Sunshine list

A sunshine list is a listing of salary, benefit and severance information.[1] Its colloquial name refers to the goal of illuminating government expenditures.[2] In Canada, the list is commonly used for example by provincial or municipal governments to identify any publicly employed person making $100,000 salary or higher.[3] The purpose of the list is to provide accountability and transparency. For example, the province of Ontario requires "organizations that receive public funding from the Province of Ontario to disclose annually the names, positions, salaries and total taxable benefits of employees paid $100,000 or more in a calendar year."[4]

History

Alberta

Alberta first started publishing a sunshine list in 2014 following the 2012 election of Alison Redford. The introduction of the list followed public debate about the severance awarded to Redford's former chief of staff.[1] In Alberta, the policy applies to deputy ministers, senior officials, political staff appointed under the Executive Assistant Order and employees defined under the Public Service Act who work for the offices of ministers and associate ministers, and who made an annual base salary of at least $100,000. The government began disclosing base salaries, benefit and severance amounts, and details of contract and termination agreements beginning on 31 January 2014. Information was to be posted online twice annually no later than 30 June (salaries and severances) and 31 December (severances in the latter half of the year) and included all staff employed as of 23 April 2012.[5] As of 2022, public sector bodies' employees are listed at salaries above $141,183, as Alberta indexes against inflation.[6]

Nova Scotia

The government of Halifax has released a sunshine list annually since 2016.[7]

Ontario

Ontario introduced the sunshine list in 1996 under the Mike Harris government.[3]

Uses

While intended as an accountability tool, the lists have been used for other purposes. Maclean's magazine, for example, has used the list to examine employment equity in academia.[8]

Flaw

In 2011, Chris Mazza, President and CEO of Ornge, managed to stay off the sunshine list while making $1.4 million per year in a controversial scandal.[9]

Criticisms

A concern of the sunshine list is its lack of anonymity. The inclusion of full names can pose as a danger to privacy. Another criticism is its lack of indexing to inflation. Local sunshine lists continue to get longer every year. [10] [11]

References
  1. "Alberta Premier Alison Redford Leaves Mixed Legacy Behind
  2. Chianello, Joanne (2015-04-03). "City manager Kirkpatrick top Ottawa earner on 2014 'Sunshine List'". The Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  3. CBC News "Sunshine List 2014: Ontario's Top Public Earners List Released"
  4. Government of Ontario Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act (1996)
  5. FFWD weekly article
  7. Woodford, Zane (2 September 2021). "Halifax releases 2021 sunshine list: Of more than 1,000 employees making more than $100,000, 454 are police". Halifax Examiner.
  8. "Knocking on the Glass Ceiling"
  9. Donovan, Kevin (22 December 2011). "ORNGE president was paid $1.4 million per year". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  10. "FAILURE TO UPDATE RENDERS SUNSHINE LIST MEANINGLESS, DANGEROUS". March 29, 2023.
  11. "Hundreds of local public-sector employees on Sunshine List". Barrie Today. March 24, 2023.

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