Kudos to Premier Christy Clark.
Whether it's a move to help secure her own upcoming by-election or a genuine ability to listen to the people she serves, the fact is Clark has done the right thing on pay raises.
You will recall that Premier Clark came away from all the surprises that May's election offered with a surprise of her own.
While out of one side of her mouth she was busy telling the province that once her government was re-elected, no one need bother holding out their hands for cash for their pet projects, out of the other side of her mouth came a raft of foul economic language that included massive raises for some of her favourite bureaucrats.
Many of her low-to-mid-level minions were blessed with pay hikes of 11 per cent and some of Clark's most favoured helpers saw their salaries boosted by as much as 18 per cent, and mounting a $200,000/year plateau.
This while we also heard wheelchair-bound healthcare clients were being asked to shell out $25 a month to help maintain the government's equipment (in many cases, equipment donated to government-funded facilities by generous charities).
The public outrage was palpable.
And to the undoubted consternation of a host of bureaucrats who likely thought they had won the lottery, Clark heard and responded to the cries of the masses.
She has admitted that her cabinet had erred in awarding those generous raises, and has rolled them back. The gesture may only have something to do with her own upcoming by-election.
But if Clark is to be taken at her word, she must realize her calls for belt-tightening should include all her own staff, if she wants the B.C. public to take her seriously.
