Let's Give Gordon Campbell a Reality Check

REALITY CHECK

August 12, 2008

CAMPBELL’S INDEX:

EXECS GET PAY HIKES, ORDINARY PEOPLE LEFT BEHIND

Gordon Campbell’s announcement last Friday of steep pay hikes for his top advisors stands in stark contrast to his policies, which are increasingly leaving ordinary British Columbians behind.

Gordon Campbell has said that, “One of the important things we have to do is make sure that we are treating people fairly” (CKNW, August 11, 2008).

But a quick look at the numbers reveals a Premier who is arrogant and out of touch:

Latest pay raise for Campbell's Deputy Minister: $104,664, a 43 per cent hike to $348,600

Time it would take for someone working at minimum wage to earn what Campbell’s Deputy will earn next year: 21 years

Number of times Campbell has increased the minimum wage since 2001: 0

Number of times Campbell has increased the wages for his Deputy Ministers since 2001: 3

Amount Campbell gives his Deputy Minister every single day: $955, plus pension

Amount Campbell expects a person with a disability to live on, per month: $906.42

Amount by which Campbell raised his own wage last year: 54 per cent

Amount by which Campbell rolled back wages for health care workers in 2004: 15 per cent

Number of B.C. children who live in poverty: almost 1 in 4, the highest rate in the country