How did Premier David Eby’s chief of staff Matt Smith land an extraordinary severance package that paid him one day’s compensation for every two days worked — when almost everyone in provincial politics thought Smith had resigned?
It’s a question New Democrats are left struggling to answer. And it’s the latest in a long line of examples of how an utterly broken severance system is ripping taxpayers off.
Smith was hired by Eby as his first chief of staff, on Oct. 22, 2022, at a salary of $241,365 annually. He left two years later, Dec. 21, 2024, with a $278,629 termination “settlement.” The bill to the public for two years work: $761,359.
The amount is obscene.
Most ordinary British Columbians only get one to two weeks (perhaps a month, at most) of severance for every year on the job, if laid off. Smith received one year’s pay for every two worked. You won’t find a teacher, nurse, firefighter or grocery store worker getting that kind of deal. It’s reserved only for the elite in provincial politics.
The timing of the golden parachute is also a slap in the face to the public.
It comes after the premier imposed a “hiring freeze” on the civil service, and demanded health authorities identify internal cost efficiencies.
You could fund two nurses for a year, and keep a rural hospital emergency room from closing, for the amount taxpayers just paid to give a soft landing to the premier’s top political strategist. You could pay a doctor’s salary for a rural community that doesn’t have one. You could open a $10-a-day child-care centre with multiple early childhood educators for parents in need. Imagine the better uses of that money.
When Smith’s “transition” was announced in November, officials in the premier’s office told media on background that Eby and Smith had an agreement to work together for two years, and so his departure was voluntary.
“It was apparently always the agreement between Eby and Smith that the chief of staff would start with a two-year term designed to get the NDP through the 2024 election,” reported the , who received the same background information from the premier’s office that many journalists did.
“The two talked following the election and agreed it was the right time for Smith to step away and spend some more time with his young family.”
It was so amicable that it was accompanied by a press release full of effusive praise for Smith and an agreement by Smith to stay on for another 43 days as an adviser to help recruit and train his successor. Everyone thought he was resigning.
Turns out, that story was a very expensive mirage.
“I was prepared to continue in the position, but fully supported his decision and helped recruit and onboard a very strong interim chief of staff, Jim Rutkoswki,” Smith told me in a statement.
“As my move out of this role was done 'without cause,' the PSA [public service agency] followed their standard process and provided me a severance package. I accepted the package as offered.”
The defence seems to be that Smith was entitled to his entitlements, so he took them.
But he knew better when he took the job. Top adviser to the premier is not a merit-based appointment. You serve at the pleasure of the premier. If you lose the premier’s confidence, you are expected to offer your resignation, not stick around like an unwanted house guest until you are paid to go away.
Internally, Eby also found himself under pressure to make visible changes to his administration, after an underwhelming election campaign in which the BC Conservatives surged to within 22-votes of costing the NDP its majority in the legislature.
The wasted money on Smith’s severance package is not an anomaly.
Former NDP deputy chief of staff Amber Hockin was paid $189,291 in severance in 2022, even though she told colleagues in an internal email that she was retiring and “have decided that it is time to move on to another chapter in my life” to spend time with grandchildren.
Former premier John Horgan’s chief of staff, Geoff Meggs, picked up a $339,784 severance after Eby became premier. He should have resigned, because he was hired by Horgan to serve only Horgan, but he chose instead to sit still, wait, and be fired so he could collect a public payout.
Former deputy minister to the premier Lori Wanamaker received a $591,089 severance from Eby’s office in 2022 even though Eby then immediately appointed her to a paid position on the board of BC Hydro.
In all cases, the government says it followed the proper rules and procedures for severance. The premier’s chief of staff is considered a deputy minister under public service agency guidelines, and is entitled to “up to” 12 months’ pay for 18-35 months’ work.
Fine. Then let’s change the rules. Because with outcomes this outrageous, it’s clear the severance system is broken.
Ultimately, this falls on the premier. The public deserves more than hollow assurances that rules were followed. Eby could order a review of the severance system. Or, alter the regulations with a cabinet order, to show financial discipline. Or, craft new employment agreements for future staff that give different expectations on compensation.
In the absence of action, British Columbians are left on the hook for outrageous payments for people who, quite frankly, don’t deserve it — while the people and communities who could use the money are left struggling.
Rob Shaw has spent more than 17 years covering B.C. politics, now reporting for CHEK News and writing for Glacier Media. He is the co-author of the national bestselling book A Matter of Confidence, host of the weekly podcast Political Capital, and a regular guest on CBC Radio.
