Details about the severance payments made to government appointees fired after the NDP assumed power in early July have been revealed.
Following a freedom of information request by Postmedia, details are now available on many of the lump sums paid to 133 people this summer.
In all, $11.3 million was paid out. The average per person payment was $85,000.
Christy Clark’s former deputy minister, Kim Henderson, received $540,955. Athana Mentselopoulos ($474,552.52), Neil E. Sweeney ($413,631.51), Dave Byng ($409,346.51) and John Paul Fraser ($396,205) round out the top five.
The dismissed appointees include ministerial assistants, public relations staffers and a few deputy ministers. Details of 45 payments were not finalized at the time the information request was made in late July and thus those numbers aren’t included in the release.
B.C. Hydro CEO Jessica McDonald was also dismissed, but her severance will go on Hydro’s books.
In 2001, when the B.C. Liberals transitioned to power after defeating the NDP, a total of $9 million was paid to fired appointees. Adjusted for inflation, that figure is slightly higher than the amount spent by the NDP this year.
Fired staffers severance by The Vancouver Sun on Scribd
