Hospital CEO’s in Ontario, including Thunder Bay, have made their salaries available to the public.
Hospitals across the province were required by law to provide more information to the public, including board minutes, financial plans and executive contracts.
The law took effect on Jan. 1.
The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s Care Group both posted the salaries and benefits of the executive hospital staff for 2011 on Tuesday.
The information made available shows that executive salaries for both hospitals ranged from $70,000 to $390,000.
Andrée Robichaud, who took over from Ron Saddington as president and CEO of the Thunder Bay Regional in February, earned $390,000.
Saddington banked more than $407,000 in 2010 before handing over the reins to Robichaud.
Michael Power, the executive vice-president of Prevention and Management, earned more than $183,000 in 2011.
Robichaud said she wasn’t a stranger to having her salary posted on a website and added it was the right thing to do.
“We’re paid by the public purse and I think people have a right to know where their dollar goes,” Robichaud said.
“For most people those salaries are big bucks. I can say I am very well paid, I’m very happy here and I hope when people look at these numbers they understand that if they really want really good health care here in Thunder Bay there’s a price for that.”
Robichaud said in order to recruit people to Thunder Bay they stay in the middle of the market, which means they don’t pay top dollar or the lowest salary available.
At St. Joseph’s Care Group, president and CEO Tracy Buckler made more than $299, 000 in 2011, which is less than $1,900 from what she earned in 2010.
Chief of Staff Geoff Davis earned more than $70,000.
CEO salaries at hospitals across the region were similar to St. Joseph’s and the Regional Health Sciences Centre’s.
The top salaries reported for CEO’s at area hospitals include:
• Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre, $220,000
• Dryden Regional Health Centre, $177,000
• Atikokan General Hospital, $155,000
• Geraldton Distract Hospital, $149,000.
MPP Bill Mauro (Lib, Thunder Bay – Atikokan) said the province implemented the law to ensure hospitals were as transparent as possible.
“It’s really significant to think in the past hospitals have not been subjective to Freedom of Information requests,” Mauro said.
“I think people will focus on the salary part and my hope is that whatever it is they see they will remember that those salaries are negotiated by hospital boards. They are not negotiated by the government.
“That would be point one and point two would be that unless our government brought in this particular piece of legislation (the public) would not have this information.”
Mauro said they have also asked CEO’s to reduce salaries across province by 10 per cent.
