(AB) Mar to walk away from Asia post with golden handshake

[Oscar]

(Alberta) Mar to walk away from Asia post with golden handshake

[ http://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/ ... -handshake ]


After more than 20 years as an Alberta politician and government official, Gary Mar’s public sector career will come to an end on June 30 as his contract as Alberta’s representative in Asia expires.

But even as he prepares to leave his Hong Kong post, Mar — and the former Progressive Conservative administration — is under fire over a $140,000 golden handshake he will receive from the provincial government.

Mar — the former Tory cabinet minister and leadership candidate who received a transition allowance worth nearly $500,000 when he resigned as an MLA to become Alberta’s envoy to Washington in 2007 — will receive the equivalent of 26 weeks of salary because his contract is not being renewed.

The payout — equivalent to what he would receive if terminated — is part of the contract signed by Mar in December 2011 when he took the position in Asia.

In an interview from Hong Kong this week, Mar said the provision is due to the “cooling-off” rules relating to future employment that he will face after leaving public service.

“I negotiated that because of the restrictions on what I can and cannot do,” he said. “The restrictions are not insignificant and so that is a reflection of the cooling-off period.”

Under provincial government regulations in place when he signed his contract, Mar would be unable for six months to make representations to the government, take a position with a company that he has had significant official dealings with in office or act on a commercial basis with a company he had dealings with.

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[ http://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/ ... -handshake ]