Senior officials received $458,832 in 2009: report
The recession may be over, but the spectre of big bonuses paid out to bank executives is still enough to make our blood boil. Especially when it comes to public sector employees. The Bank of Canada is facing criticism after an investigation by QMI Agency researcher Ken Rubin revealed that senior officers received $458,832 in performance bonuses last year. Though the amount is substantially less that that paid to the country’s private bank execs ($8.3 billion in 2009), the revelation still drew fire. “The Bank of Canada is not a private business,” says NDP MP Pat Martin. “It’s not tied to performance or productivity outcomes.” The Bank of Canada declined to comment on the report, but Kevin Gaudet, the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, defended the use of bonuses for employees. “If somebody in procurement, for example, could figure out ways to spend less on IT programs, or whatever, they should be compensated appropriately for that,” he says. “Otherwise you don’t have motives to do better.”