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Post by Low Light Mike on Apr 19, 2008 21:28:38 GMT -8
from Vancouver Sun, re Cadillac-Kevin's reaction to the directors' fee increase. ============================== www.canada.com:80/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=e9ad2231-b91e-43b4-bc0b-a5ac4b8e0d2cTransportation minister finds he's powerless on Ferries directors' pay increase Vaughn Palmer Vancouver Sun Wednesday, April 16, 2008 VICTORIA - Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon would like everyone to know that he shares in the outrage over the 60-per-cent pay increase for the BC Ferries board of directors. "I wasn't happy," Falcon told reporters after the whopping pay hike consumed most of question period in the legislature Tuesday. "I don't think it was appropriate." He made the same point across the floor of the house when the New Democrats complained about the "outrageous" increase. "I agree to the extent that I think that is a lot of money," he returned. "I actually phoned the chair of the board and made it clear that the position of this government was that it was far too generous an increase." Falcon called board chair Elizabeth Harrison on Monday, right after the news was reported by the Victoria Times Colonist. She was not the only board member to hear from him. He also relayed his concern to one of the government's two direct appointees, Chris Gardner. He's a longtime ally of Falcon, having worked alongside him in a series of political campaigns in Surrey where both men have their political base. The cabinet added Gardner -- a lawyer and experienced corporate executive -- to the ferry board effective April 1, just in time to put him in line for the pay hike. Falcon promptly let him know his displeasure over the increase, coming as it did on the same day ferry fares went up by another seven per cent. "He is very much aware of where I stand on this issue." The chair of the ferry board knows that the minister disapproves. And the minister's own guy on the board knows as well. You think maybe the complaint got somewhere? Considering that Falcon is also the one who pitches Treasury Board on behalf of the ferry corporation's annual $130-million subsidy from the provincial government? No, apparently. Board chair Harrison listened politely to the objections, then told him why the ferry corporation had reached its decision. "The decision they made was based on an independent report they had by a resourcing firm called Hewitt Associates." U.S.-based human resources consulting firm with an office in Vancouver. Compared pay for ferry directors with those of a dozen and a half comparable boards. Picked something at the low end of the range. On that basis, directors were boosted to $48,000 a year from $30,000 and the chair climbed to $140,000 from $105,000. Mind, those are only the basic fees. Directors get paid $1,500 extra when the board actually holds a meeting. Based on last year's schedule of a half dozen or so meetings, the full tab for a director approaches $60,000. "We need to attract and retain the best people as directors, with the business, legal and financial skills to oversee the company," the board chair told reporter Cindy Harnett from the Times Colonist. At the same time, Harrison conceded that she would not quit if there were no raise. The transportation minister says he heard her out on the rationale for the increase, but was not persuaded. "I happened to disagree with that conclusion," Falcon advised the legislature. "I let the chair of the board know that we disagree with that and that we didn't think that was a particularly wise decision. "But they are independent," he reminded the house. "The ferry corporation has been structured so that it is independent of direct political interference." The Liberals reworked the ferry corporation five years ago, retaining public ownership but shifting to a more arm's-length management and governance structure. Only two board members are directly appointed by the cabinet. The remaining dozen or so include qualified representatives nominated by the community, coastal regions and even the ferry workers union. One of the current directors is Dan Miller, the former NDP premier. Ferry CEO David Hahn is also on the board, though he does not collect the director's stipend. So it is simply not a matter -- as the NDP suggested -- of Falcon "ordering" his "hand-picked board" to roll back the increase. He can try to persuade, but they are not obliged to do his bidding. That can be frustrating from time to time, Falcon concedes. But, he insists, "I don't want to have the ability to overrule them . . . . If we get to pick and choose where we can interfere with BC Ferries, it is a very slippery slope." One day you're rolling back directorship pay and next thing you know they're placing orders for aluminum and launching fast ferries down the spillways . . . Nonsense. The government could legislate a cap on directors' fees without reverting to the bad old days of political interference in all manner of decisions. But that's not the only way this concern could be resolved. The ferry directors could take a strong hint from the minister -- or the travelling public, for that matter -- and scale back that excessive increase on their own. vpalmer@direct.ca © The Vancouver Sun 2008 =======================
