For the year ended March 31, B.C. Securities Commission chairman Doug Hyndman earned a base salary of $342,368, plus a bonus of $144,040 and $57,549 in pension and other benefits, for a grand total of $543,957.

That was just over 2% higher than the previous year, which is a bit of a relief from the double-digit increases of previous years. But Hyndman still ranks as the fifth-highest-paid public-sector employee in British Columbia.

The largesse has been extended to other senior BCSC employees. Executive director Brenda Leong made $379,415 last year, 6% more than the previous year; and vice chairman Brent Aitken earned $361,744, 31% higher than the previous year.

It’s quite true, as the BCSC points out, that the Ontario and Alberta securities commissions are even more generous with their senior employees. Ontario Securities Commission chairman David Wilson made $700,528 last year, which was about $156,000 more than Hyndman. But that included 17 months of bonus, instead of the usual 12, so his annual compensation is slightly overstated.

Also, Hyndman looked after a budget of $35 million and a staff of 186. By comparison, Wilson had a budget of $82 million and 464 employees. The OSC is also the home jurisdiction to Canada’s biggest corporate issuers, so Wilson should get paid more.

Alberta Securities Commission chairman Bill Rice earned $660,000 last year, about $121,000 more than Hyndman, even though he has a smaller staff (146) and budget ($28.3 million). Of course, it is Alberta, which is rolling in dough.

But comparing compensation figures for securities regulators from province to province is a mug’s game. In my view, they are all overpaid, certainly in comparison to the top people in other public-sector businesses that are equally or more challenging to run.

According to figures released by the B.C. government, the highest-paid B.C. public-sector executive is Stephen Toope, president of the University of B.C. He looks after an annual budget of $1.6 billion and 18,000 employees. It’s a job that comes with more headaches than a truckload of aspirin could ever cure. By comparison, Hyndman runs a hotdog stand. But Toope made only $578,937 last year, just $35,000 more than Hyndman.

Bob Elton, the president and CEO of B.C. Hydro — the largest public or private corporation in Western Canada — was the next highest-paid civil servant. He looked after a budget of $4.8 billion and 5,185 employees last year. These guys build and run hydroelectric dams, for Pete’s sake, yet Elton made only $570,897 last year, just $27,000 more than Hyndman.

Now let’s look at some high-profile B.C. public-sector executives who made less than Hyndman. One is Paul Taylor, president and CEO of the Insurance Corp. of B.C., the province’s publicly owned auto insurer. Last year, he looked after 5,024 employees and a budget of $3.5 billion. He runs one of the most complex, politically charged and consumer-sensitive businesses in the province. Yet he makes only $524,759, about $19,000 less than Hyndman.

Then there is Dr. Nigel Murray, president and CEO of the Fraser Health Authority, which runs all Vancouver-area government health services, including hospitals. He presides over 23,000 employees, 2,300 physicians and an annual budget of $2 billion. It is a job fraught with pressure from patients, doctors and politicians, not to mention a heavily unionized workforce. Yet he makes only $449,970, almost $94,000 less than Hyndman.

Some supporters say it’s worth paying Hyndman and his executive colleagues a few extra bucks to ensure the job is done properly. I say this is too simplistic, that compensation at the BCSC has lost perspective, as evidenced by the above comparisons.

There are many non-pecuniary reasons why qualified people will take these jobs and make careers out of them. They simply don’t need to be paid this much. IE