Do senior public bureaucrats deserve private sector style pay?

Across the country, this week, Canadians have displayed their displeasure at stories about bureaucrat salaries.

In British Columbia, just weeks after the provincial election, the Christy Clark government gave significant raises to all their ministerial chief's of staff. According to Sun News, Premier Clark's chief of staff now makes more money than President Barack Obama's.

The Alberta government, on Wednesday, fired the entire 10-member Alberta Health Services board after it refused to cancel $3.2 million in bonuses promised to 99 executives — bonuses they earned for good performance.

[ Related: Alberta fires health service board over autonomy and salary bonuses ]

Meanwhile, Ontarians are upset about an eHealth executive who just received a $400,000+ severance package — paid for by taxpayers.

It's an age-old debate: Do public compensation packages need to match private sector compensation packages? In other words, do governments need to pay their top bureaucrats top money in order to attract good people?

We put that very question to our panel of political watchers. Here are there responses:

Dan McTeague, former Liberal MP:

The short answer is yes but with conditions.

Outcomes that justify increased compensation packages may not be like the private sector which bases, to a large extent (US bailout banks as an exception), rewards on increased company values. It would be difficult if next to impossible to do the same for the public sector.

There is no doubt that qualified executives in the public sector are often poached and enticed by the private sector, so retention and compensation are vital to ensure the interest of Canadians are also guaranteed by having the most qualified run the machinery of government. Here I'm thinking of the Governor of the Bank of Canada, our heads of CSIS, RCMP, The CDS of National Defence and of course our Deputy Ministers.

[ Related: ‘Rock-star banker’ Mark Carney the toast of England as Canadians left with $30k bill ]

Put another way .... You get what you pay for

Stephen Taylor, of the National Citizens Coalition:

Private and public sector compensation thresholds should always be fluid to match market demand.

Governments should compensate bureaucrats competitively, however, the taxpayer demands transparency so that it can assess any abuse within the system. Government should also strive to move more services to the private sector, where the marketplace can help determine best price for best service.

Jordan Bateman, of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation:

Governments tend to discount the other perks that come with public sector executive jobs – public profile, strong networking opportunities, and better pensions and benefits. Instead of factoring these into the equation, they simply write a cheque and try to match the private sector. Only in very, very rare instances is that necessary.

(Photo courtesy of The Canadian Press)

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