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Post by Low Light Mike on May 22, 2008 10:35:20 GMT -8
News story in Nanaimo Daily News, today, re expense claims by Directors: www.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/news/story.html?id=c7ea943a-3ba9-456d-88d6-9a2d9c7bc926======== Critics slam expenses for Ferry Authority directors Expenses include $750 for a phone call Paul Walton Daily News Thursday, May 22, 2008 The NDP claims that B.C. Ferry Authority board of directors paid themselves $750 for a 20-minute phone call this year, and $250 a minute for a four-minute meeting in 2004 -- a claim that B.C. Ferries and Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon calls factually incorrect. The details were raised on Tuesday in the Legislature, with NDP ferries critic Gary Coons and fellow MLA Maureen Karagianis also saying that as the B.C. Ferry Services Board has doubled to 16 members (including Nanaimo's Tom Harris), their pay has also increased by 140%, from $20,000 a year to $48,000 a year. The stipends for board meetings have also gone up from $1,000 to $1,500. Falcon said that Coons and Karagianis were confused by the corporate structure of B.C. Ferries. "The members that sit on the authority may only have a few minutes' meetings, because they're talking about strategic direction. Then they move to the ferry corporation board, which oversees all of the decisions of the board. That takes the better part of a day," said Falcon. Falcon did state that he thought the recent pay increase was inappropriate and wrong. Mark Stefanson, vice president of public affairs for B.C. Ferries, followed Falcon's line. "It's factually incorrect," said Stefanson. "They were part of a bigger agenda, it's just not the case." But Gregg Dow, with the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers Union, said the figures are the only ones available to the public. "Having seen the minutes myself, there are five-minute meetings for the Authority Board," said Dow. Because B.C. Ferries was declared a private company, it is under no obligation to release details of the Services Board, even though board members are making decisions with taxpayer's money. "We would like those board minutes," said Dow. PWalton@nanaimodailynews.com ================ And here's the editorial, from same newspaper, on same topic: www.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/opinion/story.html?id=7259c9c2-387e-423d-bfb3-176851f0e9a1---------- B.C. Ferries directors' pay raises questions The Daily News Thursday, May 22, 2008 It seems to be a question of whose spin the people of B.C. want to believe following revelations by the NDP that directors of B.C. Ferries made as much as $250 a minute, and $750 for a 20-minute phone conference, for work done on behalf of the B.C. Ferry Authority. The explanation made by Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon and B.C. Ferries spokesman Mark Stefanson is that the NDP has messed up on its facts. The directors, they say, were also being paid for the more extensive work being done for the B.C. Ferries Service Board after the few minutes of ferry authority work. While the authority sets strategy, it is the board that dictates tactics -- and no details from the board are released; no agenda, not even how long they meet. The spin from Falcon and B.C. Ferries, that the NDP don't have their facts right, might be believable if not for this rather disturbing other fact: B.C. Ferries is making decisions about millions of dollars of public money out of the public eye. Given that scenario, how is the public to know how much other work the directors are doing and what they are worth? How can the NDP or anyone else looking at this situation be expected to have all the facts when they are not available? The claim that all the NDP had to do was check with B.C. Ferries doesn't cut it. For five years now the ferry authority has been a secretive outfit. It's a position that continues to be insulting to taxpayers, ferry users and ferry staff. Nothing good, it must be remembered, happens in secret. There is only one place to look to reveal how this situation came about: our provincial government. What the real intentions of the Campbell government were remain murky. The need for accountability and efficiency could have been easily achieved by keeping B.C. Ferries as a Crown corporation. There was even a section in the collective agreement with the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers' Union to negotiate increased efficiency and productivity. In April 2003, after some legal ducking and dodging, the former Crown corporation was turned into a private company. It was exempted from the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and then came the Coastal Ferry Act and the Alternative Service Providers Plan, in which various routes would be privatized. Upcoming is an effort by B.C. Ferries to exclude 515 people from the ferries union, claiming that "the current management structure of the present level of excluded positions does not fit the realities of today's operating environment," according to Glen Schwartz, the executive vice-president for human resources with "B.C. Ferry Services Inc." Never before in Canada has an effort been made to exclude that many people from union jurisdiction. They range from masters to night supervisors. "The positions we seek to exclude are occupied by individuals who are required and must make decisions with management's objective in mind," states Schwartz. "This cannot be compromised." It's interesting language after a perfectly good governing structure, regardless of what happened under the NDP, was compromised. The decisions for which the directors appear to be handsomely paid appear to be leading to the dismantling of B.C. Ferries. This slow and apparently intentionally complicated process can only lead to deregulation of routes -- de facto privatization. Even major routes, if they can make enough money, can be deregulated, leaving only Transport Canada as the only government agency with oversight of coastal ferries. As the public ponders the decisions for which ferry directors are paid, decisions we don't know about, it has to be asked whether we want to turn back the clock 50 years to when the failures of private carriers led to the creation of B.C. Ferries. © The Daily News (Nanaimo) 2008 ===========
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Post by cobblehillian on May 22, 2008 19:55:32 GMT -8
The Daily News and Sun pieces sum up my thoughts very well. If you can't privatize directly and quickly, do it slowly by stealth. In the process the profitable routes will go to the highest bidder with good government connections, the not profitable routes stay as is. I guess the best course is as little disclosure as possible.
My sense is that executive salaries have risen dramatically, as happened in similar situations such as with Epcor and Enmax, the municipally owed electrical utilities in Edmonton and Calgary. They underwent a further distancing from their respective municipal owners, similar to the BCF arrangement and were given free license to operate anywhere in Canada. Like BCF they provide less information than their widely held investor owned competitors.
As far as board retainers (a relatively new feature in the corporate world-used to be solely meeting attendance stipends + options) go you can always hire a consultant to justify whatever the amount. It's not hard to come up with a rationale through comparisons with a select group of other companies. In the US they usually reveal the other company names in the SEC statements.
Some further musings Why is it so easy to tell from annual reports (all online) what the CEO and individual director's compensation are on Scandlines, Colorlines , and Viking Line? Colorlines is family owned, the rest are widely held. All of these Baltic operators are very roughly the size of BCF in number of employee's and gross revenues. Their operations, however are all different from each other and BCF, although each has some individual operations similar to some of BCF's. In the ferry industry this is about as similar as you can get. Perhaps it's comparing apples and pears as opposed to apples and oranges. They all operate in a high cost environment. I have not had the time to research English, Irish, French or Dutch operators.
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Post by Guest 101 on May 23, 2008 7:03:15 GMT -8
This word - Accountability is starting to appear again in the press - and not from "simple" letter writers to the local editor. We just don't have it with this Board of Directors. Hahn Executive team is also starting to look pretty bad - but I am still waiting the out come of the BC Supreme Court Case against BC Ferries - concerning the cost over runs - lack of proper budget controls - with regards to the Kupper..... Tell me how can BC Ferries people make a budget to transport the 4 pieces of a hull - at $400,000 only for the final bill to come to $1.2M.....I am sorry but this is plain stupid, and who were the Senior VP's who signed off on this project? ? Line them up and fire them all....
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Neil
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Post by Neil on May 23, 2008 23:51:58 GMT -8
This word - Accountability is starting to appear again in the press - and not from "simple" letter writers to the local editor. We just don't have it with this Board of Directors. Hahn Executive team is also starting to look pretty bad - but I am still waiting the out come of the BC Supreme Court Case against BC Ferries - concerning the cost over runs - lack of proper budget controls - with regards to the Kupper..... Tell me how can BC Ferries people make a budget to transport the 4 pieces of a hull - at $400,000 only for the final bill to come to $1.2M.....I am sorry but this is plain stupid, and who were the Senior VP's who signed off on this project? ? Line them up and fire them all.... This has to do with the current lawsuit, so I'll reply in the "BC Ferries sued for libel" thread...
