WELLINGTON COUNTY – Close to 130 local municipal employees were paid over $100,000 last year, an increase of 22% from 2021.
The 2022 Public Sector Salary Disclosure List, commonly referred to as the “Sunshine List,” was released by the Ontario government on March 24.
The top earner in the county was again Dr. Nicola Mercer, medical officer of health and CEO of Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH), who was paid $387,874.
In total, 129 employees of Wellington County and its seven lower-tier municipalities were on the 2022 list, up from 106 in 2021.
Of these employees, Wellington County chief administrative officer (CAO) Scott Wilson had the highest salary at $283,432 (up from $275,595 in 2021).
Wellington County has 70 other employees on the list, up 17% from 60 in 2021.
Five Wellington County employees made over $175,000 – commonly cited as the amount one needs to earn today to equal $100,000 in 1996, when the list was introduced.
In Centre Wellington, 21 employees were listed – up from last year, when 17 staffers made the list.
Salaries range from $102,848 to $191,807 for CAO Dan Wilson. All other Centre Wellington staffers had salaries of less than $175,000.
Six Town of Erin employees were listed, up from four in 2021. Salaries range from $101,808 to $187,316 paid to CAO Nathan Hyde, an increase of 15% from 2021, when his salary was $163,280.
In Guelph/Eramosa seven staffers are listed, unchanged from 2021 and 2020, with salaries ranging from $110,625 to $167,672. CAO Ian Roger was paid $167,672, up slightly from his salary of $165,764 in 2021.
Six Mapleton Township employees are on the 2022 list, with salaries ranging from $101,458 to $171,146 for CAO Manny Baron (up from his salary of $158,550 in 2021).
The Town of Minto has nine employees on the list, up from five in 2021. Salaries range from $102,142 to $146,324 paid to director of building and planning services Terry Kuipers.
In Puslinch five staffers are listed, up from three in 2021, with salaries ranging from $101,232 to $156,862. CAO Glenn Schwendinger’s salary of $156,862 was the highest, up from $150,850 in 2021.
Wellington North has four employees on the list, down one from last year. Salaries range from $108,119 to $137,892 for director of operations Matthew Aston.
Health care
The 2022 Public Sector Salary disclosure list includes 204 healthcare workers serving Wellington County, up 9% from 187 in 2021.
North Wellington Health Care (NWHC), which operates Palmerston and District Hospital and Louis Marshall Hospital in Mount Forest, has 26 employees on the list, up from 19 in 2021.
The highest paid employee is president and CEO Angela Stanley, with a salary of $228,795. Next is registered nurse Michelle Goetz, with a salary of $154,695.
Groves Memorial Community Hospital in Centre Wellington has 39 employees listed, up 50% from 26 in 2021.
Topping the Groves list is Stanley, the only employee there who made over $175,000. She is not paid separately for Groves and NWHC, but just once ($228,795) as head of the Wellington Health Care Alliance, which oversees Groves and NWHC.
The Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network has 31 employees on the list, up 48% from 21 in 2021.
The highest paid, at $206,006, was Karyn Lumsden, vice president of home and community care, with the other salaries ranging from $100,163 to $151,892.
There are 56 WDGPH employees listed, down 38% from 77 in 2021. Five WDGPH employees made over $175,000, with three of those making over $200,000.
Mercer was paid $387,874, up from $378,481 in 2021. Associate medical officer of health Dr. Matthew Tenenbaum made $285,113 and director Rita Isley made $210,924.
The Canadian Mental Health Association of Waterloo Wellington has 17 employees on the list, up 21% from 14 in 2021.
Clinical and forensic psychologist and professional practice lead supervisor Troy Rieck was paid $213,914, and CEO Helen Fishburn was paid $212,966. The other salaries listed range from $100,103 to $141,756.
The Children’s Aid Society of Guelph and Wellington has 19 people listed, down one from 2021.
Three employees were paid a top salary of $138,183: director of finance and administration Stephane Chalifour, director of human resources Bethany Comeau, and director of service Erin Harvey.
The other salaries range from $104,592 to $126,875. Executive director Sheila Markle was paid $113,310 in 2022 before retiring on June 30.
Cindy Kinnon, executive director of Community Living Guelph Wellington, was the organization’s only member on the list. She was paid $162,612, up from $145,872 in 2021.
John Howard Society of Waterloo Wellington’s executive director Joan Nandlal was paid $119,668, up from $118,562 in 2021.
