Storm cloud bursts over sunshine list
Judge grants injunction against release of Crown prosecutors’ names, salaries Alberta’s sunshine list hit stormy weather Thursday when a judge granted an injunction that will prevent the province from publishing the names and salaries of Crown prosecutors.
Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Doreen Sulyma issued the order Thursday afternoon, the day before the government was set to release the salaries, benefits and severance pay of Alberta public employees who earn more than $100,000 a year.
A prosecutor on the list brought the application, citing concerns for her personal and financial safety. The identity of the prosecutor is under a court-ordered publication ban.
While prosecutors’ salary ranges are already public, releasing exact salaries is a much different disclosure, Sulyma said.
“That is extremely personal information and raises the serious question of a breach of her charter rights,” the judge said.
It is not known what effect the decision might have on Friday’s planned release of the sunshine list. A government spokesperson said that could depend on how quickly prosecutors can be removed from the sunshine database.
Touted as the best in the country when it was announced in December, Alberta’s disclosure policy will apply to deputy ministers, senior government officials, political staff and employees who fall under the Public Service Act — in all, roughly 3,400 people — who receive sixfigure salaries.
Included in their compensation totals are base salary, benefits, severance amounts and, whenever possible, an employee’s contract and termination agreement.
The injunction is an example of the type of pushback governments get when they first introduce a proactive disclosure policy, said Doug McArthur, a professor at Simon Fraser University’s School of Public Policy.
“At the beginning, people are a little shocked and they imagine everyone’s going to be talking about their salaries,” McArthur said.
Similar complaints were made when British Columbia introduced such a policy, McArthur said.
Lawyer Paul Moreau, representing the prosecutor, argued the disclosure could put her safety at risk, as well as make her vulnerable to fraud and identity theft.
“Crown prosecutors deal with many people who are dangerous and not well-intentioned toward prosecutors,” he told court. “The more personal information is available in the public sphere, the less secure the owner of that information.”
No specific cases of crimes against prosecutors after salary disclosures were mentioned in court.
The prosecutor also argued that the disclosure is a breach of her privacy and possibly her employment contract.
The injunction lasts until the application is fully argued and a final decision is made.
Governments turn to sunshine lists as a means of enhancing transparency and accountability, and ultimately, trust in their administrations, McArthur said.
“The public’s right to know is a pretty high-level right, as taxpayers and citizens,” McArthur said.
“While it may feel a bit abstract as a principle, in fact when it comes down to it, the more informed the public is, I think we get better decisions.”
Sunshine lists have already been introduced by a handful of other provinces, including Saskatchewan, B.C., and Ontario.
Unlike in B.C. or Ontario, Alberta’s list won’t apply to municipalities, which critics have pointed to as one of the policy’s shortcomings.
Alberta’s sunshine list also won’t apply to agencies, boards and commissions of the province, but the government says those organizations will be expected to develop an equivalent policy for their employees.
McArthur said while disclosing the compensation of public servants is an overall benefit, he cautioned against the “unintended consequences” the lists can sometimes have. For example, a perception that the public service is compensated above what similar positions in the private sector earn can breed hostility.
“The numbers go out there and there’s very little context ... it’s just dropped,” McArthur said. “There is a problem of ... interpretations that tend to be fed by resentment that this is a privileged group.”
The province says the $100,000 threshold will be adjusted for inflation for future disclosures.
Friday’s data dump was expected to include salaries earned in 2012 and 2013. Subsequent disclosures will be released twice a year, and no later than June 30 and Dec. 31, the province says.
Redford committed to a policy last October after controversy erupted over her office’s refusal to release the severance paid to her former chief of staff Stephen Carter.
Carter ended up revealing in a tweet his severance was $130,000, which was equivalent to six months’ pay for a position he’d held for only six months.