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Vancouver Sun
a day ago
- Vancouver Sun
Fired Fraser Health CEO is getting more than $600,000 in severance pay
Former Fraser Health CEO Dr. Victoria Lee will be paid more than $600,000 in severance after she was fired as head of the beleaguered health authority back in February. The details of Lee's compensation were recently released without fanfare as part of an executive compensation disclosure for the 2024/25 fiscal year on Fraser Health's website . The figure was first reported on Monday by The Tyee . The severance package of $609,335 is based on Lee's annual salary of about $377,000, plus vacation, pension and retroactive pay, and other benefits, including a one-time job search allowance up to $16,000. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. It is being paid out in instalments that started on Feb. 18, Lee's last day of employment and will continue until Aug. 18, 2026. Trevor Halford, the Surrey-White Rock MLA and Conservative health critic, slammed the NDP government over the 'golden parachute' for Lee as health authorities struggle with overcrowding and lengthy wait lists. Halford tried to get Health Minister Josie Osborne to disclose Lee's severance payout in the B.C. legislature in April, asking point-blank whether it was more or less than $1 million. Despite coming in well below that figure, Halford quoted The Tyee as saying it is 15 times higher than the severance afforded to a nurse in similar circumstances. 'This government is rewarding failure at the top while cutting jobs lower down,' said Halford. He called out the NDP for giving 'golden parachutes for executives, pink slips for workers, and zero accountability for the mess they've made of our health care system.' News of the big executive payout comes after it was reported late last week that the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) is cutting 57 management jobs and eliminating 61 vacant positions as part of an ongoing review of corporate spending. Lee was forced out after emergency room doctors at Surrey Memorial Hospital declared a crisis of overcrowding and health worker burnout in a letter that leaked last year. Just a week ago, Fraser Health said the emergency room at Delta Hospital was closed overnight because of a doctor shortage, one of many in recent months in the health region that serves two million people from Burnaby to Boston Bar. 'British Columbians deserve to know how many more cushy executive payouts are coming, and how deep these cuts to the health system will go,' said Halford in a statement on Monday. The interim president and CEO for Fraser Health, hired right after Lee's departure in February, is Lynn Roberta Stevenson. She received just under $50,000 in salary and benefits through the end of the 2024/25 fiscal year in March. jruttle@
Vancouver Sun
3 days ago
- Vancouver Sun
Site C Dam crosses the finish line with final generating unit coming online
A decade after shovels hit the ground and protest placards were thrust in the air, the Site C Dam has reached full operational capability. The successful commissioning of the sixth and final generating unit on the controversial project was the last to come online over the past 10 months, giving the dam the capacity generate more than 1,100 megawatts of electricity — enough energy to reliably power about 500,000 homes annually. Construction began in July 2015, with the first generating unit coming online in October 2024. The project was hit by legal challenges from First Nations, academics, local landowners and critics, and doubled its original budget of $8.8 billion to $16 billion —making it the most expensive dam in Canadian history — and massive engineering woes. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. But it's made it to the finish line. With the project's completion, B.C. Hydro says it will increase its total electricity supply by about eight per cent, helping make B.C. more energy stable and continuing to transition to greener supply source. 'The commission of Site C's final generating unit is another step forward to securing B.C.'s clean energy future,' said Adrian Dix, Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions, in a news release. 'I extend my sincere appreciation to the thousands of people who worked on Site C over the past decade — because of your work, generations of British Columbians will benefit from reliable and affordable clean electricity.' 'Bringing the final generating unit online is a proud moment for everyone at B.C. Hydro,' added Charlotte Mitha, B.C. Hydro President and CEO. 'Site C represents years of dedication, innovation, collaboration and overcoming challenges. Now that Site C is in full operation, it will serve our customers for the next 100 years and play a critical role in ensuring a stable and reliable electricity system.' The focus for the final stages of work on the project now shifts to completing the powerhouse and generating station, finishing paving on access roads, final equipment commissioning and addressing any deficiencies. Any tunnels used to divert the Peace River will be backfilled, and those areas no longer needed for construction will be re-vegetated. While public boat launches will open when the reservoir is deemed safe — in spring 2026 at the earliest — B.C. Hydro is still urging the public to stay away from the Site C reservoir and surrounding slopes, as floating vegetation debris and the surrounding land and shoreline continuing to stabilize still pose a risk.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
BC Hydro says Site C dam near Fort St. John now fully operational
VICTORIA – BC Hydro says the Site C dam in northern B.C. is now fully operational after the sixth and final power-generating turbine has come online. The Crown corporation says in a statement released Saturday that the dam along the Peace River near Fort St. John will now be able to generate 1,100 megawatts of electricity — enough electricity to power half a million homes per year. Adrian Dix, B.C.'s minister of energy and climate solutions, says this development means that 'generations of of British Columbians will benefit from reliable and affordable clean electricity.' With Site C now fully operational, it will serve BC Hydro customers for the next century, says Charlotte Mitha, BC Hydro president and chief executive officer. Construction of the controversial dam started in July 2015 under former B.C. Liberal premier Christy Clark, and continued under late NDP premier John Horgan, following a review of the project. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. With a final price tag of $16 billion, nearly double of its initial price tag, the dam is considered B.C.'s most expensive infrastructure project. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2025.
