WHITEWATER REGION — Last week, the salaries of Ontario Public Service and Broader Public Sector employees who were paid $100,000 or more in 2019, were released in accordance with the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, 1996.
In 2019, Robert Tremblay was paid $130,306.42 with taxable benefits of $654.83 while employed as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) with the Township of Whitewater Region. He was paid $120,582 with taxable benefits of $793.40 for the same position with the Township in 2018. Mr. Tremblay was paid $111,068.71 during his first year as CAO with the Township in 2017. He is currently still the CAO for the Township.
Also in 2018, Brenda Powers-Ross was paid $102,316.46 with taxable benefits of $476.60 while employed as Director of the Whitewater-Bromley Community Health Centre, which is a part of Lanark-Renfrew Health and Community Services. She currently still holds the position but no other information was found.
In 2016, Christine FitzSimons was paid $116,791.45 while employed as CAO and clerk with the Township. She maintained the same position with the Township and was paid $111,163.53 in 2015 and $109,358.65 in 2014. In 2013, Annette Mantifel was paid $104, 467.10 while employed as Deputy CAO and Treasurer with the Township of Whitewater Region.
According to PayScale, the average salary for a CAO in Ontario is $121,477 and is $97,860 in Canada. PayScale is a compensation software and data company which helps employers manage employee compensation and employees understand their worth in the job market.
Compensation, as captured in the Public Sector Salary Disclosure, can include employees who are being promoted in their career, natural progression through salary ranges, overtime payments, severance payments, one-time performance-based payments and payments which may be required on retirement.
“Our government’s priority is the health and safety of all Ontarians and we are singularly focused on our response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Peter Bethlenfalvy, President of the Treasury Board. “However, our government has also made commitments to the people of Ontario on transparency, accountability and respecting their tax dollars.”
The Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, 1996 makes Ontario’s public sector more open and accountable to taxpayers. The act requires organizations that receive public funding from the Province of Ontario to make public, by March 31 each year, the names, positions, salaries and total taxable benefits of employees paid $100,000 or more in the previous calendar year.
The act applies to the provincial government, 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 which receive $1 million or more, or receive between $120,000 and $1 million if the funding they receive is 10 per cent or more of their gross revenues.
“We have taken positive steps and seen real results, but we must continue working hard to ensure each dollar spent gets the best results for Ontarians,” said Bethlenfalvy. “Our government has a prudent and responsible plan to manage the province’s finances and make sure we have the fiscal flexibility to deal with any challenge.”
Statistics and other data is available in a downloadable, machine-readable, sortable, searchable table format on the website www.ontario.ca/salarydisclosure.
