A total of 1,596 York staff and faculty members have made it onto the 2013 Ontario Sunshine List.
The list discloses the salaries of people who earn over $100,000, working for public institutions in
Ontario. Included on York’s list are professors, librarians, program directors, deans, sports coaches, and senior staff .
Topping the list is York President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri who earns $478,405.94 as his yearly salary, and another $8,455.72 in taxable benefits.
Shoukri is the second-highest paid public sector employee within the university portion of the Sunshine List, coming in just behind Western University’s President and Vice-Chancellor Amit Chakma, who earns $479,600.04 and $41,467.28 in taxable benefits.
Brenda Spotton Visano, a professor of economics at York, sees a tension between the public’s right to know and the right to privacy for public sector employees.
“Should we reveal everybody’s income? I don’t think so,” says Visano.
She favours the idea of transparency, but would also like to see the salaries of employees of private corporations.
The Sunshine List has been published since the Ontario government passed the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act in 1996. Its purpose is to encourage a more open system of government.
Visano adds that the list should be adjusted, as the $100,000 cut- off was implemented in 1996, and suggests it should be moved closer to $150,000.
The list itself allows the public to compare individuals and their respective compensations, providing more information on how tax dollars are being spent.
The Sunshine List also includes employees of the Ontario government, crown agencies, municipalities, hospitals, boards of public health, school boards, colleges, Hydro One, Ontario Power Generation, and other public sector employers.
Michael Burton
Executive Editor (Online)
