TORONTO, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today is calling on the Ontario government to renegotiate the contract of Pan Am Games CEO Saad Rafi. Rafi’s current contract will see him collect $428,000 in severance when the games are complete.
“Ontario’s own labour laws make clear that fixed terms contracts do not require severance pay. The dates of the Pan Am Games are clear. Mr. Rafi knew full well when he took the job the beginning and end dates of his term of employment,” said CTF Ontario Director Christine Van Geyn. “This is an outrageous affront to taxpayers, and looks suspiciously like an attempt to shoe-horn an extra year’s salary into what is a nineteen month contract.”
Last year, former Pan Am Games CEO Ian Troop won the CTF Teddy Award for waste in government spending for his own gold plated severance package worth $500,000, along with his track record of questionable expense claims.
“Unless this contract is renegotiated, by the time the Games are over, taxpayers will have forked out nearly a million dollars in severance for CEOs who ran an event that went a billion dollars over budget,” continued Van Geyn. “Taxpayers deserve better value for money."
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