Canadian Hearing Society ramps up pay for top executives as strike continues

A taxpayer-funded charity that provides services to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community across Ontario has ramped up its pay for topexecutives while cuttingfront-line staff, researchby CBC News reveals.

TheCanadian Hearing Society (CHS) receives more than $20 million annually from the provincial government for such services as sign-language interpretation in hospitals, counselling and audiology.The agency's unionized workers, many of whom are themselves deaf, are on picket lines across the provincein a strike that began in early March.

• Talks break off, strike continues at Canadian Hearing Society
• Services for deaf Ontarians limited as strike begins

The salary of the agency's president and CEO shot up 75 per cent in just three years, according to data from Ontario'sSunshine List.

The salary of its vice president of finance and corporate services appeared on previous versions of the Sunshine List but was not disclosed for 2016. That's because he switched to billing the agency as a consultant for his work. CBC News has learned that his consulting rate amounts to a 26 per cent pay hike from three years earlier.

Meanwhile, unionizedstaff at the Canadian Hearing Societyhaven't had a pay increase since their contract expired four years ago. The agency has cut its total number of full-time staff by 28 per cent in three years, according to information filed with the federal charities directorate.

"The sharp increase in top executive salaries is a slap in the face to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community," said George Postlethwait Jr., president of the Ontario Association of the Deaf, an advocacy group whose members rely on the services provided by the charity.

"How can that be justified, those increases to those salaries?It just doesn't make sense," said Stacey Connor, president ofCUPELocal 2073, which representsthe striking workers.

"This is a non-profit organization," Connor said Tuesday in an interview conducted with a sign language interpreter. "And we're being told over and over again, 'There's no money, there's no money.'"

Documents filed with the provincial governmentshowthat Canadian Hearing Society president and CEO Julia Dumanian was paid$268,749 in 2016,an increase of more than $115,000 over what her predecessor in the position earned in 2013.

Dumanian was appointed CEO on July 6, 2015. The 2015SunshineList shows she was paid $122,275 for her six months on the job that year.

"The CHS board of directors determines the rate, and that is based on experience, education and looking at other agencies in the sector," said GaryMalkowski, the charity's vice-president of stakeholder and employee relations,in an interview conducted with a sign-language interpreter.

"They were looking for a qualified president and CEO who could come in and really do the transformation that was required."

Sunshine List data shows StephanusGreeff was paid $115,185 as vice-president of finance and chief financial officerin 2013. His salary jumped to$188,739 in 2015, when he added responsibilities as acting CEO to his job for six months.

Greeffdoes not appear on the Sunshine List for 2016. A spokesperson for the Canadian Hearing Society said Greef resigned as VP finance and CFO on May 1, 2016 and the agency contracted his services for the rest of the year. He is now listed on the agency's website as vice president,finance and corporate services.

A copy of an invoice obtained by CBC News showsGreeffbilled the agency $12,100 for a month of consulting services in August 2016, a rate of $145,200 per year. The charity refused to confirm his fee, saying they are not allowed todisclose the terms of any professional service contracts.

All not-for-profit organizationsreceiving more than $1 million in annual funding from the provincial government are required by law to report the salaries of all employees who earnedmore than $100,000. Consulting fees are exempt from the disclosure rules.

In 2016, CHS received $9.9 million from the provincial Health Ministry, $8.6 million from Community and Social Services and $2.2 million from the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development. The province is continuing to transfer its full amount of funding to CHS during the strike.

MalkowskisaidGreeffswitched from employee to consultant as part of the charity's management restructuring.

"Wedid reduce the number of management positionswithin the organization," he said. "We value his expertise, his experience and his consultation."

• How strike at Canadian Hearing Society is affecting Ontario's deaf community

Since Dumanian was hired as CEO, the Ontario Association of the Deaf "has received numerous complaints, concerns, andtestimonials regarding CHS management culture, style, and direction," said Postlethwait in an emailed response to questions from CBC News.

Dumanian was previously CEO of Cambridge Memorial Hospital and was fired in 2009. The province appointed a supervisor to run the hospital over what then-minister of health David Caplan called "outstanding and ongoing governance and management matters."

CBC News requested an interview with Dumanian but was told that Malkowski would speak for the agency.