It's been an expensive week for B.C. taxpayers.
Last Friday, we found out we're on the hook for a $750-million settlement over power B.C. Hydro sold to California more than 10 years ago.
Apparently, helping out a neighbour when their power goes out isn't always a good idea, as we're now discovering.
B.C. Ferries executives are smiling after having their bonuses increased by thousands of dollars, though taxpayers likely won't be after that cost trickles down our way.
And finally, the Burnaby NOW discovered TransLink is paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for a lease in Surrey that continues until 2019, after the transit authority moved the majority of its operations to a new location in New Westminster as a cost-saving measure (see the story on page 1).
Cost-saving measure? While there is often overlap moving from one location to another, and we all know moving costs add up, this is beyond ridiculous.
It is very easy to spend money when you know someone else is footing the bill. And unfortunately, that seems to be the motto of our government and the companies responsible for our transportation, whether by boat or by bus.
Energy Minister Bill Bennett says we dodged a bullet by settling in the B.C. Hydro case, avoiding hundreds of thousands more in court costs.
Perhaps he's right. But it would be nice if our fearless leaders (and the companies they pay with our tax dollars) were more considerate of the costs to us.
We'd like to see the heads of B.C. Hydro, B.C. Ferries and TransLink begin to treat our hard-earned money with the same respect they do their own and practise a little frugality.
After this week's spending spree, we won't have much more cash to throw around.
