- Hub staff

The Public Salary Disclosure Act of 1996, requires organizations that receive public funding from the Province of Ontario to make public, by March 31 each year, the names, positions, salaries and total taxable benefits of employees paid $100,000 or more in the previous calendar year.

In the category "Hospitals and Boards of Public Health" -  33,884 people are on the "Sunshine List" for 2020. Only 10 of them made more than our Medical Officer of Health's $631,510.22;  all of them CEOs of large hospital networks.

We asked the Ministry of Health this question, "We understand that Special Covid-related funds for extra-ordinary overtime for senior health unit managers provided for more than $240,000 for our MOH in 2020.  As we have now completed the first quarter of 2021 and are still in a pandemic, will that funding be continued?"

This was the response we received today from the Ministry of Health, Media Relations

"Under the Health Protection and Promotion Act (HPPA), each board of health must appoint a full-time Medical Officer of Health for the public health unit, who reports directly to the board of health on public health issues and is responsible to the board of health for the management of public health programs and services.

As employees of boards of health, Medical Officer of Health base salaries are paid by boards of health at levels set by the local boards, and according to the municipality’s professional salary scale and benefit policies.

As part of the Medical Officer of Health Compensation Initiative, the Ministry of Health currently provides boards of health with additional funding required to fund eligible Medical Officer of Health positions within the salary ranges initially established as part of the 2008 Physician Services Agreement and continued under subsequent agreements.

Under the Medical Officer of Health Compensation Initiative, the ministry may fund the difference between the provincially approved salary grid and base salaries established by local boards of health, if specific requirements for the initiative are met. To be clear, boards of health are required to provide details of their Medical Officer of Health positions annually via an application to the ministry.

We are unable to comment on decisions made by local boards of health related to base salaries of staff. For questions related to base salaries, boards of health should be contacted directly (as the employers)."

We have had no response from the Board of Health to our enquiries on this subject.  However, the Board Chair has publicly stated "we are committed to answering any questions we receive from constituents or Councillors", so we invite you to ask them yourself.  Will the Ministry of Health continue to fund our MOH's ongoing overtime for the duration of the pandemic?