B.C. loses appeal over judges' pay

The Supreme Court of Canada will not look at how much B.C.'s court judges are paid, despite attempts by the provincial government to appeal an annual raise of five per cent.

The province was appealing a B.C. Court of Appeal ruling upholding the pay hike. They were hoping to reduce the raise to one-and-a-half per cent, bringing the judges' pay in line with other public service workers.

"We are now bound by the Court of Appeal, which has set our salary for the provincial court judges," Attorney General Suzanne Anton said Thursday.

The decision is retroactive, which means the province will have to pay $2.67 million more than expected.

Anton says the cost will only increase with time, and will affect the province's fiscal plan.

A lower court had originally ruled in favour of the government, before the B.C. Court of Appeal overturned that decision.