A little game of chess between the provincial government and B.C. Ferries may have just got a bit more interesting with last week's release of the provincial comptroller general's look at B.C. Ferries and TransLink.
The watchdog from the Finance Ministry, Cheryl Wenezenki-Yolland, laid out a pretty strong case, stating ferry executives are being overpaid, the ferry service lacks accountability and the regulator who oversees the corporation doesn't have enough power or influence to fix problems within the organization.
In her Nov. 6 report, she lists 20 recommendations, some of which are that ferry authority board members should not sit on the board of directors, that executive compensation should be approved using public sector guidelines (which means in a nutshell, that the board can't just up and give themselves ludicrous pay raises like they did last year) and that the ferry service and authority should be subject to the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act.
We have to chuckle a little when CEO David Hahn in an interview this week defended his $1-million salary and bonus plan last year by saying he wasn't in the room when the board set his compensation level. That's your excuse? You were not in the room? You don't think that's a bit much, Mr. Hahn? You're being paid two to three times more than executives at BC Hydro and ICBC. Please, get a grip.
While we can agree with Hahn that he has helped steer the ferry service to more prosperous waters, and we can agree with him when he tells us the ferry service is better, the terminal upgrades are nice, the new vessels were badly needed, and the service as a whole has made a large leap forward from what it was several years ago, are he and the other directors really worth that much? During a time when the provincial government is cutting back everywhere and everyone else in the public sector is being hit in the pocket book, isn't it time for Hahn and the rest of the board to come back down to reality and be paid a salary that more reflects our troubled economic times?
The service isn't perfect, but it's not bad either. It just needs a few tweaks at the top and lower salaries to streamline the operation and make it more efficient - all reasonable assumptions, in our book.
Transportation Minister Shirley Bond called for the audit. Bond and her government now have a well thought out report, filled with recommendations to make the ferry service better and more accountable to those who use it - the public. Now it's time for the government to walk the walk and act on this report.
