See the stand outs on Hamilton’s salary disclosure list
Hamilton's highest public sector salary went over $800,000 for the first time.
McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) paid a combined $802,651in salary and taxable benefits in 2021 to one of Canada's most prominent researchers, Dr. Salim Yusuf, who is director of the internationally-known Population Health Research Institute.
It puts Yusuf in Ontario's top 10, although no where close to the highest. The top four all lead Ontario Power Generation and make more than $1 million.
Yusuf has been the highest earner in Hamilton for five years in a row, making $784,674 in 2020 and $764,573 when he first topped the list in 2017.
Ontario's so-called Sunshine List of public sector salaries of $100,000 or more was released March 25.
School board salaries on the rise
One standout was the jump in six-figure salaries at Hamilton's public and Catholic school boards. It was in line with the province's claims that the Sunshine List went up overall mostly due to teachers crossing the $100,000 mark.
The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board saw its list surge to 1,539 last year from 1,024 in 2020 - a 50 per cent increase.
The rise was even higher at the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board, where the list ballooned to 1,245 from 397 - a nearly 214 per cent increase.
It's the second year in a row that there have been big jumps in salary numbers at the school boards.
Hamilton's highest paid teacher is Catholic secondary and made $149,356 in 2021. The highest paid elementary school teacher was also at the Catholic board, earning $140,278. At the public board, the top paid teacher was in continuing education and made $131,462.
Despite the increase in numbers, the school boards are far from the top of Hamilton's list. Their highest earner was Manny Figueiredo, former director of education at the public board, who made $246,561.
To compare, Hamilton's top 10 started at $451,559 and went up from there.
Pandemic pay increases
The city has Hamilton's highest number of six-figure salaries at 2,105 - up from 2,041 in 2020.
The three top earners have been at the forefront of managing the COVID-19 pandemic. They have also seen their salaries increase significantly from 2019 - before the pandemic - to 2021.
Hamilton's medical officer of health Dr. Elizabeth Richardson topped the city's list at $375,120 in salary and taxable benefits last year compared to $292,371 in 2019, prior to the pandemic.
Next was an associate medical officer of health Dr. Bart Harvey, who earned $302,652 in 2021 versus $211,701 before the pandemic.
Rounding out the top three was another associate medical officer of health Dr. Ninh Tran, who made $296,051 last year compared to $232,790 in 2019.
A new face in the top 10
McMaster University had 1,441 six-figure salaries on the list in 2021 - just up from 1,424 the year before.
At the top was Claudia Emerson, director for the program on Ethics and Policy for Innovation, earning $623,459 - the city's fourth highest.
Emerson is a globally recognized ethicist who advises at the highest levels, including for the World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and the United Nations," McMaster University said in a statement.
Her earnings were $285,337 in 2020 - a jump of 118 per cent.
McMaster said her 2021 pay included a retroactive salary adjustment based on her external funding as well as a significant portion of back pay."
Another stand out each year is the president of Mohawk College, who makes more than his counterpart at McMaster University. Ron McKerlie earned $413,522 as president of the college and its fundraising foundation while David Farrar made $399,803.
Mohawk College was the rare exception of a list going down in 2021 - it dropped to 373 from 374.
Police charged with crimes
In Ontario, suspended officers continue to collect their pay cheques by law unless they are in jail.
In Hamilton, Const. Michael LaCombe was suspended after being charged in October with two counts of sexual assault related to alleged incidents 11 years ago. He made $114,992 in 2021.
Const. Ian Milburn has been on administrative duties since May 2021 when he was charged with assault. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation in January after pleading guilty. He made $106,197 last year.
Const. Ryan Cole was also put on administrative duties in April 2021 after being charged with sexual assault causing bodily harm in relation to an alleged on-duty incident in November 2020. He earned $106,030 in 2021.
Hamilton's highest paid
Hamilton has 17 public sector salaries that are $400,000 or above - seven at HHS, six at McMaster, three at St. Joseph's Healthcare and one at Mohawk College.
It's an increase of two from 2019 with both additions at McMaster.
All but three of the top salaries are in health care. Five of the highest earners are women - two at HHS, two at St. Joseph's and one at McMaster.
Overall, HHS had 1,490 on its list - up from 1,390 in 2019. St. Joseph's had 693 compared to 639 the year before.
- With files from The Toronto Star
Joanna Frketich is a health reporter at The Spectator. jfrketich@thespec.com