SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The Supreme Court of The Northwest Territories rejected an appeal from the Union of Northern Workers Monday for the Northwest Territories Power Corporation to reveal bonuses paid out to middle and senior management.

Judge John Vertes ruled the information could not be released because it would go against the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

"There is nothing in the act to suggest that the right to access trumps the right to privacy, or vice versa," Vertes said in his ruling.

The ruling comes after a June 26 hearing between the union and the corporation. The union was seeking the release of individual bonuses given out in 2004 and 2005 to upper and middle management of the corporation. Due to the small number of individuals receiving bonuses, Vertes said their privacy would be hard to protect if the information was released.

NWT Power Corporation lawyer Glenn Tait had argued the release of the amount of the bonuses would allow people to determine to whom the bonuses went. He said four employees earned less than $60,000 a year and five earned more than $100,000, making them a small group in which people could easily pinpoint who got what, especially within the corporation staff.

"The court's decision makes it abundantly clear that to go further would be breaking the law," said Leon Courneya, president and CEO of the NWT Power Corporation. "Protecting the privacy of our employees and, for that matter, our customers, is something the NTPC takes very seriously."

Barb Wyness, director of public relations for the Union of Northern Workers, said the union only received the ruling Tuesday and would need some time to review it before commenting on it.