THERE'S trouble below decks at B.C. Ferries and possible mutinies on the way over the scandalous pension package of ferries boss David Hahn, revealed this week to be $315,00 a year upon retirement.
That's only after he stops hauling in his current $1.2 million a year.
Hahn's sweet deal may not be new, but the optics are bad.
Ferry fares have risen dramatically under Hahn's tenure, and the next series of increases is currently being reviewed. Hahn has spoken about possibly doubling them.
None of which was lost on Premier Christy Clark when she fired a salvo at the size of Hahn's bloated compensation package this week. But the board of B.C. Ferries quickly loaded the canons and fired back, defending their captain as a titan of private business.
There is much that's wrong with this high seas drama, in addition to Hahn's veritable treasure chest of benefits, starting with the Liberal government's decision to turn B.C. Ferries into a quasi-private corporation in 2003.
The ferry corp's "private" status has largely been a myth. It is a monopoly that receives a sizable subsidy from the government. The province, which paid for many of its assets, is its only shareholder.
Despite that, the ferry board has happily touted its entrepreneurial horn when it comes to justifying the kind of booty Hahn has signed on for, double what other public-sector bosses receive.
Perhaps it's time for Captain Christy to order the ferry board to walk the plank. Or for the whole quasi-private experiment to be scuttled.
