NSLC Board Compensation Increased

The stipend for members of the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) board of directors will increase.

Ernest Fage, the Minister responsible for the administration of NSLC, announced stipend increases today, Jan. 21.

The monthly compensation for NSLC directors will increase to $1,000 per month from $600 per month. Compensation for the chairman of the board will increase to $2,000 per month from $1,000 per month.

"The time commitment needed to oversee this half-billion-dollar- a-year business is more extensive than anticipated when the board of directors was first established in 2001," said Mr. Fage. "Nova Scotians continue to receive exceptional value for their money from this board."

The increases are lower than the amounts recommended by Thompson and Associates, the company hired in 2003 to do an NSLC board compensation analysis.

Under the leadership of the board of directors, the NSLC has undergone a series of visible changes to management, store network, product selection and customer services since 2001.

The NSLC is now returning $30 million a year more in profits to the government of Nova Scotia than it did in 2001.

The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation generates almost a half-a- billion dollars of revenue a year, returning in excess of $170 million profit annually to the province. It employs more than 1,100 Nova Scotians, offering 3,000 products from around the globe through 106 retail and eight agency stores across the province.