NDP says wage hikes for ferry board too high

VICTORIA - Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon has found himself agreeing with the NDP on the issue of a fat pay hike for members of the BC Ferries board.

The board of directors voted themselves a 60 per cent pay increase the same day BC Ferries hiked fares by another 7.3 per cent.

NDP ferries critic Gary Coons calls the increase outrageous and says Falcon should pressure the board to roll it back.

Falcon says he agrees the increase was too much and he told Ferries board chair Elizabeth Harrison as much.

But at the same time, Falcon says the Liberal government set up the new BC Ferries company to be independent of political interference, so the government can't very well tell the board of directors to roll back their pay hike.

The increase will see board members get $48,000 a year for what the NDP says is essentially part-time work.