In 2023 former Mayor Jonathan Cote received $106,443 transition allowance from New West taxpayers and an additional $209,407 from Metro Vancouver
In an annual Statement of Financial Information report from the City of New Westminster, it was revealed former Mayor Jonathan Cote received a $106,443 transition allowance payment from New West taxpayers after he left civic politics and took a substantial six-figure job at Metro Vancouver.
The transition allowance is there to assist New Westminster’s elected officials transition back into other employment, something Cote did in under two months when he joined Metro Vancouver as Deputy General Manager, Regional Planning and Housing Development, where he was paid $209,407 in 2023. The combined payments came to more than $315,000, almost $100,000 more than Premier David Eby is paid.
“Last year, we tried to reform this pricey transition allowance policy, but the Community First politicians at city hall voted it down,” said New West Progressives Councillor Paul Minhas. “Our local taxpayers are dealing with inflation and a cumulative property tax increase of 14% over the past two years, so this ‘golden parachute’ is hard for taxpayers to have to stomach when you realize that our former mayor got a massive transition allowance as he was headed to the high-paying job at Metro Vancouver.”
If the Community First councillors had supported the NWP motion, the transition allowance policy would have been amended to limit how much transition allowance a former politician could receive if they were subsequently gainfully employed. This is a common practice found in the private sector whereby the continuance of salary or severance pay is adjusted to reflect the employment status of an individual during the transition period. In voting against the NWP motion, it was reported in the New West Record that Mayor Johnstone stated, in part “the separation allowance is a benefit that elected government officials receive” and it “should be an important part of every compensation package.”
“When the NWP is elected with a majority on Council in 2026, one of the first governance reforms I’ll be advocating for is to limit how much transition allowance elected officials can receive after they’re gainfully employed,” added Minhas. “However, before we get that opportunity, it’s important for our current Mayor to let our community know if he plans to accept a sizeable transition allowance once he leaves office, even if he is working full-time only weeks out of office.”