The provincial government’s finances are a mess right now.

So why on earth did the provincial cabinet agree to giving their political buddies big raises, promotions, new positions and bonus pay levels in their agreements?

Consider what a little bird in the provincial government told us about the cabinet decisions that I'll get into in a moment - 

“I work in the civil service, I don't know these people, I just have an idea of the difference between civil service order in councils and ones that look political. We've been had our salaries frozen off and on over the years. Doesn't feel like the pain is being shared.”

Here are some of the examples the whistleblower passed on:

1) Example 1 – Public Accounts shows one staffer made $71,659 in 2012/13, $75,928 in 2013/14 and is now making $86,452 according to a recently passed Order in Council. That’s a 21% pay increase in just two years.

2) Example 2 – A new “Project Manager” in Aboriginal and Northern Affairs. This doesn’t seem to be replacement for an existing position, but a brand new $59,557 position???

3) Example 3 – A new $73,194 “Issues Manager” for Executive Council?

4) Example 4 – Has the Department of Finance had “Senior Advisor” positions in the past? This $116,845 Order in Council does not suggest the appointment replaced anyone.

5) Bonus Pay Levels – There are plenty of Orders in Council where employee contracts appear to have been rewritten so that employees can now reach a bonus pay level merely for sticking around a long time.

Example A) This Tourism communications spinner made $60,824 in 2012, but now makes $76,182 (a 25% pay increase in under three years). Not only that, the appointment now includes a “long service step” with a possible pay level of $81,024. No mention of performance, just longevity.

Example B) This Department of Labour communications spinner also had her contract rewritten to include a “long service step” with a possible bonus pay level of $81,024.

Example C) The same thing happened for this “Jobs and the Economy” spinner – click here.

To be clear, all provincial governments in Canada have political staff. The problem in Manitoba seems to be that the cost for many of these positions (and the number of these jobs) is increasing far too quickly.

Again, the provincial government isn’t making these generous changes during a boom or period of significant growth – the province’s finances are in rough shape. Their 2012 budget predicted they’d be running a $23 million surplus by now. Instead, they’re running a $357 million deficit!

If anything what the Selinger team should be doing right now is leading by example and reducing their own staff expenses wherever possible. That would send a strong signal to the bureaucracy that times are indeed tight. But as long as Premier Selinger continues on with a larger cabinet than Premier Doer had, don't expect things to change anytime soon.