Premier Campbell Couldn't Help Himself ... It Was The Devil Made Him Break The H

"It is important to recognize that government has put a lot of money into wages for civil servants," newly chosen premier Ujjal Dosanjh admitted after taking office in early 2000. "Zero, zero and two is costing us a significant amount of money." He ordered up a full accounting and promised the numbers would be shared publicly. Ramsey's subsequent release included the heretofore undisclosed costs of benefit improvements, low-wage redress, pay equity and other side deals. The combination of one-time and continuing increases had added $1.3 billion to the tab for public sector compensation, the equivalent of 11 per cent. Or as one media commentary put it: "NDP Math: 0+0+2=11." Ramsey's disclosure was part of a well-intentioned effort to improve public sector accounting. But it also tended to confirm suspicions that the NDP's deal-making with the public sector unions was sometimes more generous than either side let on. http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=2b85c5d9-58d6-4199-9413-518988bf59be&p=2 [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on June 15, 2007]

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