“If there’s a more pointless annual story than the sunshine list, I can’t think of it.” – Tweet today from Adam Radwanski, Globe and Mail columnist.
Radwanski didn’t always think this way. In 2010 he argued salary disclosure had the effect of pushing salaries upwards as senior staff could compare their compensation to others. It also meant that front line staff could see the widening gap between senior managers and their own salaries.
Let’s face it – we all want to look. Our sunshine list stories on this blog are always popular. Feel free to click here if you want to see this year’s report.
But why stop there? As much as the right-wing media like to rush to judgement, nobody asks how these salaries even compare to the private sector? Without context, much of this list is, as Radwanski states, pointless.
Nor does the list actually tell you anything about how it was earned. Is it the result of a lot of overtime? Is severance included? Is it smaller than it should be because the executive began the job mid-year? What about non-taxable benefits?
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