Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Over the weekend, the government released its so-called “Sunshine List” of public sector employees in Ontario who earned over $100,000 last year. But while the aim of the original list was transparency about the highest earners on the public payroll, the government’s refusal to update the list and index it to inflation has rendered it meaningless—and their refusal to anonymize the list makes it potentially dangerous.
The release of the list felt especially insulting this year, when Ontarians have seen a staggering increase in inflation and cost of living. And the Sunshine List was first instituted in 1996, well over twenty-five years ago.
If adjusted for inflation, the current threshold for the list would be an income of $175,368—a staggering 75 per cent change.[1]
To further put the list into perspective, consider that an average home in Toronto sold for $198,1502 in 1996, while today the average sale price is $1,334, 062.[2]
“To put it plainly, the Sunshine List is broken,” said AMAPCEO President Dave Bulmer. “The original purpose of the Sunshine List—to shine a light on the growing salaries of Ontario’s most senior executives—has been lost.”
Bulmer also noted that the inclusion of full names on the list is potentially dangerous. “The list is also a violation of public servants’ privacy and puts innocent people’s safety at risk.”
In 2018, AMAPCEO helped a member whose stalker used the Sunshine List to find and harass her.
AMAPCEO is calling on the government to make the following changes to the Sunshine List:
- index the original $100,000 threshold to inflation, and
- anonymize the list, save for the highest-earning executives.