Salary disclosures OK under new access law, watchdog says

Newfoundland and Labrador's information and privacy commissioner says the new transparency law that replaced Bill 29 permits the public release of salary details of employees of public bodies.

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

"It is our view that such a disclosure is in compliance with the law,"Ed Ring said in a press release issued Monday afternoon.

Ring noted that a number of public bodies have already released that information in response to open-recordsrequests.

It is our view that such a disclosure is in compliance with the law.- Ed Ring

But he said others "have been uncertain in their interpretation of the law," and have notified affected employees before releasing the information.

Ring noted that apanel led by former premier and judge, Clyde Wells, that reviewed access-to-information laws found that disclosure of salary details is notan unreasonable invasion of privacy, and therefore cannot be withheld by a public body.

"It is the interpretation of this office that this means that names of public body employees and their salaries are to be disclosed to an access-to-information applicant upon request," Ring noted.

"This type of disclosure is not unusual in Canada, and for example, has been done for many years under different legislation in Ontario."

'Sunshine List' had been proposed

The Ontario government has been publishing an annual"Sunshine List" of salaries for the past two decades.

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Last fall,the-then Tory government in Newfoundland and Labrador said it would publish a similarlist of employees who earn $100,000 or more.

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

It would apply to core government departments, agencies and provincial Crown corporations.

The PCs said the first list would be published on April 1, 2016.

But they lost power in the Nov. 30 general election, and the incoming Liberals did not follow through on that PC pledge.

Bill 29, passed by the Tories in 2012, put some details of perks and pay for public-sector employees off limits.

A law replacing Bill 29 and rolling back many of its more restrictive elements came into effect in June 2015.

Salary disclosure aspects ofthat new law apply to all employees, not just those earning more than $100,000.