Several farm organizations on this year's Sunshine list

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

by SUSAN MANN

For the first time in its history, Ontario Pork was required to disclose the salaries of five people within its organization making more than $100,000 as part of this year’s Ontario government salary disclosure list.

Released Friday, the list, commonly called the Sunshine List, contains the names, positions, salaries and taxable benefits of all public sector employees making $100,000 or more in that year. The 2015 list contains the salaries for 2014.

Crown agencies, municipalities, public health and school boards, universities, colleges, Hydro One and Ontario Power Generation must also report their salaries of $100,000 or more. Non-profit organizations getting $1 million or more in funding from the Ontario government must also report the salaries of people earning $100,000 or more. The taxable benefits listed are in addition to the salary amount.

On the list for the first time are:

• Ontario Pork general manager Ken Ovington ($162,544.98 salary plus $1,381.86 taxable benefits).
• Mary Jane Quinn, manager of communications and consumer marketing ($106,445.12 salary plus $902.23 taxable benefits).
• Jim Weir, manager of finance and administration ($123,749.83 salary plus $1,040.62 taxable benefits).
• Neil Harper, manager, information services ($128,038.30 salary plus $1,011.70 taxable benefits).
• Patrick O’Neil, marketing division manager ($110,314.04 salary plus $965.41 taxable benefits).

The salaries of Ontario Pork staff members were contained in the section of ‘Other Public Sector Employees’ accompanying the main list of government ministries, Crown agencies list and other lists.

Ontario Pork’s Quinn says the government money the organization received in 2014 to develop its branding strategy and to help farmers deal with porcine epidemic diarrhea virus made it necessary for the organization to report salaries.

Also on the list this year but not last year was Farm & Food Care Ontario, which reported one salary – executive director Crystal Mackay - $160,576.26 plus $11,079.06 in taxable benefits. Ontario Agri-Food Education Inc. reported one salary this year too – executive director Colleen Smith - $106,675.65 salary and $10,667.70 in taxable benefits.

Other farm-related organizations included in the list this year and in previous years are:

• Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association: Harold Rudy, executive officer $106,650.33 salary and $393.90 taxable benefits; Andrew Graham, executive officer, $140,560.01 salary and $668.38 in taxable benefits; Steve Nadeau, information technology manager, $117,655.26 salary and $604.49 in taxable benefits.
• Grape Growers of Ontario: Debbie Zimmerman, CEO, $169,999.96 in salary and $17,925.21 in taxable benefits.
• Agricultural Adaptation Council: Terry Thompson, executive director, $138,576.24 salary and $10,047.67 taxable benefits.
• Vineland Research and Innovation Centre: 14 people are on the list this year compared to 11 people last year. They include Jim Brandle, chief executive officer, $286,644.37 salary and $54,094.88 in taxable benefits. In 2013 his salary was $282,871.47 plus $55,410.28 in taxable benefits.

The main list for the provincial agriculture ministry contains 132 names, up 21 names compared to the 2014 list, which had 111 names. The top wage earner was deputy minister Deb Stark - $207,258.59 salary and $9,679.14 taxable benefits. In 2013 she got $196,512 in salary and $6,869.03 in taxable benefits.

Stark’s salary was more than her boss, Agriculture Minister Jeff Leal who earned $165,851.04 in salary and $334.47 in taxable benefits in 2014. It was his first year as agriculture minister.

Bryan Bossin, Leal’s communications adviser, says by email the 132 people represents slightly more than 14 per cent of the ministry’s full time workforce. The main reason there is an increase in the number of people is due to the timing of the bi-weekly pay cycle for the Ontario public service that resulted in one additional pay period in the 2014 calendar year. “This is a rare occurrence that happens once every 11 years.”
Other factors include unique situations, such as overtime and incentive pay, he adds.

Some other ministry people on the 2015 list include:

• Greg Douglas, Ontario chief veterinarian, $129,363.48 in salary and $222.75 in taxable benefits.
• Debra Sikora, assistant deputy minister, food safety and environment, $190,553.95 in salary and $298.74 in taxable benefits.
• Gwen McBride, director, horse racing, $141,399.21 in salary and $234.21 in taxable benefits.
• Finbar Desir, farm implements coordinator, $119,792.52 in salary and $206.34 in taxable benefits.
• Tim Blackwell, lead veterinarian, disease prevention, swine, $104,101.29 in salary and $364.27 in taxable benefits.
• Sid Vander Veen, drainage coordinator, $119,792.52 in salary and $206.34 in taxable benefits.

Progressive Conservative agriculture critic Toby Barrett says most of the concern he’s heard from people about the list has to do with the number of people it contains for Hydro One and Ontario Power Generation rather than the provincial agriculture ministry. Seventy-seven per cent of the people on the payroll for Hydro One are making more than $100,000, while 80 per cent of Ontario Power Generation employees are on the Sunshine List, he notes.

“I’m not getting phone calls from farmers complaining about this Sunshine List with OMAFRA (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs),” he says. “I’m getting phone calls from people who cannot afford to heat their house.”

Barrett, MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk, admits he has a bias in favour of the provincial agriculture ministry, which seems to do a “pretty good job for the money it gets.”

For Agricorp, there are 37 people on this year’s list, an increase of five compared to last year’s list of 32 people. Chief executive officer Randy Jackiw earned $184,355.68 in salary and $12,262.68 in taxable benefits. His salary went down slightly in 2014 compared to 2013 when it was $184,359.94 plus $3,983.68 in taxable benefits. But when his salary and taxable benefits are added together, Jackiw actually earned about $8,000 more in 2014 than 2013.

Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission chair Geri Kamenz received $105,461.40 in salary and zero in taxable benefits. Michael Relf, commission secretariat manager, earned $109,040.31 in salary and $187.83 in taxable benefits.

At the Ontario Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal, Gloria Marco Borys, tribunal coordinator, earned $102,500.41 in salary and $169.71 in taxable benefits.

Ontario Food Terminal Board general manager and secretary treasurer, I. Bruce Nicholas earned $168,043.53 in salary and $9,776 in taxable benefits. BF