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BC Government releases severance payouts given to 13 political staffers and bureaucrats

Submitted by: Greg Gowe on 2011/04/28  
Topics: - Employment Contracts
Jurisdiction: - British Columbia
Sector: - Public Administration

The BC Ministry of Finance posted on Information Bulletin on its website today that outlined the severance payouts given to 13 recently departed political staffers and bureaucrats.

The media has reported that the 13 left government, or were forced to leave government, when Christy Clark took over from Gordon Campbell as premier.

In its entirety, the Bulletin reads as follows:

Government posts severance information

Recent organizational changes in government have resulted in the departure of the following employees, all of whom received severance in accordance with the Public Sector Employers' Act. Severance includes salary and employer paid benefits and executive holdback pay as noted.

  • Cathy Armstrong: administrative coordinator: $33,810
  • D.Martyn Brown: deputy minister: $416,191 including executive holdback pay
  • Lara Dauphinee: deputy chief of staff, executive assistant to the premier: $192,886
  • Richard Davis: ministerial assistant: $31,183
  • Lesley Du Toit: deputy minister: $337,413 plus executive holdback pay, amount to be determined
  • Jeff Hanman: deputy chief of staff, policy coordination and issues management: $117,930
  • Michael Harrison: ministerial assistant: $75,698
  • Ronald Norman: head, Public Affairs Bureau: $323,917 plus executive holdback pay, amount to be determined
  • June Phillips: executive assistant: $72,994
  • Allan Seckel: deputy minister to the premier, cabinet secretary: $549,776 including executive holdback pay
  • Dale Steeves: director of communications: $108,193
  • Paul Taylor: chief of staff: $113,955
  • Christine Willows: administrative coordinator: $51,033

Severance levels are based on such factors as service time and the employee's salary at termination. The Employment Termination Standards regulation under the Public Sector Employers Act...

The Vancouver Sun story on this, which includes quotes from Daryl Walker, President of the BC Government Employees' Union, and Jim Sinclair, head of the BC Federation of Labour, can be found here: "Purged Campbell team's payments draw outrage" (April 29, 2011).