The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says the number of high end government workers earning over $100K is on the rise at a time when the province can least afford it.

New Brunswick Finance Minister Roger Melanson has forecast this year’s provincial deficit at just over $453 million. Now the government is considering hiking the HST, introducing new tolls on highways and increasing user fees to try and balance the budget.

Yet over the last four years, the number of highly paid provincial government employees is rapidly increasing.

According to figures in the unaudited supplementary employee lists for 2014-15 the number of government workers earning $100K or more is around 2,233.

To put that in context, four years ago (2010-11), the number of government workers in the $100K club was estimated at 1,464 and 8 years ago (2006-07) there was just 777.

That means New Brunswick’s $100K Club has grown by 769 or about 52% in just four years. 

Given that government expenditures are under the microscope and taxpayers could be hit with new taxes, seeing the number of highly paid government employees escalating at a concerning rate sends the wrong signal.

A report from CBC in February 2013 indicates there were 1,664 New Brunswick government employees earning $100,000 or more in 2011-12.