VANCOUVER, B.C.: Documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation show that outgoing TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond’s COVID-19 pay cut was reversed and his pay has gone up since 2019.

“TransLink made headlines last spring saying its executives were taking a 10 per cent pay cut since we were all in this together,” said Kris Sims, B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “But that pay cut was rescinded and taxpayers from across British Columbia and Canada paid for the CEO’s salary of $448,314.”

When the Canadian Taxpayers Federation asked for confirmation of the CEO pay cut, TransLink responded by saying: “Funding from the Provincial Safe Restart agreement allowed TransLink to rescind … cuts to non-union pay, including pay for executives (including the CEO).”

The Taxpayers federation obtained the documents using Freedom Of Information requests.

In 2019, the CEO was paid $445,182 in salary.

The CEO is currently paid $448,314 in salary.

“There was a press release announcing the CEO would take a pay cut, but his pay went up year over year after the cut was reversed because of support programs paid for by struggling taxpayers,” said Sims. “Why is the head of a regional bus board for Metro Vancouver paid more than the prime minister of Canada? And why was money from a program to support struggling Canadians funneled to gold-plated executive pay?”

Desmond is leaving TransLink and moving back to the United States after TransLink put him in the highest pay bracket for transit managers in North America.

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