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B.C. ministers’ top staffers get pay hikes, new titles

Premier Christy Clark has handed out pay hikes to political staffers, bumping the maximum pay for assistants above the salary of an MLA.
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The B.C. government has about 1,500 web applications, of which 437 are public, says a report. More than half of scanned 80 web applications were found to be at risk during an investigation.

Premier Christy Clark has handed out pay hikes to political staffers, bumping the maximum pay for assistants above the salary of an MLA.

Clark’s cabinet authorized certain ministerial assistants to receive a raise of 11 per cent, or $10,500, to a maximum of $105,000 a year. That comes with the new title of “chief of staff” to a minister.

The raise means senior political operatives make $3,141 more than the base salary of an MLA.

Two newly titled chiefs of staff are already receiving the raise.

The move drew outrage from critics, who said the pay raises are at odds with Clark’s re-election promise to cut spending, and come at a time when the civil service is undergoing a core review and seniors are being charged a new $25-a-month wheelchair fee by hospitals.

“I find it ridiculous, because it flies in the face of all the rhetoric in the election campaign about controlling costs, balancing the budget and debt-free B.C.,” said Jordan Bateman, B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation.

The premier, who swore in her MLAs at the legislature on Tuesday, refused questions from reporters, though her office said the overall budget for ministry political staff has decreased by $30,000 with the changes.

Clark also awarded two lucrative jobs to campaign supporters.

Michelle Cadario, the Liberal party’s deputy campaign director, was named deputy chief of staff to the premier. The maximum salary for that job was bumped up almost 36 per cent, or $50,000, to $195,148.

Nick Facey, the Liberal’s defeated candidate in the North Island, was hired as chief of staff to Health Minister Terry Lake, with an $89,775 salary.

Facey, a 26-year-old PhD philosophy candidate at Simon Fraser University, lost to NDP incumbent Claire Trevena by about 2,000 votes. A request for comment from Facey was referred to the premier’s office.

Facey’s hire was defended by neighbouring Comox Valley MLA Don McRae, who helped Facey campaign in the election.

“Nick is a pretty smart man. I’m sure he gained the job on his own merit,” said McRae. “You guys can watch him in action.”

The government also rehired defeated Victoria Liberal candidate Karen Bill and defeated Saanich South Liberal candidate Rishi Sharma to ministerial jobs they had held before the election.

The salary of the chief of staff to the premier was increased by almost 18 per cent, to a maximum of $230,000, though premier’s spokesman Shane Mills said current chief of staff Dan Doyle hasn’t taken the raise.

Finance Minister Mike de Jong said there’s no overall increase to taxpayers due to a “re-allocation from within” existing budgets to cover the raises.

“I think people understand a new government, with a new mandate, with a re-elected premier, may make changes of these sorts,” de Jong said.

“But what they also want to know is we are sharpening our pencils and that the budget is going to be balanced.”

NDP house leader John Horgan said the government is talking about austerity and restraint for everyone else, but giving excessive pay hikes to political insiders.

“The first day that cabinet meets, their priority is not the people of British Columbia but their political pals,” he said.

“To give massive increases to political insiders is just plain wrong.”

rshaw@timescolonist.comm