The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says B.C. is overpaying its top bureaucrats, calling the number of public servants earning more than $500,000 "staggering."
The government released a list of the province's top-earning public sector executives from 2010-2011 on Tuesday, including the managing director of BC Hydro subsidiary Powerex who earned more than $1-million, including $540,000 in incentives.
Taxpayers Federation B.C. director Jordan Bateman says public sector wages have outgrown their private sector counterparts, and it's time for the government to crack down.
"I don't think anyone begrudges public sector employees for making a decent wage, however it is completely out of whack now," Bateman said. "BC Hydro alone has more than 2,100 people making more than $100,000 per year. The public purse can't afford it."
The president of the University of British Columbia, Stephen Toope, earned almost $580,000, while the president and CEO of BC Pavilion Corporation brought in about $560,000.
Allan Seckel, who served as deputy minister to former premier Gordon Campbell, also made the list thanks to a $549,000 severance payment he earned after Christy Clark took office in March. Seckel earned a total of $923,000 for the year.
"They have these massive severances when they leave – but why would they ever leave?" Bateman said.
The presidents of Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health earned $396,000 and $444,000, respectively. Bateman argues the top earners at regional health authorities could be rolled back and invested back into providing health care for British Columbians.
"Every dollar paid to these bureaucrats is one less dollar that can be spent in a hospital getting an X-ray for grandma," he said. "They're making more money than the doctors in health care. It doesn't make any sense."
The heads of BC Hydro and ICBC made the sixth and eighth spots on the list, still taking in well over $520,000 each.
