.
Search
 Email this articleE-mail this story  Discuss this articleWrite letter to editor  Discuss this articleOrder a classified ad  Print this page

Ramsay wants salary disclosure

Lisa Scott
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (July 04/05) - The public has a right to know the salaries and bonuses of the territorial government's deputy ministers and other high-ranking bureaucrats, says MLA Dave Ramsay.

The MLA for Kam Lake estimates that the highest salaries top $250,000, including bonuses.

The details should be made public, Ramsay said as Information and Privacy Commissioner Elaine Keenan-Bengts presented her annual report last week.

"I don't think it's a big deal that we find out what they make," said Ramsay.

The request comes as the government is paying out annual performance bonuses that Ramsay says may reach 15 per cent of a salary.

"We're talking in bonuses alone, $500,000. I'd like to know where that is coming from," Ramsay said.

Salary ranges are available to the public, but the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act protects the specifics of employee salaries and bonuses.

Ramsay plans to talk to Premier Joe Handley and other MLAs about the issue this summer and will bring it up when the legislature reconvenes in the fall.

He hopes to strike a committee of MLAs to review performance of the bureaucrats.

"MLAs have no input on whether or not we feel deputy ministers are performing. It's all at the call of the premier," Ramsay said.

Ramsay is certain the public wants to know if they are getting their money's worth out of the public servants.

Of the territorial government's $1 billion annual budget, 40 per cent goes to employees salaries and benefits.

The average MLA makes $107,000 a year, before taxes. Handley's top job earns him roughly $154,000 a year.