If taxpayers have a right to know how their money is spent, it stands to reason that we also have a right to know who is getting it, and in what amount.

Yet, this basic principle was flouted by Alberta’s government when it refused to disclose the severance payout given to Premier Redford’s former chief of staff, Stephen Carter. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) and various media outlets (including Global TV) filed Freedom of Information (FOI) requests for this information as well as a copy of his contract. Unfortunately we all were denied the information by the bureaucratic wing of the premier’s office, the Executive Council. This stonewalling continued even after the government was ordered to release it by the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

Albertans would have none of this, and were enraged by the government’s unwillingness to release information. The government realized that this could not be explained away as a bureaucratic bungle, and did much better than release Mr. Carter’s severance package.

Premier Redford promised that her government would introduce a ‘sunshine list,’ detailing the salaries and severance payments to senior employees. Her announcement was open-ended on details, and because of this, has the potential to be a major leap forward for government accountability in Alberta.

Alberta is one of the only provinces in Canada currently without a ‘sunshine list’ of government employees. This plays a vital accountability role in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia.

There are more than 29,000 full-time bureaucrats in the core public service (excluding the education and health care systems) making $3 billion in wages, salaries and benefits. This means that the average bureaucrat in Alberta costs taxpayers $102,000 a year.

This would seem like a good level to start disclosure. There’s no need to disclose the name and amount of salary for entry level administrative assistants, but those costing taxpayers $102,000 or more should be disclosed.

Ontario sets its own bar at earnings of $100,000, yet that province discloses only salaries and wages. Alberta’s list should be an example for other provinces to follow, including salaries and wages, but also severance/transition allowances, pension contributions, benefit payments and bonuses. This is the type of information we already receive about MLAs, so there is already precedent in Alberta for this level of disclosure.

The sunshine list should also include taxpayers-supported organizations outside of the core government, like post-secondary institutions, school boards and Alberta Health Services.

A sunshine list will be a strong accountability tool for several reasons. Ontario’s list (however wrought with loopholes) has shown taxpayers in that province some of the more absurd uses of their money.

For example, last year’s list showed a Toronto Police cadet earning more than $100,000 – while in training. Several Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) toll both attendees made more than $100,0000, as did more than 1,400 TTC employees.

More importantly than individual examples however, sunshine lists allow taxpayers to track general trends in government employee compensation. In Ontario, the number of employees making more than $100,000 a year increased to 88,412, or 11 per cent in just the past year. Since 2009, the list has grown by 39 per cent. This indicator should set off alarm bells for anyone concerned about the fiscal sustainability of that province.

In Alberta’s case, we will soon be able to know how much Stephen Carter was paid out in severance without having to rely on public furor forcing a grudging tweet of the amount. Government officials will not be able to delay or deny information that taxpayers have a right to possess. And if they follow through making the list the gold-standard in the country, Albertans will be all the better for it.