Pay hike for health board is sick


Calgary HeraldMarch 27, 2009





O utrageous. That's the first word that comes to mind at the news that Health Minister Ron Liepert has given the members of the Alberta Health Services superboard a 25 per cent raise. Let's get the optics out of the way first. They are unquestionably terrible. In a time of economic downturn when health care is hurting more than usual, the sight of board members receiving this double-digit increase is frankly appalling.
Now, let's get down to the nitty-gritty. The 15 positions on the superboard are not full-time jobs. The members are paid honorariums--but since when is any honorarium in the neighbourhood of $50,000? That's a salary, not an honorarium. The very word "honorarium" denotes a nominal sum paid as an acknowledgment of the time and effort dedicated to board membership. On top of that, members get $750 whenever they attend a board meeting, plus remuneration up to a maximum of $1,000 a month for other meetings and business. What kind of board, in the public or private sector, pays its members separately to attend meetings? That's what boards do--they meet. It's their most basic function. And when they meet, it should never be treated as some extraordinary circumstance de-serving of extra pay on top of the honorarium. Board chair-man Ken Hughes gets even more--his honorarium with the raise will be$75,000 a year, and he'll be paid another$1,000 each time he attends a board meeting--plus a maximum of $2,000 a month for conducting other superboard business.
Granted, the members of the superboard are tasked with many more responsibilities than are the members of other boards, but a 25 per cent raise plus payment per meeting is an affront to Albertans who expect and demand that their health-care dollars will be disbursed wisely. That means Liepert's priority should be addressing long wait lists, bed and staff shortages and other pressing needs, and not lining board members' pockets. Moreover, the board has not even been in place for a year, so merit raises based on a demonstrated ability to manage the health-care system prudently and well are extremely premature.
It is disheartening to see Liepert indulging the same attitude that has been displayed too often by the provincial government, such as when Premier Ed Stelmach and cabinet voted themselves undeservedly large raises soon after the last election. There is a pervasive sense among this bunch of being out of touch with the harsh economic realities affecting the people who elected them. For Liepert to treat the superboard members as if health care were flush with the cash of more prosperous times is yet another disturbing--and infuriating--manifestation of that attitude.
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