Former Hydro boss paid $880K for working 1½ months in 2024 until her ouster
U of M biz instructor says 'nothing scandalous here,' but northern chief calls it 'a slap in the face'
The former boss of Manitoba Hydro was paid nearly $900,000 in compensation in 2024, despite only working 1½ months before her dismissal from the Crown corporation.
The high pay earned by Jay Grewal, revealed to be $881,177.94 according to Hydro's annual compensation disclosures this week, suggests the utility bought out the remainder of her contract, according to a University of Manitoba business instructor who teaches a compensation course.
Grewal's pay in 2024 — more than doubling the compensation of any other Hydro employee — is a 61 per cent increase from the $546,698.12 she earned in 2023 for a full year as president and chief executive officer.
"My speculation is that she got every cent owed on the contract," the U of M's Sean MacDonald said.
For senior managers, specifically those running major energy companies, "the market dictates that if you want someone of considerable ability," the compensation must reflect that, he said.
MacDonald said he understands the high pay of departed taxpayer-funded executives can spark public outrage, but it is a necessary price to pay that accounts for their risk in assuming a job they could lose at the government's whim instead of matters related to conduct or performance.
Public must pay for top CEOs
"The public really needs to understand that to attract and retain quality people, to ensure our institutions and our major organizations funded by the taxpayer are well-managed, you're going to have to pay a lot for it," said MacDonald.
Hefty buyouts are part of that equation, he said.
"There's nothing scandalous here."
Manitoba Hydro dismissed Grewal on Feb. 13, 2024, two weeks after the NDP cabinet minister in charge of the corporation slammed her desire to purchase wind power from private sources.
At the time, Hydro's board chair used the term "parting ways" to describe Grewal's departure.
A former executive with Capstone Mining, B.C. Hydro and CIBC World Markets, Grewal took over Manitoba Hydro in February 2019 after a national hiring search.
The NDP government was elected in the fall of 2023. There were no signs of rancour between the government and Grewal until Jan. 30, 2024, when she said in a speech that Hydro may need new sources of power by 2029 — and repeated the corporation's plans, first made in 2023 under the former PC government, to buy that electricity from private wind-energy companies.
Nonetheless, Adrien Sala, the NDP government's minister responsible for Hydro, criticized Grewal's statements in the days that followed and rejected the notion Hydro would purchase power from private sources.
He later disputed that this disagreement resulted in the termination of Grewal's contract.
Since then, Allan Danroth has been tapped as Hydro's new CEO, and the province has announced plans to build new wind farms — but with Indigenous partners rather than private ones.
Danroth started his position in August 2024. The utility's compensation report says he pocketed $192,454.60 for the year.
Under Manitoba's Public Sector Compensation Disclosure Act, government entities must each year disclose the salary of every public sector employee making more than $85,000. The total pay includes overtime, retirement/severance pay, lump sum payments, vacation payouts and benefits.
Hydro didn't provide a breakdown of Grewal's compensation or reveal the duration of her contract, but said she was "paid out in accordance with the terms of the contract she had signed with the board at that time." She didn't receive any severance, Hydro spokesperson Peter Chura added.
Grewal didn't respond to a request for comment Tuesday through LinkedIn.
Troy Craig, the head of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2034, the union representing Hydro's electrical workers, said in a text message he suspects the payout terms of Grewal's contract would be similar to previous executives.
He added he's happy with the working relationship he currently has with Danroth and Hydro's chief operating officer, Hal Turner, who served as interim CEO after Grewal's departure.
MacDonald said the compensation for Manitoba Hydro's CEO is significantly less than what the head of a major privately-run energy company would earn. They'd likely make "millions and millions" of dollars annually, alongside a suite of benefits ranging from bonuses to stocks and retirement options.
CEO's payout a 'slap in the face,' says Northern Manitoba First Nation Chief
While MacDonald says Grewal's contract buyout is relatively standard, the chief of a northern Manitoba First Nation says the move is a "slap in the face" for Indigenous communities that have signed agreements with Manitoba Hydro.
Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias said he was "disgusted" and "deeply offended" to see Hydro Manitoba honour the CEO's contract, while his First Nation is still waiting for the Crown corporation to fulfil promises laid out in the Northern Flood Agreement nearly 50 years since it was first signed.
"They pick and choose what they want to honour. They're not honouring ours, but they're willing to honour hers," Monias told CBC News in an interview Wednesday night.
"They've shown that they can honour an agreement, so why not honour ours?"
Monias said Grewal had a "non-existent" relationship with First Nations and largely refused to meet with communities signed to the NFA. He alleged Grewal breached the agreement during her tenure as CEO.
"To us the Northern Flood Agreement is not mere words, it's supposed to be about real compensation, true partnership and development," Monias said.
Monias said Pimicikamak is the only First Nation still signed to the NFA, as other signatories signed later implementation agreements.
The NFA includes a community development plan that is intended to eradicate mass poverty and unemployment in First Nations communities signed to the agreement.
"As long as there's mass poverty, they should be helping us and investing in our community, investing in our people, investing in our resources for both of us to jointly benefit," Monias said.
"This is a slap in the face for us to see this happen," he said.
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With files from Lauren Scott