was $1 below the threshold that would require the payments to be reported publicly under salary-disclosure legislation in place when the contract was signed. In 2006 Ontario Universities became subject to Freedom of Information legislation, and the Hamilton Spectator newspaper applied to request release of the contract; the university fought for two years to prevent this release until it finally provided the newspaper with the contract in 2008. In a Hamilton Spectator article in March 2010, the paper stated that George considered attempting to hide the retirement bonus from disclosure to be "the most foolish thing he did in office". According to George, "I take full responsibility for the stupidity of converting my post-retirement allowances into a figure that was seen quite clearly as an attempt to avoid public disclosure." Publications George has a number of publications to his credit in his academic career, including two books: Government Subsidies and the Construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (New York : Arno Press, 1981) The Emergence of Industrial America: Strategic Factors in American Economic Growth Since 1870 (Albany : State University of New York Press, 1982) (hard cover), (paperback) References External links 1941 births 2017 deaths Canadian economists Canadian university and college chief executives Canadian university and college faculty deans McMaster University faculty Members of the Order of Canada Members of the Order of Ontario People from Toronto University of Toronto alumni