Bond Kept on Hot Seat Over Pay at B.C. Ferries
Transportation Minister Shirley Bond still won’t commit to improved transparency at B.C. Ferries despite a report criticizing the company’s executive pay packages and lack of accountability.
Under questioning in the legislature yesterday, Bond would only say that government will consider each of the comptroller general’s recommendations — including that B.C. Ferries be subject to Freedom of Information law.
“We asked the comptroller general for advice, and we intend to review every recommendation,” she said.
The Opposition, however, accused Bond of “stalling” and blamed the lack of transparency at B.C. Ferries for the fact David Hahn earned $1 million last year — more than double the amount paid top executives at larger public sector bodies.
“It was this premier that gave B.C. Ferries a green light to excessively spend and to operate in secret by exempting them from FOI,” NDP critic Gary Coons said. “This premier created this B.C. Ferries gone wild with no accountability and no scrutiny.”
The Liberal government shielded B.C. Ferries from freedom of information law six years ago when the company switched from a Crown to a quasi-private corporation. As a result, executive salaries remained a secret — even though taxpayers subsidize the company by more than $100 million a year.
Hahn’s compensation only surfaced this summer because of changes to federal securities laws that obliged the company to disclose compensation amounts.
At the time, Bond called Hahn’s compensation level “shocking” and ordered a review by the comptroller general.
Coons said Bond could avoid such shocks in the future by forcing B.C. Ferries to obey open records rules. “This government is stalling, hoping the issue will go away,” he said. “It was a mistake to hide B.C. Ferries from the public.”
The B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association, B.C. Civil Liberties Association, and the Canadian Taxpayers Federation also have urged government to bring the ferry company back under FOI law.
Times Colonist
By Lindsay Kines
Friday, November 20, 2009
