What B.C.’s highest-paid public servants made last year

Toonie | BCBusiness

THE#BCBIZDAILY
Show us the money, Ballard Power split and a moratorium on mining

Rich rewards
The Vancouver Sun‘s latest online database of public-sector salaries reveals that seven of B.C.’s 10 highest-paid public servants work for the B.C. Investment Management Corporation, which invests money on behalf of public-sector pension plans. One, former CEO Doug Pearce, who retired last summer, made $1.5 million, and all seven received year-over-year pay increases of more than 20 per cent. The remaining three people on this year’s Top 10 work for Powerex, the energy-trading arm of BC Hydro. Of the 75,000 people in the database, about 23,000 made $100,000 or more, an 11 per cent increase over last year. (via The Vancouver Sun)

Power shift
Ballard Power has separated its already commercialized “power products” from its “technology solutions” R&D business “so that we are better able to deliver positive and impactful customer experiences,” said Randy MacEwen, Ballard president and CEO, in a press release. Additional sales personnel in the power products group will address customer needs in telecom backup power, material handling, bus and other applications in North America, Europe, Africa and China. The technology solutions group will support customers’ fuel cell development and commercialization programs in the automotive, aerospace, military and other markets.

Ripple effect
More than a dozen aboriginal tribes in southeast Alaska want a moratorium on the development of large-scale mines along Alaska’s southeast border with B.C. plus an International Joint Commission evaluation of the province’s mining-safety practices. Concerned about a $1-billion fishery downstream from several large-scale mining projects, the tribes have formed the United Tribal Transboundary Mining Work Group. Citing the B.C. government-ordered engineering report on the Mount Polley dam collapse, the group says two breaches will occur every 10 years if the same watered tailings facilities are used. (via The Vancouver Sun)