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 six per cent, or 7,460 people, in the last year. Jeffrey Lyash, the president and CEO of Ontario Power Generation, again topped the annual compendium released Friday, this time with a pay boost just shy of $400,000 from 2016.Responsible for overseeing the country’s largest fleet of nuclear reactors and the 10-year, $12.8-billion refurbishment of the Darlington nuclear plant, Lyash earned $1,554,457 in 2017 in salary and performance bonus, according to the list, which comprises seven volumes, stacked as high as an extra-large coffee cup.“The Darlington refurbishment is on time and on budget, which is attributable to Jeff’s leadership and the team he has selected to manage the project. This saves ratepayers money,” Ontario Power Generation said. 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.A record 131,741 workers in the broader public sector made six figures, running the gamut from chief executives of hospitals and universities to front-line police and TTC staff, many of them in the $100,000-club because of overtime. With a provincial election looming June 7, opposition parties hoping to topple Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals were eager to pounce. “I just can’t believe it,” Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford said of the compensation hike for Lyash, who gets base pay of $775,000.“For the hard working people of Ontario, there’s nothing sunny about this list,” Ford told a news conference at Queen’s Park, promising to review pay levels “from top to bottom” and improve “respect for taxpayers” if elected premier.But the Liberals said the number of Ci ...
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