Premier David Eby’s new cabinet comes with hefty pay raises, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill.
Recently re-elected David Eby announced his cabinet picks on Monday. A government finance watchdog says it will cost British Columbians nearly half a million more in tax dollars than the previous government despite being the same size as the last session’s.
As noted by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Eby’s new cabinet will put Canadians on the hook for at least $1.9 million after the BC NDP voted to raise the pay of cabinet ministers and his decision to maintain a historically oversized cabinet.
The decision followed Eby’s election campaign, which ran to make life more affordable for British Columbians.
His cabinet will include 23 cabinet ministers, four ministers of state and 14 parliamentary secretaries.
Compared with B.C.’s previous premier, the late John Horgan, Eby’s cabinet picks will cost at least $490,000 more than his predecessor. Eby’s cabinet has ballooned by 46% since he was elected in 2022. In comparison, Horgan’s cabinet included 20 ministers, two misters of state and six parliamentary secretaries.
Following pay raises the BC NDP voted to give government officials last year, ministers will receive an additional $600,000 on top of their base salary of $120,000, ministers of the state will receive an additional $42,000, and parliamentary secretaries can expect an additional $18,000.
Carson Binda, the B.C. director at the CTF, told True North in an interview that these numbers do not account for the pay raises given to the government whip, speaker and deputy speaker, who have yet to be appointed.
“The NDP voted for a pay raise last year, so they are literally giving themselves more money than ever before. While British Columbians have never had it harder,” he said. “So even though cabinet isn’t the same size as it was before the election, it’s going to be more expensive for B.C. taxpayers.”
He estimated that the incomplete cabinet will cost B.C. taxpayers $1,900,570.54, including Eby’s pay raise, and excluding those who have yet to be appointed.
“Most British Columbians think that for that kind of growth in the cabinet, we should be seeing big results from our government, and unfortunately, we’re just not,” Binda said. “Government needs to stop growing…and treating taxpayers like a bottomless well. Because we’re not a bottomless well. Increasingly, taxpayers are getting more and more tapped out.”
He said that Eby’s first action as re-elected premier contradicts his campaign promises to make life more affordable.
“If Premier David Eby is serious about giving taxpayers support, he shouldn’t be looting our pocketbooks to reward NDP caucus colleagues,” Binda told True North. “It’s a slap in the face for everyone in British Columbia who’s struggling to make ends meet right now.”
Binda noted that Food Banks Canada reports suggest that nearly one in five British Columbians are experiencing food insecurity.
“That means one in five people are worried about going to bed without having dinner in their tummies or about being unable to feed themselves and their kids every evening. David Eby looked at those economic indicators and said, ‘I know what British Columbians need. It’s a bigger cabinet.’ It’s ridiculous,” he said. “It shows that government is shaping up to be a tale of taxpayer have nots, and governmental have-yachts.”
Eby’s NDP are going into a razor-thin majority in the legislature with a $60 billion deficit. According to the BC government, the annual deficit spending for the fiscal year of 2024 / 2025 is expected to be $9 billion. By 2026 / 2027 that deficit is projected to be $126.8 billion.
Binda said an increasing British Columbian debt means that every dollar spent over budget today is a dollar plus interest that taxpayers are billed tomorrow.
He said to pay for its large deficits, Eby’s government continues to hike taxes, such as home heating fuels, natural gas, freedom of information requests, and secondhand cars, making life less affordable for British Columbians.