Judges salaries under review on P.E.I.

An independent commission is reviewing the salaries of provincial court judges on Prince Edward Island, some of the highest paid judges in the region.

The review is conducted every three years.

The Islands judges currently make about $215,000per year and the chief judge also receives a $5,000 bonus.

"We look at a variety of things, what is being paid in the rest of the country, what the cost of living has been, what the provincial finances are. All those kinds of things are taken into account," said Cleve Myers, chair of the judicial remuneration review commission.

Comments will be accepted from the public until May 3.

Myers said he expects the commission's report and recommendation will be sent to government by early summer.

While it is not binding, Myers said it is usually accepted.

According to a report tabled in the provincial legislature in 2010, P.E.I.'s provincial court judges were the highest paid in Atlantic Canada.