• The result of more than a year's work, the Sunshine List discloses the number of highly paid bureaucrats in Quebec's public administrations;
• According to documents obtained through thousands of freedom of information requests, more than 43,000 Quebec bureaucrats are paid more than $100,000, costing Quebec taxpayers over $5 billion per year;
• Governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario proactively disclose sunshine lists of their own on an annual basis.

MONTRÉAL, QC : The Canadian Taxpayers Federation released its Sunshine List today, disclosing the number of bureaucrats in Quebec’s public administrations earning more than $100,000 per year.

“Too often, our governments hide behind closed doors when it comes to employee compensation,” said CTF Quebec Director Renaud Brossard. “Today, we are pleased to open those doors and reveal the number of high-earning bureaucrats paid with Quebec taxpayers' money.”

In order to compile its list, the CTF filed more than 3,000 freedom of information requests to all levels of government under the jurisdiction of the Government of Quebec. These requests were sent and re-sent between August 2018 and March 2019.

Of the 2,138 targeted organization, 450 refused to comply with freedom of information laws and refused to provide the required information in part or in whole. Among the worst offenders are the Caisse de dépôt et de placement du Québec, the Conseil de gestion du Fonds vert and the Université du Québec à Montréal.

In the 1,688 government organizations that responded to the CTF’s requests, 43,469 employees earn an annual salary over $100,000. Collectively, they cost Québec taxpayers more than $5.3 billion a year. The highest paid government employee on the list is Éric Martel, Hydro-Québec's CEO, who receives 559,866$.

Each year, the governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario release their Sunshine Lists, allowing taxpayers to track the evolution of high salaries paid by taxpayers.

 “Taxpayers in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario are already entitled to this minimum level of transparency from their governments,” said Brossard. “We see no reason why Quebec taxpayers should settle for less. Taxpayers are asking Quebec Premier François Legault to improve transparency by passing a law ensuring an official, comprehensive sunshine list is released annually by the government.”

The CTF’s Sunshine List is available via the following link: http://taxpayer.com/media/Liste_transparence_salariale_QC-FEV_2020.xlsx

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Media contact :
Renaud Brossard
Quebec Director
Canadian Taxpayers Federation

t : 514-743-2883
e : [email protected]
Twitter : @renaudbrossard