Ontario's "sunshine list" of people in the broader public service making more than $100,000 per year grew by an additional 10,000 members in 2009, a rise of 18 per cent over 2008.
The total number on the broader public service list is 63,761, or about five per cent of what's known as Ontario's broader public service.
There are 4,210 Toronto municipal public servants on the list:
- City of Toronto - 2,071
- Toronto Police Service - 1,329
- Toronto Transit Commission - 724
In a news release issued Wednesday, the city said that is an increase of 519 over 2008 and represents 4.6 per cent of its workforce.
However, it blamed the 39-day municipal strike last summer for pushing that number up, saying about 428 non-union employees with base salaries of less than $100,000 in 2009 earned more than that due to strike-related overtime.
"Had the labour disruption not occurred, the City of Toronto would only have an additional 91 employees on the 2009 salary disclosure list," the city said.
It also claimed that if the $100,000 threshold -- first introduced by the Progressive Conservative government of Premier Mike Harris in 1996 -- had been adjusted for inflation, the list would only include people making more than $128,409.
"This would include only 523 city employees in 2009," it said.
However, the city said that number doesn't including police, library or transit employees, or those of the city's numerous agencies, boards and commissions.
Premier Dalton McGuinty told reporters he's not in favour of raising the limit.
"I think $100,000 is still a lot of money from an Ontario family's perspective," McGuinty said. "I think they appreciate the transparency associated with this."
McGuinty also defended the number of public sector workers earning more than $100,000.
"We've got to pay people what's fair," he said, noting that there are a far greater proportion of employees in the private sector with six-figure incomes.
The biggest 2009 earner was Jim Hankinson, the former president and CEO of Ontario Power Generation. He was paid $2.1 million in salary and bonuses in 2009.
Two of the other three top earners were also hydro executives.
Matthew Teitelbaum, CEO of the Art Gallery of Ontario, hit the number-three spot with $981,000 in salary and bonuses in 2009. However, his compensation is paid by donations to the gallery, which has had a number of layoffs.
Reaction
The Tories took aim at what it called the "Local Health Integrated Network (LHIN) bureaucrats, Dalton McGuinty’s unaccountable, unelected appointees."
The party said the number of LHIN officials making more than $100,000 has grown to 114 from 40 in 2006.
"Since the creation of the LHINs, over $17 million has been spent on salaries – money that should be focused on front line care," the Tories said.
However, the overall health budget is about $45 billion.
In the legislature, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath also took aim at the pay of health sector executives.
"Does the premier think it's fair to be closing emergency rooms while health dollars are spent on seven figure salaries," Horwath asked during question period.
The top-paid health executive -- Robert Bell of Toronto's University Health Network -- made $830,000.
McGuinty responded that local hospital boards of directors set the salaries of their executives, not the provincial government.
In last week's budget, the province imposed an immediate freeze on the pay of non-unionized workers and managers and won't provide funds to give raises for unionized workers when collective agreements come up for renewal.
The government set a target of $750 million in savings, but the opposition said there are many loopholes for senior managers who get performance pay.
With files from The Canadian Press
