B.C. Ferries' top officials get paid too much: new report

B.C.’s comptroller general also says in a new report that it’s too easy for officials to earn bonuses.

Lindsay Kines, Times Colonist

Published: Friday, November 06, 2009

Victoria, B.C. - The board and executives at B.C. Ferries get paid too much and it's too easy for officials to earn bonuses, B.C.'s comptroller general says in a new report.

The report said president David Hahn's compensation last year was more than double than at larger public sector bodies.

Executive bonuses also were easier to attain than auditors would have expected, the report said.

of B.C. Ferries David Hahn aboard the Coastal Celebration.

Adrian Lam

Email to a friendPrinter friendly

Font:

• *
• *
• *
• *

The board's compensation is also "excessive," with a retainer that is three to five times higher than permitted at B.C. Crown corporations, the report said.

The auditors' concerns were compounded, they said, by the fact that the board decides its own pay scale, and approves executive salary without proper accountability.

The compensation issues aside, the auditors concluded B.C. Ferries is well managed and "reasonably effective."

The B.C. government ordered the audit in July to see whether whether taxpayers are getting the best service from the quasi-private organization. Greater Vancouver's public transportation authority, TransLink faced similar scrutiny.

One day after the audit was announced, B.C. Ferries revealed that its five top officials collect more than $3 million a year in salary and benefits.

At the time, B.C. Transportation Minister Shirley Bond called it "shocking" that B.C. Ferries president and CEO David Hahn collects more than $1 million a year. The company's four vice-presidents each earn about $500,000 in salary and benefits.

The audit notes that that the board and senior executives had " significant input" into the benchmarks used in supposedly independent report on compensation.

"The extent of their input draws into question the independence of the benchmarking process," the audit said.

© The Victoria Times Colonist 2009