PCs promise N.L.-style 'Sunshine List' of top salaries

Newfoundland and Labrador's governing Tories have promised to start reporting the wages of the government's top public servants.

• N.L. launches open government initiative

The promise is one of dozens included in a draft open government action plan that was released Monday at Confederation Building in St. John's.

The government said it will "publisha compensation disclosure list" of employees who earn $100,000 or more, with details including wages, bonuses, overtime and severance, among other factors.

The list will include all public bodies, includinghealth and education boards andCrown corporations like Nalcor,the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation,andMemorial University,

Deputy Premier SteveKent saidthe firstlist will be completed by April 1, 2016, and will be updated every year after.

"It's information that the public has expressed interestin knowing and it's public dollars," saidKent.

"We're not talking about information that's traditionally been top secret. We're talking about making this information available proactively."

The Tories launched the open government initiative last year, while trying to reassure the public that it was burying the most controversial aspects ofBill 29, the 2012 legislation that had dramatically curtailed the public's access to government information.

In releasing the draft report, PremierPaul Davis toutedhisgovernment's commitment to openness and transparency, and credited ordinary people with influencing the draft.

"We asked you to share your ideas, your insights, your expertise, and people responded in a big way," Davis said.

"These ideas are now incorporated in Newfoundland and Labrador's first draft Open Government Action Plan."

Wiki-stylefeedbackformat to be used

Davis and Deputy Premier Steve Kent said the government is again looking for public input onthe draft plan. Kent said he especially wants to hear from the public whether the $100,000threshold for the 'sunshine list' should be higher or lower.

"Maybe we'll adjust the threshold if people feel there's a more appropriate level," said Kent.

The public can give feedback througha draft action plan online in the format of awiki, or a document that many people can edit.

The open government initiative was launched in 2014, and was intended to improve the quality of government programs, servicesand decisions by making information accessible to the public.

Davis said while the suggestions so far have improved the plan, more feedback is needed. He also laid out more key actions that will help move the open government initiative forward.

Those include a new $200,000 Collaboration Incentive Fund, the wiki,and anew,searchable Accessto Information and Protection of Privacy Act (ATIPP) web portal.

The current administration has taken criticism over the past few years regarding transparency and secrecy.

In 2014, public outcry over the planned Bill 29 which would have given government increased powers in determining what information can be withheld from the public caused then-premier Tom Marshall to launch an independent review of the bill.

However, opposition members say the government still isn't being forthcoming with the information that matters.

"What they say and what they do are two different things,"said Liberal MHA ChristopherMitchelmore."We only have to look at the recent HumberValley paving fiasco, there's been no update on the Don Dunphy shooting."

"There are many actions that we're seeking information as the Official Opposition."