The B.C. government releases Public Accounts every summer to provide people with an accounting of provincial revenues and expenses from the previous year.

Public Accounts 2020-21 outlines the extraordinary spending needed to help people deal with how the pandemic affected their lives, and the impact on the Province’s finances as COVID-19 pushed economies all over the world into deep recessions.

Fiscal highlights

• Following growth of 2.8% in 2019, B.C.’s economy declined by an estimated 3.8% in 2020. Despite this, B.C.’s gross domestic product (GDP) was better than the national average decline of 5.3%.
• B.C. ended the year with a $5.5 billion deficit – $2.7 billion less than projected when Budget 2021 was presented in April.
• Employment decreased by 6.6% in 2020, raising B.C.’s unemployment rate last year to 8.9%, lower than the national rate of 9.5%.
• Taxpayer-supported debt to GDP is 20.2%, the second lowest in the country, even after significant investments in pandemic supports and capital infrastructure.
• B.C. continues to have among the best debt metrics and the best credit ratings in the country, keeping the Province’s borrowing costs for capital projects and other critical measures more affordable.
• The Public Accounts show the changes government is making to reform ICBC are stabilizing the public auto insurer. The total net income of ICBC in 2020-21 was $1.5 billion, a $1.9-billion improvement over the previous year’s net loss of $376 million.

COVID-19 pandemic spending

• The pandemic response and recovery programs totalled $10.1 billion during the year. This included:
  • $2.57 billion on health, mental health, child care, temporary housing and essential services;
  • $2.9 billion on financial supports for people, such as the BC Recovery Benefit and the BC Emergency Benefit for Workers, temporary rent supplements, supports for people requiring income and disability assistance and the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program;
  • $1.3 billion for economic recovery measures, such as job creation and training, community infrastructure projects and social supports;
  • $1.86 billion for federal-provincial safe restart programs;
  • $1 billion for statutory spending on measures related to the Emergency Program Act, housing for vulnerable people, pandemic pay and tax credits; and
  • $342 million through reprofiled government programs to address workforce development and adaptation, technology support and protective equipment.

Operating results

• While provincial expenses significantly increased and provincial taxation revenue dropped as government delivered pandemic response and recovery programs, provincial revenues were higher than expected due to federal government one-time pandemic contributions. This helped to offset impacts on provincial finances.
• The operating result for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021, is a deficit of almost $5.5 billion, an improvement of $2.7 billion from the 2020-21 numbers presented with Budget 2021.

Capital spending

• Public Accounts for 2020-21 includes $5.4 billion in taxpayer-supported infrastructure spending on hospitals, schools, post-secondary facilities, clean-infrastructure projects, transit and roads. This includes:
  • $1.848 billion to build, upgrade and modernize K-12 and post-secondary schools;
  • $1.392 billion in B.C.’s transportation network; and
  • $1.162 billion on key health facilities.
• Total capital spending was $1.7 billion below the Budget 2020 projection due to project scheduling changes.

Debt levels

• As of March 31, 2021, the total provincial debt was $87.1 billion, an increase of $14.9 billion in 2020-21.
• About 31% of the total debt is self-supported through commercial Crown corporation activities.
• The taxpayer-supported debt-to-GDP ratio, a measure often used by investors and credit rating agencies to analyze governments’ ability to manage debt loads, stood at 20.2%.
• The Province of B.C. has the second-lowest taxpayer-supported debt to GDP in Canada, after Saskatchewan.
• B.C. spent 3.1 cents of every revenue dollar toward taxpayer-supported debt last year, the lowest in Canada.
• B.C. continues to have among the best debt metrics and the best credit ratings in the country. This is keeping the Province’s borrowing costs for capital projects and other critical measures more affordable.

The B.C. government is committed to building a strong, inclusive and sustainable economy by investing in infrastructure and programs that support opportunity for all.

B.C. is not alone in facing the challenges of COVID-19, but with the support of a strong public sector, the crisis is being faced head-on by investing in British Columbians and delivering the services on which they depend.

