Plan & report for health authorities

As public sector organizations, health authorities receive direction from the B.C. government through mandate letters.

They communicate their governance and accountabilities through:

• Service plans
• Annual reports

Accountability requirements

Health authorities must follow the spirit and intent of B.C. government core policies and comply with all applicable legislation, policies and guidelines. Learn more about legislation for B.C.'s health authorities.

Health authorities must:

• Provide a list of all property they own, according to the inventory policy for real property in the public sector
• Meet and report on carbon neutral requirements
• Issue quarterly reports

Health authorities in B.C. are also required to issue an annual report. The first report was published in 2016.

Executive compensation disclosure

Health Authorities must annually disclose executive compensation. Under sections 14.6 and 14.7 of the Act, all public sector employers in B.C. are required to provide reports to PSEC Secretariat specifying all the terms and conditions of employment for their “senior employees” earning an annualized base salary of $125,000 or more along with copies of the senior employees’ written contracts of employment. These contracts of employment are considered public documents under the Act and do not require a request be made under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to be viewed by a member of the public.   

The annual executive compensation disclosure includes:

• base salary
• benefits (both taxable and non-taxable)
• perquisites
• pension contributions
• retirement allowances
• any form of performance payments such as holdbacks or bonuses

In addition, the disclosure provides an explanation of the compensation philosophy, how it relates to the organization’s performance targets and how the actual compensation paid relates to those targets.

Mandate letters

The B.C. government issues an annual mandate letter to each health authority to communicate their annual direction and confirm their mandate and priorities.

Health authorities review and discuss their mandate letter with the Ministry of Health to clarify their accountabilities, roles, responsibilities and expectations.

Mandate letters (previously called government letters of expectation) are posted on the websites of all regional and provincial health authorities.

Service plans

Health authorities in B.C. issue three-year service plans, outlining their strategic priorities.

Service plans are updated annually and posted on the websites of all regional and provincial health authorities.