As The Toronto Star's Ian Urquhart reported on 9 December 2006, “terms like ‘scandalous,’ ‘astonishing fiscal and moral latitude’…and ‘a horror show,’” were used to describe the affairs of Tom Parkinson, the now former CEO of Hydro One.
The story given to Ontarians was that Parkinson, the highest-paid member of the Ontario public service, had misused a company helicopter for trips to his cottage and had swindled approximately $45,000 in expenses to his secretary’s corporate credit card.
These allegations were later untangled by the National Post’s Tom Adams on 21 December 2006:
The (Auditor) report's criticism, in fact, was aimed not at Parkinson-- who had merely followed company procedures -- but at what the auditor viewed as a poor management procedure. The press also misread the report by thinking that most of the $50,000 involved personal expenses. In fact, most related to office moving and furniture due to relocation, office supplies, business meeting expenses, and cell phone bills -- the only personal item was $11,000 for Parkinson's last ticket to see his mother. That $11,000, moreover, was taxable and tracked routinely by the payroll process to include on Parkinson's T4.
The Star article makes the case that, while clearer guidelines on the use of public funds is essential, “a puritanical crusade against all perks, gifts, expenses and purchase cards in the public sector would cause more problems than it would solve.”