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Post by Low Light Mike on Sept 10, 2008 17:19:43 GMT -8
From Victoria Times-Colonist. Here's something that us forum-critics missed. www.canada.com:80/victoriatimescolonist/story.html?id=15e1f6bf-0351-4724-9520-b17b78221d2c============== 2 brothers in 2 ferry roles means conflict, NDP saysSheldon Stoilen is on Ferry Commission; Wayne Stoilen is on B.C. Ferries board Richard Watts Times Colonist Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Two brothers, one appointed to oversee B.C. Ferries, the other to operate the corporation, are prompting complaints from the New Democrats. "It definitely seems a perceived conflict of interest," said Gary Coons, New Democrat critic for B.C. Ferries. Coons was commenting on how one brother, Sheldon Stoilen, of Bowen Island, can be deputy commissioner of the B.C. Ferry Commission, while his brother, Wayne Stoilen, of Delta, can be on the board of directors of B.C. Ferry Services Inc. Under a corporate transformation undertaken by the provincial government in 2002, B.C. Ferry Services -- commonly known as B.C. Ferries -- operates like a private, self-financing corporation with a board that oversees its management. The provincial government owns B.C. Ferries. The government also created the B.C. Ferry Commission, which approves fare increases and monitors service levels. According to the commission's website, it is independent from B.C. Ferries. But Coons said that independence becomes questionable when one man oversees a board of directors that includes his own brother. "So much for the independence of the ferry commissioner's office." Sheldon Stoilen said in a telephone interview that he disclosed during the selection process earlier this year that his brother is on the board of B.C. Ferries. The appointments are a coincidence, with separate processes leading to appointments to two separate bodies, he said. Sheldon Stoilen said he signed a confidentiality agreement that forbids him from discussing Ferry Commission business with anyone but the commissioner. He and his brother never talk about B.C. Ferries, he said. "We only discuss family matters." The Ferry Commission is led by government-appointed commissioner Martin Crilly of Comox. He was not available for comment yesterday. B.C. Ferries' board is appointed by the nine-member B.C. Ferry Authority, which was originally set up by the province. Nine members of the ferry authority also sit on the 12-member board of B.C. Ferries. Coons complained that the resulting corporate governance becomes almost impenetrable to public scrutiny. "It's a real, all-in-the-family scenario which is really hard to decipher," said Coons. The relationship between B.C. Ferries and the Ferry Commission was highlighted last spring in a controversial pay increase for B.C. Ferries' board. Pay for directors rose to $48,000 from $30,000; pay for the chairwoman rose to $140,000 from $105,000. The B.C. Ferries board approved the raises for itself. The Ferry Commission, despite its oversight duties, was not called upon to vet the pay increases. © Times Colonist (Victoria) 2008 ==========================
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Post by Taxman on Sept 11, 2008 7:39:19 GMT -8
My first reaction, after taking my "how not to get sued as an auditor" class, a percieved conflict of interest is as bad as an actual conflict of interest.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Feb 18, 2009 15:46:45 GMT -8
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Post by WettCoast on Feb 18, 2009 19:47:16 GMT -8
Nice work if you can get it!
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Post by Low Light Mike on Dec 5, 2010 13:51:39 GMT -8
New Commissioner:
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Post by Low Light Mike on May 19, 2011 11:21:32 GMT -8
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Neil
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Post by Neil on May 19, 2011 13:17:42 GMT -8
If I can take the liberty of reading something into this, I'll suggest that the 'independent' ferry commissioner has been directed by Premier Clark's new transportation minister- perhaps on Clark's say-so, to examine BC Ferries' operating model. They'll either do nothing but give a fresh rubber stamp to the whole sham private model, or we may actually get some accountability between our marine transit system and the communities it serves. I'm a dreary cynic by nature, but it's a lovely peaceful sunny day on Hornby Island, so I'll give in to wild optimism, just for now. Go, Blair!
