EDMONTON — Doctors and university professors are on the newest list of people who could find their salaries are public knowledge.
The Public Sector Compensation Transparency Act, introduced on Thursday, expands the province’s sunshine list, to require disclosure of salaries for all employees of public sector bodies, including Alberta Health Services and post-secondary institutions.
Bill 5 also requires disclosure of payments to doctors and other health service providers.
Board members of the province’s agencies, board, and commissions will also see their compensation made public, no how matter how much or how little they are paid.
The information will be made public once a year, with the first disclosure scheduled to happen on or before June 30, 2016.
Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley says the government has not heard any objections so far to the expanded disclosure rules.
“Public sector workers, they don’t want their privacy unfairly invaded, but they also understand that this government has a commitment to transparency, particularly when we’re dealing with…over $125,000, so it’s, sort of, higher salary range people.”
Here’s how the new legislation affects each group:
Employees of Public Sector Bodies
Who: Everyone who works for an agency, board or commission governed by the Alberta Public Agencies Act. This includes, but is not limited to, Alberta Health Services, post-secondary institutions, the Alberta Energy Regulator, the Alberta Utilities Commission, the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission, and Alberta Treasury Branches. Covenant Health will also be included, as well as independent offices of the Legislature, like the Ombudsman and Auditor General.
Threshold: Anyone who makes more than $125,000 per year. That includes base salary, overtime pay, and any other remuneration, with the exception of pension contributions.
What: If the threshold is met, the employee’s full compensation will be released, including pay, employer pension contributions, and any severance paid.
Board members
Who: Members of governing boards of agencies, boards and commissions, as well as board members of Alberta Health Services, Convenant Health, and post-secondary institutions.
Threshold: None. All names and compensation will be disclosed, regardless of the amount.
What: All compensation, including employer pension contributions and any severance paid.
Physicians and other health service providers
Who: Anyone who is paid by the province on a fee-for-service basis, including doctors, optometrists, and dentists.
Threshold: Undecided. If a threshold is set, it will be done as a regulation and not included in the Act itself.
What: Fee-for-service payments, and any other payments made to health service providers by the provincial government, Alberta Health Services, Covenant Health, and the Alberta Medical Association.
Government of Alberta employees
Who: All employees of the provincial government, who are currently covered by disclosure rules introduced by the previous PC government in 2013.
What’s new: Disclosure for government employees is currently required by a Treasury Board Directive. The same employees, and the same rules, will now be part of the new Public Sector Compensation Transparency Act.
Threshold: Originally introduced at $100,000 base salary or severance, the amount increases each year based on inflation. The current threshold is $104,754.
What: All compensation, including employer pension contributions and any severance paid.
The number of people affected is difficult to determine. More than 150,000 people work for government sector agencies, and the government expects several thousand of them will see their salaries disclosed. Figures obtained by the Wildrose party last December showed 9,786 employees of Alberta Health Services alone made more than $100,000 a year in 2013.
Wildrose MLA Jason Nixon says his party is still studying the bill, but he suggests all publicly-paid workers should meet the same standard.
“To us, $104,000 is already a pretty high salary, period. And I think anybody making above $100,000 in the public sector, it’s reasonable for Albertans to know where those salaries are happening.”
The Minister of Justice could also allow some exemptions. The salaries of crown prosecutors, for example, are not released because of concerns about their safety.
Under the existing rules, 3,556 provincial employees saw their pay information released last year. The full list can be found on the Alberta Government website here.
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