Three Minto-Mapleton Family Health Team (MMFHT) employees made the list.
The highest two salaries went to nurse practitioners Jodi Colwill ($137,077) and Chantelle Koeslag ($120,676). Executive director Shirley Borges brings home $105,584.
The Upper Grand Family Health Team has four employees on the list, down one from 2021. Three of the listed employees made $105,648, and pharmacist Cora Van Zutphen made $120,571.
Paramedic service
Guelph-Wellington Paramedic Services (GWPS) employees are officially employed by the City of Guelph but the area they serve includes Wellington County.
The list includes 81 GWPS employees, down from 83 in 2021.
Paramedic field superintendent Amy Bern made $200,647 and general manager and chief Stephen Dewar made $183,792. The other 79 employees listed made less than $175,000.
Education
The Wellington Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) has 316 employees on the list, over three times its 2021 total of 95.
Salaries range from $100,089 to $204,536 for director of education Michael Glazier.
Two other WCDSB employees made over $175,000: associate director of corporate services and treasurer Tracy Mclennan, with a salary of $179,846; and superintendent of human resources and leadership development Brian Capovilla, with a salary of $177,862.
The other WCDSB salaries range from $100,089 to $156,557, with two-thirds of the employees listed bringing home less than $105,000.
The Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) has 1,250 employees listed, up slightly from 1,226 in 2021.
Director of education Peter Sovran tops the Upper Grand list, with a salary of $246,747, an 83% increase from his 2021 salary of $134,769 as director of education at the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board.
Five other UGDSB employees made over $175,000:
- executive superintendent of education Brent Mcdonald;
- superintendent of student support services Wendy Donaldson;
- executive officer of human resources Deirdre Pyke;
- executive superintendent of business operations and student support services Glen Regier; and
- secondary teacher Jennifer Woods-Johnson.
More than 72% of the UGDSB employees listed made less than $105,000.
Conservation
The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) has 29 employees on the list, up from 24 in 2021.
Salaries range from $100,105 to $186,314 for CAO Samantha Lawson. Her salary is up from $175,857 in 2021, and she is the only employee at GRCA who made over $175,000 in 2022.
Credit Valley Conservation has 36 members on the list, down from 40 in 2021.
Salaries range from $102,402 to $181,538 for CAO John Quentin Hanchard. In 2021, Credit Valley Conservation CAO Deborah Martin-Downs was paid $199,649.
The Saugeen Valley Conservation and Maitland Valley Conservation authorities did not have any members on the list for 2022 or 2021.
Policing
There are a total of 5,248 Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) members on the 2022 Sunshine List (down slightly from 5,373 in 2022), with 385 OPP employees bringing home more than $175,000.
At the top of the list are physician Andrew Reed, with a salary of $386,442 and commissioner Thomas Carrique, who brought home $361,781.
Without knowing the name of every Wellington County OPP employee, it is next to impossible to discern how many are on the list.
In the past, under the direction of Inspector Scott Lawson (retired in 2019), Wellington OPP officials annually provided the Advertiser with the number of local OPP staff members making over $100,000.
However, under Inspectors Paul Richardson (2020 to 2022) and Steve Thomas (late 2022 to present), local OPP officials have refused to provide it.
Asked this week for the 2022 local total, spokesperson Jacob Unger said OPP “corporate communications” officials have stated that “moving forward we will not be releasing names or numbers of officers in relation to the Sunshine List.”
Unger said he was told that doing so “could lead to operational information being disclosed.”
In 2022, Thomas was paid $162,072 and Richardson was paid $200,486.
The highest paid local OPP employee remains Sgt. Michael Ashley, who made $211,964 last year.
Province-wide
In all, there are 266,903 people on Ontario’s 2022 Public Sector Salary disclosure list, up about 9% from 244,456 in 2021.
The highest salary listed is $1,726,068 for Kenneth Hartwick, president and CEO of Ontario Power Generation.
The second and third highest salaries also went to Ontario Power Generation employees.
Wellington-Halton Hills MPP and Legislative Assembly speaker Ted Arnott was paid $152,914 in 2022 – the same as 2021 and 2020.
Matthew Rae, who was elected to his first term as Perth-Wellington MPP last June, is not listed. Neither is Randy Pettapiece, the riding’s MPP until May 2022.
Premier Doug Ford was paid $208,974 – the same as in 2021 and 2020.
For the complete “Sunshine List” visit ontario.ca/public-sector-salary-disclosure/2022.
-With files from Chris Daponte
