Public Sector Employers' Council

Executive Compensation Disclosure

In 2008, disclosure of executive compensation across British Columbia’s public sector was expanded to increase transparency and accountability. Employers are now required to move beyond simply reporting what was paid to a more detailed explanation on all the elements that make up the compensation package for the individual. Disclosures must include an explanation of the employer's compensation philosophy, the objectives of the compensation program and what it is designed to reward, and how the performance payments for the top five executives relate to the organization’s performance targets. These reporting requirements are modeled on those of the Canadian Securities Administrators’ requirements of publicly-traded companies.

The enhanced disclosure requirements apply to chief executive officers and the next four highest paid/ranking executives, where these positions hold an annual base salary of $125,000 or more. They must be proactively disclosed on the organization's website. This executive compensation disclosure is in addition to the more basic salary disclosures employers make under the Financial Information Act for employees earning $75,000 or more.

The Public Sector Employers Act permits the chief executive officer of the Public Sector Employers Council to prepare and publish reports with respect to that information. Accordingly, the following is a report of British Columbia's public sector executive compensation for the employers' most recent fiscal years.

All documents are provided in PDF format. PDF files are viewable with Adobe Acrobat Reader software.

The 2007-08 disclosures are available at this link: http://www.aved.gov.bc.ca/psec/disclosure07_08.htm

Education Sector

K-12 Public School Districts (Fiscal 2007-2008 (year ending June 30, 2008)

Boards of Education are solely responsible for determining the total compensation package for the position of Superintendent of Schools. BCPSEA administers a sectoral compensation management plan for all other exempt positions with the objective of enabling boards to attract and retain high quality personnel through the establishment and maintenance of rational and defensible total compensation structures. Public school districts have a fiscal year that ends on June 30 and will disclose executive compensation later in the year.

Colleges, Institutes & Universities (Fiscal Year April 1, 2008 – March 31, 2009)

B.C.’s colleges and institutes provide a range of programs that prepare adult learners for post-secondary studies and provide courses and programs in trades, vocational, career technical and academic studies leading to certificates, diplomas, associate degrees and applied degrees.   The presidents and senior administrators provide leadership to post secondary education institutions ranging in student enrolment from several hundred up to 15,000. A key factor in their compensation is their competitiveness with similar Canadian institutions.

The province’s universities range in size and may include medical schools and research-revenue generation arms. A key factor in recruitment and retention of presidents and senior administrators at these institutions is ensuring that their compensation is situated within relevant labour market comparators and remains competitive with similar Canadian universities.

Health Sector (Fiscal Year April 1, 2008 – March 31, 2009)

B.C. Heath Authorities

Health Authorities provide leadership to complex medical organizations with multiple facilities and a broad continuum of care. Their operating budgets can be in the billions of dollars. Compensation levels are generally set at the 50th percentile of relevant labour market comparators.

Other Health Employers (Fiscal Year April 1, 2008 – March 31, 2009)

There is a variety of other health employers whose executives provide leadership to medical facilities or small to medium size health organizations. Their compensation levels are based upon relevant labour market comparators.

Crown Corporations and Agencies (Fiscal Year Stated Below)

B.C.’s Crown corporations and Agencies provide many different services to the public. In some cases they are large commercial operations such as, BC Hydro and ICBC, in other cases they are a means to provide cost-effective services to citizens such as, BC Housing. Their executives come from varied professional backgrounds, but in most cases their relevant labour markets are similar organizations in the public and private sector in Canada.

Public Service

B.C’s public service is made up of thousands of employees in ministries and agencies who work in diverse fields, such as correction services, public health, park stewardship and putting out forest fires.  The executive compensation approach is intended to balance a competitive compensation package designed to attract and retain qualified, experienced and engaged executive who are capable of achieving a high level of performance.

Community Social Services Sector

B.C.’s social service sector strives to offer compensation that neither leads nor lags relevant labour market comparators.