This is the 14th year that the Ministry of Finance has disclosed the total compensation paid to senior management employees working in key decision-making positions across B.C.’s public sector. The annual disclosure reflects the compensation decisions made prior to March 31 for the fiscal year of 2020-21.

Public sector executives lead in the innovation and delivery of services that support communities in every corner of the province as historic investments in health, housing, child care and infrastructure are delivered.

Total compensation paid to executives at B.C. public sector organizations reflects their responsibilities in delivering on government’s commitment to improving the public services people depend on, making life more affordable and building a strong, inclusive, sustainable economy for the people of this province.

B.C. is a national leader in its reporting standards for executive compensation, which includes base pay, pensions, benefits, merit/performance pay/holdbacks and an explanation of the compensation paid.

Disclosure statements can be found on the websites of the employers, as well as the Public Sector Employers’ Council Secretariat:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/services-for-government/public-sector-management/compensation/executive-compensation-disclosures

2020-21 Top 10:

1. Thomas Bechard, president and CEO, Powerex

Salary: $358,800
Holdback/bonus: $540,000
Benefits: $18,280
Pension: $17,441
All other compensation: $0
Total compensation 2020-21: $934,521
Total compensation 2019-20: $937,845

2. Santa J. Ono, president and vice-chancellor, University of British Columbia
Salary: $479,400
Holdback/bonus: $0
Benefits: $12,374
Pension: $46,933
All other compensation: $73,005
Total compensation 2020-21: $611,712
Total compensation 2019-20: $605,225

3. Chris O’Riley, president and CEO, BC Hydro
Salary: $378,338
Holdback/bonus: $31,641
Benefits: $23,427
Pension: $95,719
All other compensation: $60,989
Total compensation 2020-21: $590,114
Total compensation 2019-20: $566,084

4. Brenda Leong, chair, BC Securities Commission
Salary: $459,340
Holdback/bonus: $0
Benefits: $13,436
Pension: $45,245
All other compensation: $8,983
Total compensation 2020-21: $527,004
Total compensation 2019-20: $515,203

5. James Hamilton, president, Okanagan College
Salary: $213,969
Holdback/bonus: $0
Benefits: $7,950
Pension: $22,124
All other compensation: $251,450
Total compensation 2020-21: $495,493
Total compensation 2019-20: $249,030

6. Benoit Morin, president and chief executive officer, Provincial Health Services Authority
Salary: $352,054
Holdback/bonus: $0
Benefits: $13,701
Pension: $34,883
All other compensation: $79,176
Total compensation 2020-21: $479,814

Total compensation 2019-20: $62,880

7. Nicholas Jimenez, president & chief executive officer, Insurance Corporation of BC
Salary: $396,675
Holdback/bonus: $0
Benefits: $15,614
Pension: $51,171
All other compensation: $4,445
Total compensation 2020-21: $467,905
Total compensation 2019-20: $474,680

8. Andrew Szeri, vice-president academic and provost, University of British Columbia

Salary: $405,756
Holdback/bonus: $0
Benefits: $8,709
Pension: $39,569
All other compensation: $2,000
Total compensation 2020-21: $456,034
Total compensation 2019-20: $452,374

9. James Cassels, president and vice chancellor, University of Victoria
Salary: $230,884
Holdback/bonus: $0
Benefits: $7,528
Pension: $46,737
All other compensation: $166,768

Total compensation 2020-21: $451,917
Total compensation 2019-20: $443,207

10. David Wong, executive vice-president and chief financial officer, finance, tech, supply chain, BC Hydro
Salary: $297,374
Holdback/bonus: $49,739
Benefits: $21,354
Pension: $75,236
All other compensation: $3,455
Total compensation 2020-21: $447,158
Total compensation 2019-20: $437,755

Note: Total compensation includes base salary, performance-based holdback or merit pay, statutory and health benefits and pension contributions, as well as other allowances and/or payments, such as unused vacation, sick leave payout, vehicle allowance, paid parking, lump sum severance or salary continuance, retirement allowance, professional fees and administrative leave.