When the BC NDP government quietly hired former cabinet minister George Heyman to help with public sector bargaining, it was adamant he’d earn no more than “a maximum” of $58,000.

Government even bolded and underlined the word “maximum” in its June public statement that belatedly admitted Heyman had already been hired, in secret, two months earlier.

The idea, it seemed, was to give the impression of fiscal prudence during a time New Democrats were placing a hiring freeze on the civil service, and trimming more than 800 public workers.

Sure, hiring someone who’d just left cabinet to a sole-sourced contract might smell bad. But at least, the government implied, the stench would be small and short-lived.

The problem is the “maximum” didn’t stop there.

In the months since, the contract has tripled, without a word of public notice.

What began as a four-month, $58,000 contract has ballooned into $145,830........

© BIV