BC Ferries board gives itself $18,000 pay increase

There has been another increase at BC Ferries, but this time it's a 60 per cent pay increase for the board of directors.

B.C.'s Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon said he has told the chairman of BC Ferries that the pay raise — $30,000 to $48,000 a year for the part-time jobs of the regular board members — is far too generous.

"I actually phoned the chair of the board and I made it clear that the position of this government is that I think that is far too generous an increase," Falcon said Tuesday in Victoria.

The board chair, Elizabeth J. Harrison, also received a pay raise on April 1, when the pay hike went into effect, from $105,000 to $140,000 a year. Five new members were appointed to the 13-member board on April 11.

But apart from picking up the phone and complaining, Falcon said he won't do anything else to stop the increase.

The NDP transportation critic Leonard Krog thinks Falcon needs to do more.

"A 60 per cent pay increase for BC Ferries directors is outrageous, especially at a time [when] ferry fares are rising steadily. This minister can tell that board to roll it back," said Krog.

"I've got families in Nanaimo who would happily take up a part-time position for $48,000 a year," said Krog.

But Falcon insisted he's not going to interfere with the operations of BC Ferries.

"The chair and the board are independent of government. We structure it that way," said Falcon.

Since 2003, BC Ferries has been structured as a private company owned entirely by the B.C. government. It has been operating with a 60-year contract to provide ferry service for the province.

On April 1, BC Ferries hiked fares by an average of 7.3 per cent on the three major routes connecting Vancouver Island to the Lower Mainland and an average of four per cent on the remaining routes.

The company said the "fare increases are necessary due to the rising cost of fuel as well as operating and capital expenditures."