NDP statement on Metrolinx CEO 35-per cent pay raise

TORONTO — NDP Transit critic Jessica Bell made the following statement in response to a Toronto Star report that Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster will receive a 35-per cent increase to his half-million-dollar salary:

"Ontarians are struggling to pay their bills right now, and for many, the cost of transit in our city has been expensive long before the pandemic.

Doug Ford should be lowering fares and improving service, not increasing the salary of a wealthy CEO by 35 per cent.

PSWs making minimum wage, who are risking their lives to care for our most vulnerable seniors in long-term care, have been begging for a raise, yet Doug Ford chooses to ignore them and beef up the salary of a wealthy senior executive.

Ontarians want and deserve a government that invests in transit improvement and affordable fares, not one that approves big salary hikes for wealthy CEOs."