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Post by Low Light Mike on May 19, 2011 17:42:18 GMT -8
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Post by Low Light Mike on May 23, 2011 16:49:16 GMT -8
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Neil
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Post by Neil on May 23, 2011 20:45:44 GMT -8
Wrong. The Ferry Commissioner is independent of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. If there is something to the contrarcy, let's see some specific written evidence to support that supposition. I beg to differ. I mentioned the Lekstrom aspect of this story a few days ago, before I'd heard anything involving the ferry commissioner. Since then, virtually every political analyst on the provincial scene has pointed out the rather sudden, fortuitous synergy between the ferry commissioner and the province. On one hand, you have a new premier anxious to establish her populist bona fides as well as her differing priorities vis a vis her predecessor. On the other hand, you have a shiny new commissioner, appointed two weeks ago, who has suddenly discovered the public advocacy angle of his job. You have an amazingly quick, positive response from Blair Lekstrom to a suggestion of a review of our ferry set up. I think it takes a certain level of naivete not to see some orchestration here. Independent ferry commissioner? Technically, yes. Convenient participant in a Liberal effort to appear more responsive to coastal communities? Highly likely, I'd say. Hopefully this isn't just an effort to appear to be doing something, to still the restless natives until after an election that Ms. Clark is very keen to call.
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mrdot
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Mr. DOT
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Post by mrdot on May 23, 2011 21:48:05 GMT -8
:)once again I am treading on muddy waters, as I too am going to dispute anyone that claims that ferry matters can ever be independent of gov't medelling, it will never happen in any of our lifetimes. Maybe some historian and dedicated ship nut will be able to do justice to this murky subject in the future. :-/mrdot.
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Post by Nickfro on May 24, 2011 14:29:54 GMT -8
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Post by Ferryman on Sept 30, 2011 15:43:15 GMT -8
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Sept 30, 2011 16:07:26 GMT -8
The Hornby Island Comissioner Review is on video and is posted on Youtube. It's a 5 part video as well, so bank on lots of time to watch it. This was filmed on September 27th, 2011 Some of the stats are painfully incorrect to listen to, such as claims of the Skeena Queen working a 14 mile route from Fulford to Swartz Bay and operating at 20 knots. (She runs at about 11 knots but can get up to 14.5/15 knots if needed. Oh, and it's only a 5 mile route). Enjoy! I haven't had time to watch the meeting yet, but scroll down the right side and watch 'wild day on the Hornby ferry'. A salty ride to Gravelly Bay, and just after the five minute mark you can see the Kahloke rolling around in berth as they're trying to load. Yikes. Thanks for that, Chris.
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Post by Scott on Sept 30, 2011 17:00:45 GMT -8
I haven't had time to watch the meeting yet, but scroll down the right side and watch 'wild day on the Hornby ferry'. A salty ride to Gravelly Bay, and just after the five minute mark you can see the Kahloke rolling around in berth as they're trying to load. Yikes. Thanks for that, Chris. Here's the link to the video. Great footage!
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Post by Low Light Mike on Sept 4, 2012 11:21:25 GMT -8
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Post by Low Light Mike on Sept 4, 2012 16:25:08 GMT -8
BCFS announced a new appointee to their board, last week.
The media release does not mention any marine transportation industry experience of Mr. Johnson.
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mrdot
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Mr. DOT
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Post by mrdot on Sept 4, 2012 21:11:29 GMT -8
:)when have rite-wing gov't's ever been concerned with marine industry background's other than hi-end travel industry, at least since the days of WAC Bennett, he did listen to some in the marine field, and built at home! :)mrdot.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Oct 11, 2013 10:39:55 GMT -8
The BC Ferry Commission recently released its annual planning document which is its budget and service-plan for the upcoming year. - this upcoming year is the year-end March 31, 2015 (ie. April 2014 to March 2015). The budget total is $795,000, which what it costs to oprerate this entity which regulates the ferry company. - this amount is funded by BCFS itself. Here's the main highlight from the report: Document Here
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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 23, 2013 14:06:07 GMT -8
A Les Leyne column that shows how recent Government action (intervention, interference, whatever you want to call it) has made the so-called independence of BCFS a sham. Do you remember when Judith Reid set up BCFS structure in 2003 and touted it as being free from political interference? Well in 2008, Gord Campbell blew that idea out of the water when he did a huge override by announcing BCFS policy on live-TV (which was news to BCFS CEO David Hahn, who wasn't consulted on the matter). And in 2013, politicians are still interfering with Judith's independent creation. So why not save some more money ending the independent company charade. The Province is obviously dictating BCFS policy, so why keep pretending that it isn't. From HERE
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