In all fairness, and being completely objective..He may be expecting the share price to go up.
By excercising now, the intrinsic value is taxed as ordinary income, while any gain he reports
from further appreciation in the stock price will be taxed as capital gains when he sells.
Capital gains incur far less taxes than ordinary income.
Capital gains are the least-taxed form of income in Canada.
This, along with the dividend tax credit, provide an incentive for investing in Canadian companies.