone to compensation will instead go to frontline operations.

When former CEO Ian Troop was fired late last year, he got a cash severance payment of $478,200 plus $27,300 in retirement benefits. The dismissal also cost taxpayers $10,000 in outplacement payments, $3,500 in legal fees and medical benefits of $15,800.

At the time, the Pan Am board gave no reason for Troop's departure, but sources said there were key operational issues that were not being decided, creating a schism between the organizers and the Ontario government.

There was also an outcry from the opposition parties when Troop, who was paid $477,000 a year, billed taxpayers 91 cents for parking, $1.89 for a cup of tea and $8,561.19 for a Mexican hotel and cocktail party.

In July, TO2015 said it had spent $126.9 million, about 15.7 per cent of its total operations budget of $810 million. It also reported $23,136 in travel and hospital expenses since July 2013.

The Liberals have also been criticized for the cost of security for the Games, admitting that the original $113 million built into the Pan Am budget was just a best guess and it may climb above the latest estimate of $239 million.

TO2015 said it couldn't provide the latest figures, saying it was in the hands of the Pan/Parapan Am Games Integrated Security Unit.

The total budget for the Games, including security, transportation and the athletes village is currently estimated at $2.5 billion.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.ca/
Author: CP | By Allison Jones

No comments:

Post a Comment