Ontario freezes pay for public sector executives

TORONTO — Ontario has frozen the salaries of executives across the public sector as it reviews how raises are granted to top earners at agencies that include school boards, universities and hospitals.

In a directive issued to publicsector agencies this week, Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy said all base salaries for executives cannot increase beyond their current amounts as the government conducts a compensation review that is expected to wrap in June next year.

The move affects those who make $100,000 or more at publicsector organizations and has raised concerns from those representing executives at school boards and hospitals.

Bethlenfalvy said the measure is part of a larger government plan to “clean up Ontario’s fiscal house.”

“This will require some long overdue fiscal discipline and spending restraint, and everyone will need to contribute,” he said in a statement.

“Controlling the growth in executive compensation is an important step in this effort.”

Premier Doug Ford, who took power at the end of June, has pledged to find $6 billion in “efficiencies” for the province.

Ford’s government has created an independent commission of inquiry and ordered an audit of government books to assess the province’s financial position.

The directive on executive pay comes after the Tories froze wages of managers in government ministries and ordered a review of their compensation earlier this summer.

Bethlenfalvy said the government is committed to addressing Ontario’s debt and deficit, adding that the province pays nearly a billion dollars per month in interest on money it has borrowed.

“There’s nothing more important than restoring trust and accountability in how taxpayers’ money is spent,” he said.

Cathy Abraham, the president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association, said executive compensation was frozen under the previous Liberal government for eight years and was only recently lifted.

The new freeze could hurt the ability of boards across the province to retain and attract qualified leaders, she said, adding that school board executives oversee complex operations that involve large numbers of students, employees and properties.

“It’s a difficult job,” she said. “We believe if we’re not compensating folks fairly for the work they’re doing we’re going to have a hard time getting people to want to do the job and keeping them in the job.”

The Ontario Hospital Association said executive compensation in that sector has been frozen since 2010.

The association said it wants to engage in talks with the government on its compensation review to ensure any framework reached is “responsible and equitable.”