In 2016, the BC Liberal Government boasted that its four year program of executive salary restraint “demonstrates the effectiveness of ongoing measures to increase affordability, transparency and accountability in public sector compensation.” Increases paid to senior managers in the public sector were to be “consistent with increases provided in collective
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Northern Insight / Perceptivity: Public service: a rewarding career
This is a small piece of information learned in my recent examination of business in Norway. In the article Two Oil Economies, I mentioned Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, the sovereign wealth fund that collects the nation’s oil and gas revenues. Based on last year’s average exchange rate, the fund
Continue readingNorthern Insight / Perceptivity: Managers justify generous treatment of managers
In 2013, the consulting firm Ernst & Young was hired to review trends in compensation across the BC Public Sector. It is now available through the Legislature’s public documents. Reports of this kind are almost worthless documents of political propaganda. The only important question asked of the executives who commissioned
Continue readingNorthern Insight: In the land of Not-Net-Zero
Teachers were advised about a year ago that their pension contributions were rising again because the plan had an unfunded liability of $855 million, up from $289 million two year before. One of the reasons was underperformance of the investment portfolio. Other pension contributors in public service — excepting senior
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Pushing back on the pushback
Anonymous reader argued through earlier comments that comparisons between BC Investment Management Corporation and Washington State Investment Board are inappropriate “apples and oranges.” The person attempted to justify huge increases in executive compensation because “Much of the compensation is based on results over the past 4 years.” This question was
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Failure perfectly OK with BC Liberals
Yesterday, British Columbia’s government refused to release a report from the Auditor General that examined Pacific Carbon Trust, a crown agency set up to pass funds from schools, hospitals and other public institutions to private companies that claim to reduce emissions. Today, we understand why Liberals tried to prevent release
Continue readingNorthern Insight: "Planning is not an option or a luxury"
A release from the Representative for Children and Youth, March 26, 2013 The audit found scattered and ineffective documentation of planning for these vulnerable children and youth, as well as a clear lack of emphasis by MCFD on comprehensive and regular planning and intervention. “Government has a responsibility, as the
Continue readingNorthern Insight: P3 primer for British Columbia
Since the beginning of time, the public built facilities in partnerships with private industry. Typically, government determined needs according to its priorities, hired consultants for design and tendering, awarded work to the lowest bidder and financed with its usual sources, typically the lowest cost borrowing available. As long as all
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Restraint is only for the little people
The fiscal year ended March 2012 was a good year in the executive suite of this BC public agency. These are averages of the five highest paid executives. One VP has been a rising star! Oh, Bryan, yours only went up by $344,400 in five years. Those two other guys
Continue readingNorthern Insight: One hand washes another
A principle of management states that senior staff lead by example when it comes to ethics and morality. Behaviours of leaders set the values that their followers use. Another certainty is that people who know about skeletons in the closet use that knowledge for their own advantage. Treatment accorded executives
Continue readingNorthern Insight: "Amateurish and sneaky" according to Palmer
According to the Liberals, Lynda Tarras, head of BC’s Public Service Agency, conducted a thorough investigation into Ken Boessenkool’s admitted misconduct with another political appointee. Premier Clark’s Chief of Staff was not asked to step aside while government employees of lower rank investigated his behaviour. Vaughn Palmer of The Vancouver
Continue readingNorthern Insight: New adventures in not-net-zero land
It is a tough time for British Columbia. Natural gas producers are producing more but paying less to government. With bark beetle destruction and boundless raw log exports, the province’s forest industry is a shadow of its former self. Tough times dictates tough economic medicine and BC Liberals are dishing
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Austerity only for the "plebs"
The most read article at Northern Insights is Adventures in not net zero land. It begins with this: “Helping manage the BC government’s war on school teachers and public education is Deputy Minister of Education James Gorman. He is a long time senior bureaucrat. “Public accounts show his salary in
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Words from Hansard
November 1, 2011, Page 8568 C. James: “To the minister, to the Premier, to this government on the other side: if they wanted to look at affordability, they’d end those executive bonuses today and put that money into services. Half a billion dollars in bonuses paid at B.C. Hydro for
Continue readingNorthern Insight: On the backs of the disadvantaged
Minister orders end to bonuses at Community Living BC, CTV News, October 21, 2011 “Social Development Minister Stephanie Cadieux has ordered an end to bonuses for managers at the Crown agency Community Living BC, which provide services to the disabled. “…Cadieux says bonuses are not appropriate for an organization that’s
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Needing leadership, we get greed
Province pundit Michael Smyth slammed provincial court judges – bellyachers of the bench, he called them – for demanding richer packages of salaries and benefits. Maybe Smyth is grinding an old axe; maybe he prefers targets that don’t answer back or don’t buy him lunch. Regardless, I’d like to introduce
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Smyth tells part of the story
I wonder if Province political columnist Michael Smyth spends only some of his time in this province and the rest on an isolated beach of Molokai. Occasionally, he seems plain ignorant of what’s going on in British Columbia. Today he applies his frequent smartass style to provincial court judges. I
Continue readingNorthern Insight: More from the Not-Net-Zero folks
The succinct words from Blog Borg Collective: Bullshit
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Hypocrisy reigns
B.C. accused of salary increase ‘double standard’, CBC News, May 3, 2012 “Cabinet staffers got average 10-per-cent hike while ‘net-zero’ offered elsewhere “B.C.’s teachers and many provincial government workers might have been forced to accept “net-zero” contracts, but several staffers working for premier Christy Clark and other cabinet ministers have
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