The NDP is taking aim at Premier Christy Clark over her opposition to executive bonuses at TransLink, arguing she should turn her attention to incentives she actually has control over.
Nine executives at the cash-strapped transportation authority are eligible for bonuses, which could be up to 15 per cent of their base salaries.
On Tuesday, Clark told reporters that bonuses would be inappropriate and public sector executives should "buckle down" during these straitened economic times. But the actual decision whether to award the bonuses is out of her hands and the TransLink board of directors has the final say.
NDP leader Adrian Dix suggested that it's a little too easy for Clark to take a harsh stance on the bonuses.
"She wants to attack the TransLink bonuses presumably because she doesn't control them, but the dozens if not hundreds of bonuses she does control while her government's running a deficit she doesn't say anything about," Dix said.
"The same argument the premier is making of TransLink is one that could be applied to the government of B.C. and its agencies."
BC Conservative byelection candidate Christine Clarke said that governance at TransLink deserves a second look.
"They need to be accountable to somebody, obviously," she said.
The appointed members of the TransLink board were selected from fields ranging from banks to telecommunications to law. None of the nine directors would comment on the bonuses Wednesday.
TransLink CEO Ian Jarvis, who would be eligible for a bonus as high as $60,000, says the incentive program is under review for next year.
The transportation authority is currently facing a $30-million shortfall for planned system upgrades, and the premier has ordered an audit of its books.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Maria Weisgarber
