The man who keeps the lights on shines brightest on the new Sunshine List of Ontario public sector workers earning $100,000 or more, which grew by 8,331 people from last year. Jeffrey Lyash, the president and CEO of Ontario Power Generation, topped the annual compendium released Friday. Lyash, responsible for overseeing the country’s largest fleet of nuclear reactors and the $12.8-billion refurbishment of the Darlington nuclear plant, earned $1,554,456.95 in 2017 in base salary and bonus, according to the disclosure mandated by former Progressive Conservative premier Mike Harris in 1996. Last year, a record 131,741 people made six-figures — up 6.8 per cent from the tally of 123,410 in 2016. Employees of Hydro One are no longer subject to public sector salary disclosure because the Wynne govenment has partially privatized the former Crown corporation, but its chief executive Mayo Schmidt earns $4.4 million.Inflation is a major factor in the ever-rising list, which was launched 22 years ago by former Progressive Conservative premier Mike Harris and there has been no change to the $100,000 threshold.When that’s factored in, $100,000 in 1996 is the equivalent of about $152,000 now — and $100,000 today would have been around $67,000 back then.Despite that, politicians have never expressed interesting in raising the bar for item into the Sunshine List.Premier Kathleen Wynne said there is “no plan” to increase the threshold to keep pace with the ever-rising cost of living. “One hundred thousand dollars is still a lot of money,” Wynne told reporters at the Hospital for Sick Children on Friday. The premier added that it is important to have “transparency” so Ontarians know how their public servants are being paid, added Wynne, whose salary held steady at $208,974. But if the threshold had been adjusted for inflation since its inception 22 years ago, the number of employees on it would be just under 20,000. Other ...
|
