City Justifies Its Rising Numbers On Sunshine List

03/28/2024

In the release below the City of Ottawa explains its rising number of employees on the annual provincial Sunshine List:

For some reason when parsing the figures, the city hives off large numbers of employees to whom municipal taxes are paid.

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I am writing to inform you that earlier today the Ontario Ministry of Finance posted the list of Ontario’s public sector employees who earned $100,000 or more in 2023 as required by the province’s Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, 1996.

Since the provincial legislation passed in 1996, the City has disclosed the names, positions, salary paid and taxable benefits of employees who receive $100,000 or more in overall compensation.

In 2023, 5,494 employees were on the list which includes the City of Ottawa (including Elected Officials), Ottawa Public Library and Ottawa Police Service. Of the 5,494 employees on the list, forty-nine (49) per cent are first responders (Ottawa Police Service – 1,559, Ottawa Fire Services – 808, Ottawa Paramedic Service – 352).

The total number of City employees (excluding Ottawa Police Service and Ottawa Public Library employees) on the list is 3,913. Approximately thirty-two (32) per cent of City employees on the list have a base salary less than $100,000, but are on the list because of earnings from one or more of the following reasons:

retroactive payments (including economic increases)
any premiums (including overtime, stand-by, shift differential and on-call) • vacation cash-outs
banked overtime cash-outs
salary continuance (for employees who have left the City)

Public sector employers with significant funding levels from the Ontario provincial government are included on the Public Sector Salary Disclosure list. Along with the City of Ottawa, this includes other organizations such as the Government of Ontario, Crown Agencies, Municipalities, Hospitals, Boards of Public Health, School Boards, Universities, Colleges, Hydro One, and Ontario Power Generation.

Since the Act was enacted in 1996, there has been no adjustment to the disclosure threshold. If the $100,000 threshold was updated to account for inflation, it would now be $174,886.36. If the disclosure threshold was adjusted to this amount, only 230 municipal employees would be included on the list.

The legislation requires that information be presented in a prescribed manner. The City cannot: • Provide a specific breakdown showing how salary was determined;

Disclose what specific benefits were provided to staff; or
Produce a report that differs from the approved format specified in the Act.

The list is available on the Ontario Ministry of Finance website at:

https://www.ontario.ca/public-sector-salary-disclosure/2023/all-sectors-and-seconded-employees/ A paper copy of the City of Ottawa list is also available at City Hall’s Client Service Centre. If you have any further questions or require clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Lynne Curle

Acting Chief Human Resources Officer

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