EDMONTON – Alberta’s Wildrose party says new documents show the province has paid out almost $60 million in severance packages in the last three years.
Party leader Brian Jean says the figure is particularly disturbing given that Progressive Conservative leader Jim Prentice is now proposing tax increases virtually across the board to pay for deficits.
Jean, who was campaigning in Edmonton for the May 5 election, said documents obtained through freedom of information show that $31 million in severance was paid out across government departments from 2011 to 2014.
He says another $28 million was dispensed at Alberta Health Services.
Jean says further payouts are hidden by disclosure bans, and he is calling on Prentice to make them public.
Prentice’s government passed new rules last year to limit severance payments for political staff to a maximum of six months.
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