The Okanagan's four retireing MLA's will benifit to the tune of over a half million dollars in benifits under a new provincial package. By choosing not to run Tom Christensen, Sindi Hawkins, Rick Thorpe and Al Horning all get 15 months full salary and benifits, about 127 thousand dollars and a 9 thousand dollar education allowance. It's a new severance package, before '07 MLA's who didn't go for relelection got nothing.
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Ex-MLAs get salary, benefits
Lose, retire or quit: It's still going to be a win-win situation for B.C.'s MLAs this month. The day after the May 12 provincial election, a dozen former MLAs who are not running again will be eligible for up to 15 months full salary and benefits, at a cost of $1.5 million to taxpayers. Any incumbents defeated at the polls will add to that amount.
The "transitional assistance," designed to cushion the blow of re-entry into the workforce, amounts to $127,324 per MLA. The outgoing MLAs also will get educational help of up to $9,000 while they look for work, which is immediately accessible. Each ex-MLA gets a minimum of $33,953, four months transition money, even if they have another job to go to. Among the 12 MLAs eligible for the money are outgoing Liberals Olga Ilich, Sindi Hawkins, Rick Thorpe and Tom Christensen. The former NDP MLAs who qualify are Corky Evans and Chuck Puchmayr. Four MLAs who quit before their term ended, including former finance minister Carole Taylor and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, don't qualify for the severance deal. They opted to resign before their four-year term expired, forgoing the transition money.
The change to the transitional allowance was recommended in an independent review of MLA compensation. Legislative comptroller Dan Arbic said the intent of transitional assistance was to give the former MLAs money to find new jobs. The severance payout ends when the MLA gets a new job, takes the pension, or dies, he said. Maureen Bader, B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, was critical of the financial packages. "This severance package is far in excess of anything anyone could get in the private sector," said Bader. "Quitters should not be receiving severance. This particular severance package is just too out there, and has got to change."
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