B.C. civil servants reap $2.4M severance

CBC News  Posted: Apr 28, 2011 4:08 PM PT

The B.C. government is paying more than $2.4 million in severance to a handful of ex-public servants let go when Premier Christy Clark took over the reins of government from Gordon Campbell.  As many new heads of government do, Clark dismissed a number of veteran public servants and political staff who had served the previous administration.  The B.C. finance ministry released a breakdown of severance payments in response to a request from CBC News.  At the top of the list is Allan Seckel, who was deputy minister to the premier and head of the provincial public service. His payout will total $550,000.  Martyn Brown, who was Campbell's chief of staff, moved to a deputy minister's job in the past year, but he's also due severance of $416,000.  Other big payouts went to Leslie du Toit, deputy minister of children and family development, who gets $337,000, and Ron Norman, who headed the Public Affiars Bureau, who receives $324,000.
Other severance recipients include:

• Lara Dauphinee (Campbell's Deputy Chief of Staff) - $193,000.
• Geoff Hanman - $118,000 Paul Taylor (Premier's Chief of Staff after Brown) - $114,000.
• Dale Steeves (Premier's Communications Director) - $108,000.
• Michael Harrison (ministerial assistant) - $76,000.
• June Phillips - $73,000.
• Christine Willows - $51,000.
• Kathy Armstrong - $34,000.
• Richard Davis - $33,000.

The total for the severance packages is $2,427,000.