Premier Christy Clark has questioned a decision made in secret by an all-party committee to extend $127,000 in severance pay to MLAs who are recalled by voters.

The decision was made in February 2011, at a time when recall campaigns targeted B.C. Liberal MLAs over the imposition of the harmonized sales tax.

It was belatedly disclosed in minutes from the Legislative Assembly Management Committee, which began public disclosure of its proceedings this fall after a critical report from B.C. Auditor General John Doyle.

The severance amount equals 15 months of an MLAB次元官网网址檚 base salary, which was frozen at $101,859 a year in 2010, when the B.C. government imposed a two-year freeze on public service salaries.

Clark said the government doesnB次元官网网址檛 control the committee, which is chaired by legislative speaker Bill Barisoff and has B.C. Liberal and NDP members.

B次元官网网址淚 think a lot of people in a tough economy would look at that and say they donB次元官网网址檛 get it, and I am one of those people,B次元官网网址� Clark said.

Oak Bay-Gordon Head MLA Ida Chong said she is one of those people too.

She was the first B.C. Liberal MLA targeted in the 2010-11 recall campaign and said she had no idea the severance decision had been made.

B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 exactly when I was going through recall, and I had no indication, not that that wouldB次元官网网址檝e changed anything,B次元官网网址� she said on Friday. B次元官网网址淭hat wouldB次元官网网址檝e been an insult to voters. I was certainly not expecting anything of that nature.B次元官网网址�

Chong says she B次元官网网址渨ould be fineB次元官网网址� with seeing the recall severance decision reversed.

B次元官网网址淭hat was a decision made at LAMC. IB次元官网网址檓 not at those meetings and none of us see those minutes,B次元官网网址� she said.

Barisoff defended the decision Thursday, telling reporters that MLAs who are recalled because of cabinet decisions rather than personal misconduct deserve severance so they can make the transition to another job. It can be difficult for defeated MLAs to find work, he said.

B次元官网网址� with files from Kyle Slavin and Tom Fletcher

tfletcher@blackpress.ca