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Monthly meeting for the constituency association (CA) of Nanaimo-North Cowichan.
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Public money, apparently there's nothing easier to spend
Green Party of BC calls for a review of escalating executive and board salaries and golden severance packages
May 4, 2010, Vancouver, BC –– “We have been sold a bill of goods,” said Green Party of BC Leader Jane Sterk. “The BC Liberals have maintained that to attract the brightest and the ablest, the government; crown corporations and arms length government entities like health authorities must pay salaries that are equivalent to the private sector without ever disclosing how they get their comparative numbers. All we get in return is escalating costs and questionable return for the money paid out although it does seem to provide some pretty cushy jobs for Liberal supporters.
“Will McMartin of the Tyee has calculated that it will have cost BC taxpayers $65 million to hive off and now to return the BC Transmission Corp to BC Hydro. That’s money that has simply gone down the drain to pay for luxury offices and excessive salaries for executives and board members, all of which were duplicates of BC Hydro. This is just one example of waste in the system and money being misspent.
“The Green Party believes its time to rethink executive and board compensation and we challenge the assumption that competent people won’t work willingly for the public sector for a reasonable salary that is less that large multinational companies are able to pay. Executive salaries between half a million and a million dollars are excessive for taxpayers to pay. It illustrates that this government is out of touch with the expectations of the voters. And when you factor in the long term costs of pensions and severance packages to cover the apparent revolving door to the executive suite and the board table, it’s clear we need to set policy related to executive salaries, board compensation and qualifications.
“The Green Party of BC has long called for an arms length agency that is free from partisan influence to handle appointments to public and crown corporation boards. These jobs should not be a reward to the financial supporters of the party in power. They should go to well qualified people through a competitive recruitment process.
“But it’s clear we need to go beyond this. We need to determine what constitutes fair compensation for board members and executives and we need to do so in a way that reflects that this is not the private sector and the recommendations should reflect that,” concluded Sterk.