Poor Funding & Financial Mismanagement

Underfunded & Overpaid

At the core of virtually every problem facing our fisheries, lakes and rivers is a well-paid but utterly
apathetic bureaucracy.

For years the Provincial government has steadily dismantled the Forestry & Wildlife division. Funding
has constantly eroded while those in leadership roles have sat collecting their exorbitant salaries and
bonuses, more concerned with personal advancement than carrying out the task of protecting our
natural capital.

Big Paychecks for Poor Results

Consider that the Sustainable Resource Development budget is just $400 million. Of this, a $69 million goes to the Fish & Wildlife division annually. Of that $69 million, the entire provincial fishery budget is a mere $10 million. Why are our Fish & Wildlife officials not campaigning against this drastically insufficient funding?

Here’s the kicker: Nearly $2 million is paid every year in salaries and bonuses to SRD officials. That’s right, the top 10 executives within the Sustainable Resources Development (SRD) and the Fish & Wildlife Division receive a wage and bonus structure that equates to roughly 1/5 of the entire Provincial fishery management budget!

Hard to believe? See an account of executive salaries and benefits from 2009 here.

These executives are paid very well in order to adequately care for our waterways – and yet time and time again we see them fail to do so, turning their attention instead to the paths of least resistance and their own self interests.