Niagara Health System tops Sunshine list

Niagara Health System managers topped the local 2016 Sunshine List, with the NHS chief of staff being the highest paid public servant in the region.

Dr. Thomas Stewart, the NHS chief of staff and executive vice president of medical affairs earned $421,740 in 2016.

Staff from the NHS had four of the top five public salaries in Niagara in 2016.

Dr. Suhas Joshi, NHS director of pathology, had the second highest public salary with $379,118 and Niagara College president Dan Patterson came in third with $335,151.

NHS president Suzanne Johnston had the fourth highest public salary at $331,495 and Dr. Michael Brennan, associate director of pathology rounds out the top five with $329,710. Several nurses also made the 2016 list.

The Sunshine list is an annual break down of public employees who earn $100,000 or more.

Health care workers, police, firefighters and government bureaucrats dominate the list in Niagara.

The Niagara Regional Police had 595 employees on the Sunshine List, with salaries totaling $71,870,502. That compares to 594 NRP employees earning $71,830,875 in salaries in 2015.

Police chief Jeff McGuire topped the NRP list, with a salary of $295,922.

NRP video unit manager James Saunders, deputy chief Bryan MacCulloch, staff sergeant Murray Haday, and deputy chief Joe Matthews, round out the top police salaries.

Niagara’s school board has 271 employees on the list. They were paid $32,004,342 (up from $26,029,378.18 in 2015).

Director of education Warren Hoshizaki topped the DSBN list, with a salary of $267,928.60.

At the Niagara Catholic District School Board 178 employees were on the Sunshine List, earning $20,198,196 in 2016, up from $22,553,997 in 2015.

John Crocco, Catholic board director of education and secretary treasurer topped the NCDSB list, with a salary of $216,750.

The list also contains executives from other publicly funded institutions including Christopher Steven, executive director of the Children’s Aid Society of the Niagara Region ($161,621), Janet St. Amand, chief executive officer of the YMCA of Niagara ($160,000) and David Adames, chief operating officer of the Niagara Parks Commission ($158,476).

The complete 2016 Sunshine list can be found online at https://www. ontario.ca/page/public-sector-salary-disclosure-2016-all-sectorsand-seconded-employees