More than two decades after CN bought BC Rail for $1 billion, the Crown corporation’s two executives are still taking home a healthy pay cheque.
BC Rail’s two executives earned a combined $501,811 in the 2023/2024 fiscal year, even though the publicly-owned railway’s track is limited to a short spur.
According to public sector executive compensation disclosures, BC Railway Company (BCRC) president and CEO Gordon Westlake earned a total of $254,793, including a transportation allowance of $12,000 and a $7,995 vacation payout.
Kevin Steinberg, BCRC’s chief financial officer and vice president of finance, received $247,018 including salary, benefits, pension and the same vehicle allowance as Westlake.
Carson Binda with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said the compensation numbers are absolutely shocking.
“Taxes are going up for normal, hard-working British Columbian families who can’t afford to pay executives half a million dollars to run a railroad with no trains,” Binda told Global News in an interview Thursday.
At its height, BC Rail was the third-largest railway in Canada, operating on over 2,000 km of track in British Columbia with a mainline that ran from Vancouver to Fort Nelson.
The freight railway operations of the historic rail line were divested to CN in 2004 when the former BC Liberal government sold BC Rail’s trains and long-term leased most of its tracks to the company for $1 billion.
BC Rail still owns the 40-kilometre spur line to the port terminals at Roberts Bank in Delta.
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said the Crown corporation manages about $500 million of provincial real estate, railways and port infrastructure.
BCRC’s primary mandate, according to B.C. public accounts, is to acquire and hold railway corridor and strategic port lands and to make related infrastructure investments to provide benefits to the province.
“BCRC retains ownership of all former BC Rail railway lands and track infrastructure and is responsible for the management of its long-term lease with CN Rail,” states the recent public sector compensation disclosure.
The documents confirm 6.75 per cent increases were approved for BC Rail’s executives effective April 1, 2023.
The CEO also received a “Minister approved 5 per cent increase to annual salary,” effective April 1, 2023.
BC Rail maintains a penthouse office space along North Vancouver’s waterfront.
When Global News visited the sixth-floor suite Thursday, we were met with a locked door to “BCR Properties.”
“I think the minister owes taxpayers a real answer on this why are we wasting this much money on BC Rail,” Binda said.
Binda said there’s no reason why the Crown corporation couldn’t be folded into the transportation ministry to cut costs and save money going forward.
Global News asked the transportation ministry what BC Rail’s two executives are managing to earn six figures annually, why the railway’s lease of up to 999 years can’t be managed by its staff, and if it plans to keep the BC Rail Crown corporation structure up with employees for the next 979 years.
Rob Fleming, the minister responsible for BC Rail, was unavailable for an interview on Thursday.
In a statement, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said BCRC contributes about $10 million per year in net income to the province.
All of BC Rail’s revenues are derived from fees, rental and lease payments from its private-sector tenants, including railways, marine terminal operators and industry.
“Through the commercial management of its assets, BCRC recovers all of its expenses, including those for executive and employee salaries,” said the ministry statement.
Binda said the Canadian Taxpayers Federation plans to file a Freedom of Information request to find out exactly how much the North Vancouver office building is costing, and what other operational spending BC Rail has “when they’ve got no trains to run.”