Wednesday, November 18, 2009
BC Rail: Orders to kill have gone out
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VICTORIA, B.C. — British Columbia's transportation minister says the future of one of Canada's tiniest railways is under review.
Shirley Bond says the provincial government is reviewing the entire operation of Crown-owned B.C. Rail, but she didn't say what might happen afterwards. The Opposition New Democrats are currently attacking the governing Liberals over the salaries paid to Crown executives, including those in charge of the 39-kilometre railway line in suburban Vancouver.
B.C. Auditor General John Doyle reports that B.C. Rail's chief executive officer, Kevin Mahoney, earned $494,182 this year, a salary above the government's cap that includes an indefinite contract.
Government disclosure documents released in 2008 showed Mahoney making $569,975.
B.C. Rail executives later cut bonuses to 15 per cent and dropped lunch and golf club memberships.
Opposition transport critic John Horgan says the top four B.C. Rail executives now earn salaries totalling about $1.2 million a year.
Bond says B.C. Rail also manages land sales, aspects of Vancouver's ports and the government's Pacific Gateway strategy.
The Liberal government sold most of B.C. Rail to CN in 2004 for $1 billion.
The sale of the railway has been the focus of a long-running corruption court case that involved the arrest of three government aides and prompted a police raid on the legislature in 2003.
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Uh, no, that's not quite true; "BC Rail" is the name of several companies, the left-over dogmeat of hacked-up chunks that had been dismembered and re-arranged to prepare the company for sale (er, for lease....note that CP article doesn't say it was leased, does it?).
There are other "BC Rails" that manage the property, the ports etc. The rump railway is its own entity within the group, and not in charge of the others; it has some track, I don't even think it has a speeder or a single locomotive; it's just trackage which makes some cash on freight using it.
The salaries of the rump railway board are not the same as salaries for the other company chunklets. And if in some cases the same board members are on those company's boards, no doubt there are salaries and expense accounts there too. It's not clear to me if all the many-headed hydro that is what's left of BC Rail is all composed of the same board(s) and executive or not; it seems to me that "exec bloat" isn't just confined to this one leftover bone of the old crown corp.
The other boards just have something to do (which is to liquidate what's left).
If I weren't so doggone angry, all of a sudden, I would have been taking note of that ... many thanks.
There is something called BC Rail Properties, which Bond certainly should know about ... or maybe it's the CP journalist who's losing it.
Thanks again.
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Shirley A. Liar: "The people of BC may feel that the BCR executive is over paid Mr. Premier. How do I explain it?"
Soup Nazi: "Listen, like I told Pat M.Y. Bell, Hush little Baby don't say a word, I'ma gonna' get you a Shocking Word. Canwest will spin and we will all grin."
The BCR executive is being paid hush money, they have the emails the government wants kept hidden. The employees that actually were part of and believed in BCR have all left.
: November 20, 2009 at 9:20 p.m. << Home
