How do Stephen Duckett, Alberta Health Services and the government of Alberta get to have it both ways at once?
The former CEO of Alberta Health Services, the province-wide health agency Duckett led, and Alberta's Conservative government all agree that the Australian PhD economist was not fired when he left AHS in November 2011.
At the same time, these three mismatched amigos all happily agree that Duckett has been paid out his entire year's salary, benefits, variable pay and an amount to cover contingent liabilities -- which together add up to the not insignificant sum of $735,630.
Most of us who spend a lifetime toiling in wage slavery figure you can have it one way, or you can have it the other.
2.jpg "David Climenhaga, author of the Alberta Diary blog, is a journalist, author, journalism teacher, poet and trade union communicator who has worked in senior writing and editing positions with the Toronto Globe and Mail and the Calgary Herald. His 1995 book, A Poke in the Public Eye, explores the relationships among Canadian journalists, public relations people and politicians. He left journalism after the strike at the Calgary Herald in 1999 and 2000 to work as Communications Director of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, which with more than 73,000 members is Alberta’s largest union and Canada’s 10th largest. Alberta Diary focuses on Alberta politics and social issues. Contact: albertadiary @ gmail.com")