Ontario Sunshine list: Highest paid in public sector revealed

Overtime pay and other pandemic-related payments bolstered the 2020 salaries of Ontario’s public sector workers. However, six of the highest paid public servants in the province are executives from the energy sector, official salary data revealed.

The Ontario government publishes the income data of employees who earned at least $100,000 in the preceding year from organizations that receive public funding. The so-called “Sunshine” list aims to promote pay transparency in the sector in line with the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act.

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Despite the pandemic, salaries jumped in 2020 – with 75% of the rise attributed to workers in hospitals, public health boards and school boards. Registered nurses contributed about 60% of the increase in the healthcare sector, while teachers made up 97% of the increase in education. “Compensation as captured in the disclosure list can reflect overtime payments, as well as growth or natural progression through salary ranges, promotions, severance payments, one-time performance-based payments and payments required on retirement,” the Treasury Board Secretariat said.

“The pandemic created significant demands on many parts of the public service to support Ontarians. Staff in many sectors, notably health care, worked extraordinary hours to help keep Ontario safe,” the government said.

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However, the highest-earning public servants last year mostly came from the energy sector. Six of the top 10 earners work for Ontario Power Generation.

1. Kenneth Hartwick, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Power Generation – $1,228,517.00
2. Dominique Miniere, President, Nuclear, Ontario Power Generation – $1,131,767.04
3. Sean Granville, Chief Operations Officer and Chief Nuclear Officer, Ontario Power Generation – $901,606.32
4. Michael Martelli, Chief Projects Officer, Ontario Power Generation – $850,332.27
5. Kevin Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer, University Health Network – $844,992.20
6. Randy Lockwood, Senior Vice President Pickering, Ontario Power Generation – $818,891.74
7. Dietmar Reiner, Senior Vice President Nuclear Projects, Ontario Power Generation – $817,862.24
8. Mark Fuller, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Public Service Pension Board – $797,474.68
9. Stephen Rigby, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation – $797,308.55
10. Timothy Rutledge, President and Chief Executive Officer, Unity Health Toronto – $776,412.00

The data includes the salaries of provincial government workers, as well as employees of Crown agencies and corporations, Ontario Power Generation and subsidiaries, publicly funded organizations such as hospitals, municipalities, school boards, universities and colleges, and not-for-profit organizations that receive $1m or more, or receive between $120,000 and $1m if the provincial government funding they receive is 10% or more of their gross revenues.