Briefly: Payments to NDP premier David Eby’s health advisor were hidden under a numbered company in the annual sunshine list.
Penny Ballem, who is also chair of Vancouver Coastal Health, billed nearly $300,000 last year, exceeding Health Minister Adrian Dix’s salary.
The public accounts also reveal payments to NDP-aligned advertising agencies and high salaries to Crown corporation heads.
Bob Mackin
Taxpayers spent more on Premier David Eby’s contracted health advisor than they did on the Minister of Health’s salary last year.
But you will have to dig to find it in the annual public accounts sunshine list, released Aug. 22.
VCH chair Penny Ballem (BC Gov)
Penny Ballem billed $203,772 for the year ended March 31, 2024, but not under her name. The sum is instead listed under a numbered company, 354948 B.C. Ltd. The same entity billed $233,100 the previous year. The corporate registration for 354948 B.C. Ltd. lists Ballem as president and Diane Loutit as secretary.
Ballem, former B.C. deputy health minister and Vancouver city manager, was also paid $88,034 as chair of the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority board.
She was appointed in 2019 by Health Minister Adrian Dix, who receives a basic $119,532.72 MLA salary and additional $59,766.37 to head the most-expensive ministry.
Former Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps, hired as a housing advisor, received $127,650.
In an odd twist, there are four political appointees named Smith in the premier’s office, none apparently related: chief of staff Matt Smith ($231,045), director of communications George Smith ($143,949), press secretary Jimmy Smith ($137,718) and senior advisor Jessica Smith ($125,858).
Also in public accounts:
The B.C. Legislative Assembly paid nearly $300,000 in severance last year, but officials are refusing to say how many ex-employees received payments.
In the Aug. 22 release of the province’s annual public accounts through March 31, 2024, the seat of government included the line item of $286,479 for “severance.” The amount exceeded the previous year’s $271,800.
Clerk Kate Ryan-Lloyd (Association of Former MLAs of B.C./John Yanyshyn)
In 2021-2022, the report said “severance payments” were $312,316.
“The Legislative Assembly discloses the total amount of severance paid but does not disclose specific information pertaining to the amount included in the public accounts,” said clerk assistant Artour Sogomonian. “The amount disclosed in any given year may be in relation to severance paid from Vote 1, whether the employer relationship was directly with the Legislative Assembly, with a Member of the Legislative Assembly, or with a caucus.”
The most-recent high-profile departure from the Legislative Assembly was June 2022’s dismissal of executive financial officer Hilary Woodward. She had been paid almost $207,000 for the 2021-2022 fiscal year. In 2022-2023’s report, $135,723 was beside Woodward’s name.
According to the latest report, Clerk Kate Ryan-Lloyd remained the highest-paid official, at $302,762 in 2023.
Even after the spending scandal that led to the 2019 retirements of Clerk Craig James and Sergeant-at-Arms Gary Lenz, the Legislative Assembly remains beyond the reach of the freedom of information law. Then-NDP house leader Mike Farnworth promised to add the Legislature in 2019 and an all-party committee recommended the same in 2022.
The Legislative Assembly’s report also disclosed $49,050 in payments to Bob Dewar, an advisor to former premier John Horgan, $62,135 to NDP-aligned advertising agency Now Communications Group Inc., and $76,590 for NDP-aligned polling company Strategic Communications Inc.
Now billed $1.18 million to central government for advertising services in 2023. Other Government Communications and Public Engagement contractors included: Trapeze ($1.82 million), Elevator Strategy Advertising and Design ($1.15 million), Here Be Monsters ($524,392), Spring Advertising ($409,952) and Captus ($187,856).
Elsewhere, Thomas Bechard remained the highest-paid official at the province’s biggest Crown corporation, BC Hydro. The CEO of the Powerex division received a total $1.6 million last year. A notation on the compensation report said that included $424,800 in deferred incentive awards. CEO Chris O’Riley ($637,946) and executive vice-president of operations Charlotte Mitha ($508,989) were other top earners at the Site C builder.
PavCo CEO Ken Cretney (PavCo)
The biggest pay package at the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) went to Kim Chi, the chief medical officer of the B.C. Cancer Agency, at $526,007. PHSA CEO David Byres ($467,181) earned more than Vivian Eliopoulos, the head of the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority ($436,202).
Ken Cretney led B.C. Pavilion Corp. (PavCo), the manager of B.C. Place Stadium and Vancouver Convention Centre, to a $3.5 million deficit on $169.24 million in revenues. Cretney’s total compensation was $418,675.
PavCo had forecast being $17.3 million in the red before changing its accounting system. The Vancouver Convention Centre made an $808,000 profit, but B.C. Place lost $4.32 million.
Shannon Salter, the head of the B.C. Public Service and Deputy Minister to Premier David Eby, reported $401,460 in her pay package.
The ranks of full-time equivalent positions at taxpayer-supported Crown corporations and agencies swelled again, from 7,746 to 8,666, year-over-year.
By comparison, there were 4,850 full-time equivalents in 2017, the last year of the BC Liberal government.
B.C. Infrastructure Benefits, which recruits unionized labourers for megaprojects, grew from 903 to 1,239 over the last year. PavCo increased from 291 to 365.
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