ACCOUNTABLE? … OPEN? … HONEST? … FAIR?

Last year we heard horror stories of individuals and families, who desperately needed services from Community Living BC, that were being turned away. 

There was however money for executive to get BIG bonuses.

NOW, in a story yesterday in the Victoria Times Colonist we hear that Christy Clark’s BC Liberals have decided that:

 ... Senior executives at Community Living B.C. are getting pay raises to make up for a government decision last year to eliminate their performance bonuses, the Times Colonist has learned. Social Development Minister Stephanie Cadieux confirmed Monday that the money senior managers previously earned as bonuses is simply being rolled into their base pay...

In another story in the Vancouver Sun, they went further to say that:
The three vice-presidents who previously earned up to 10 per cent of their base salary in bonuses will get a permanent 9.66 per cent increase in salary once pension contributions are included. The actual increase in base pay is 8.6 per cent or $11,871.

Directors and managers, who previously earned bonuses of up to five per cent of base pay, will get hikes of 4.96 per cent and 4.93 per cent including pension contributions. The increase in base pay for managers is 4.4 per cent or $3,659, while directors will get an extra 4.43 per cent or $4,736.

"I think it's a poke in the eye for taxpayers," said Jordan Bateman of the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation.

Last Fall, the BC Community Living Action Group (BCLAG) was telling us that:

• The BC government was wasting $1,000 / day as Community Living BC (CLBC) refused to approve group home placements
• That the wait list figures being presented by CLBC were totally unreliable and that an external review of CLBC’s mandate and operations was needed
• That the one-time $6 million in new funding was inadequate to stem BC’s community living crisis, and that what was really needed and required, to stem the community living crisis was $70 million

Faith Bodnar, the Executive Director of the BC Community Living Action Group stated that …  … the situation is as desperate as anything she has ever seen. Disabled individuals are being re-evaluated and stripped of services, at the same time as others are moved out of their group homes.  

And a news story quoted her saying, “We are in crisis here … people are desperate. It seems the system of services and support is being dismantled before we really realize what we’re doing.”

All of this, while the CEO, and other executives, at Community Living BC were getting big fat “performance?” bonuses.

I’m not sure if it’s still there, however last Fall the “Values” section on the CLBC website said that they were going to be:
… accountable to the people they serve … they will strive for quality … they will be open, honest and fair in all aspects of our work … they will work cooperatively with others … and they will also inspire creativity and innovation.

ACCOUNTABLE? … OPEN? … HONEST? … FAIR?

The public's uproar last year, over the ‘lack-of-performance’ bonuses being paid the CLBC executives led to them being suspended.

Is it now “ACCOUNTABLE … OPEN … HONEST … FAIR” for the government, and CLBC, to try to sneak them in through the back door as pay raises?

BC Conservative Party leader John Cummins, has also weighed in on this issue, accusing the government of intentionally misleading the public.

"The government admitted they scrapped the bonus pro-gram over public outcry about the closure of group homes and funding cuts for people with developmental disabilities.  Hiding that bonus in base salary is unacceptable."

"We need a government that respects British Columbians as much as it respects the executive levels of the public service."

So who is our BC Liberal government really taking care of?  “Families First?” … I think not.

I’m Alan Forseth in Kamloops, with the thoughts of one conservative.  Do you have any thoughts you’d like to share?