Dan Doyle and Michele Cadario among top B.C. Liberals given wage increases

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      Shortly after the May 14 election, Premier Christy Clark and B.C. Liberal government quietly passed a cabinet order increasing the salaries of some of the highest-paid politicians in the province.

      Benefiting from the changes more than anyone else is Michele Cadario, a new deputy chief of staff in the office of the premier.

      According to documents examined by the Straight, Cadario was formally appointed to that position via Order in Council No 231 on June 3, 2013. That same day, Order in Council No 230 made two amendments to the B.C. Public Service Act. Taken together, the changes increase the salary that Cadario will receive from $144,000 to $230,000.

      Council order 230 moves the position of deputy chief of staff in the premier’s office from a Band D level of compensation to Band C, and within Band C, increases the level of compensation Cadario will receive from $195,148 to $230,000.

      That is, before these changes, Cadario would have been assigned a salary from Band D, which previously ranged from $108,000 to $144,000. She will now receive the highest level of compensation allowed by the Public Service Act, $230,000.

      Many other political appointees will also be making more money this year, thanks to Clark’s June 3 amendments.

      Her chief of staff, Dan Doyle, will now receive a salary of $230,000, up from $195,000.

      Furthermore, a range of appointed positions classified as Band A staffers have had salary caps increased from $94,000 to $105,000.

      Band A positions formerly included the titles of ministerial assistant, press secretary, director of issues management, senior coordinator, issues management and manager, and media monitoring. Council order 230 amends the B.C. Public Service Act to rename several of those positions. A section of the act that previously read “a ministerial assistant, director of issues management and manager, media monitoring”, now states, “a Chief of Staff, Minister’s Office, and Ministerial Assistant”.

      You can read Order in Council No 230 in its entirety here, and compare it to the relevant sections of the outdated Public Service Act here.

      Cadario, a campaign manager for the B.C. Liberals during the last provincial election, has a history with the federal Liberals.

      In former prime minister Paul Martin’s 2009 autobiography, Hell or High Water: My Life in and out of Politics, he writes: “Michele Cadario, who had long been a road warrior in my cause, painstakingly building my organization across the country, became campaign director in the leadership campaign.

      Martin described Cadario as a woman with a “strong social conscience” and called her a personal “driving force”. He noted that she was especially valuable to his campaign in Western Canada.

      Clark’s wage increases come shortly after announcements claiming a Liberal government will balance the province’s budget and resist calls for increases in spending.

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      Comments

      15 Comments

      D. Peter

      Jun 11, 2013 at 7:33pm

      The budget isn't balanced, they want to now charge us tax payers more for everything to make up for their miss management of our money and they have the nerve to give themselves raises. It is the taxpayers money NOT the governments and as a taxpayer I say "NO" you are NOT getting another raise, out of my hard earned wages nor do any of you deserve one, as you couldn't manage your way out of a wet paper bag.

      MarkFornataro

      Jun 11, 2013 at 8:23pm

      I heard someone from a taxpayers's association say this BC deputy chief of staff is getting more than Obama's chief of staff. Can you imagine how this would have gone over at the polls if the Libs. had announced it before the election?

      john

      Jun 11, 2013 at 8:23pm

      why would someone vote for her ? must be the tar sands water in the oak noggin and piece river

      Linda

      Jun 11, 2013 at 10:19pm

      So glad my colleagues and I who work in public education as Special Education Assistants are able to subsidize the well deserved salary increases of our newly appointed Liberal government cabinet staffers. We haven't had a salary increase since June 2009 and have had to listen to the rhetoric from the province about net zero increases to public sector employees for the past year while Cupe struggles to negotiate an increase that would put us on par with inflation. Let us all give a collective sigh of relief that Christy Clark is here to save us all from fiscal irresponsibility. It shouldn't surprise me though; her tenure as Minister of Education was a study in how to build a two-tiered system within public education at the same time de-valuing the role of educators in B.C. Bravo.

      w.mcgiverin

      Jun 12, 2013 at 3:08am

      there's got to be away for her to lose in West Kelowna by-election

      Net Zero Eh?

      Jun 12, 2013 at 8:52am

      So this is like Animal Farm (I assume Crusty had time to read it during her time wandering in three different Universities without Graduating).

      "ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, BUT SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS"

      - George Orwell, Animal Farm, Ch. 10

      I guess Wheel Rates are going to go up even more since there is even less Ca$h left for the rest of us now.

      So much for Net Zero increases haha...

      This is what happens when you Vote in Corporate Welfare for Corporations Not the People Morons into Office.

      selot

      Jun 12, 2013 at 9:28am

      OKAY West Kelowna, for these outrageous wage increases alone shows that she did not learn from the last election...do not let her win in West Kelowna....the rest of the province is now counting on you.

      Enraged Senior

      Jun 12, 2013 at 9:33am

      BC has given the Liberal Government the right to do what ever they want and being Liberals they will. In the by-election, Christy Clarke will dress well, look sharp and speak well. She will win UNLESS people LISTEN to her words and LISTEN to Ms. Gordon's words. The NDP will have to be very specific in reminding the electorate in West Kelowna that the Parachuted Liberal Candidate is there to lie, deceive, use them and laugh at them, not to represent them. Will the NDP want to play nice or will the play truthfully using facts in a smart way. Time will tell.

      judi sommer

      Jun 12, 2013 at 11:25am

      The voters may have appeared to give her a blank cheque,but the Liberals have not been given a clean etch-a sketch slate.The baggage is still there.The voters chose to ignore it because of the NDP campaign disaster.The early polls told the NDP the voters were crabby but they blew it.The Opposition needs a new leader in the fall to begin to rebuild some sense of public trust,however.

      BC Mike

      Jun 12, 2013 at 12:15pm

      Vote the BC Conservative guy (Sean Upshaw)in the by-election. He has a voice and will stand up for BCers. Kick Christy to Bollywood.