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Ferries bonus comp all bogus

It's time to put aside the notion that Crown corporations are publicly owned.

To the Editor,

Re: B.C. Ferries executives lose bonus plan.

It’s time to stop the flow of mis-information about the status of our Crown corporations.

Any Member of the BC Liberal government who does not understand that the BC Ferries system is a Crown corporation does not possess the basic pre-requisite to be a minister.

The shares of all our Crown corporations are owned by the BC government, making them Crown corporations not only in name, but also in fact.

It is also time to put and end to the silly notion that our Crown corporations are ‘publicly owned and privately managed’.

The boards of directors of our Crown corporations are not registered and bonded corporate entities that  have comprehensive, detailed contracts with the BC government to manage our Crown corporations.

The directors of our Crown corporations are in fact all government employees.

It is also clear that the BC Ferries board should never have had a free rein to pay anyone whatever it decided, including themselves, and to do whatever it wanted.

BC Ferries Board chairman Donald Hayes states in part that the bonus plan for executives is similar to Crown corporations, arrogantly ignoring the fact that the BC ferry system indeed is a Crown corporation.

The BC Ferries boards, past and present, have also managed to demonstrate an unusual level of incompetence that would never have been tolerated, had they been private contractors providing management services to the government.

While bonuses usually are considered as rewards for exemplary performance, the BC Ferries system has been and continues to be an incredible example of operational and financial incompetence.

Allowing the board to be monitored by an independent commissioner and reporting to a separate authority also borders the un-orthodox and is completely irresponsible.

It’s time for the BC government to deliver on its fiduciary responsibilities, take control of our Crown corporations, and provide the direction and leadership that has been desperately needed for a long time.

Andy Thomsen,

Summerland,B.C.