KANNON: This is the gap that taxpayers should be most worried about

Canada ranged from a low of 29.7 per cent in Alberta to a high of 60.2 per cent in Nova Scotia, and was 40.4 per cent for Canada as a whole. In Ontario, the number was 38.8 per cent, up from 35.8 in 2007.

If you work in the private sector, you’re making up to $9,000 less per year, and working up to six hours more each week, than someone doing the same job for the government, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, pointing to a huge wage and benefits advantage for public sector workers over the rest of us.

When salaries, benefits and working hours are factored in, the average federal, provincial or municipal employee makes 18-37 per cent more than someone doing the same job in a private business. All that sunshine is enough to make a few of us get hot under the collar, just as intended.