Taptuna: GN to publish Nunavut DM, Crown head pay info

Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna said that each year, the government will now publish salaries and bonuses paid to deputy ministers and heads of Crown agencies. (FILE PHOTO)

The Government of Nunavut’s deputy ministers and Crown corporation heads will see their salary and bonus packages published annually from now on, Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna said in the legislature March 11.

That follows a decision last year, made after a request from MLAs, to table pay and bonus payments for GN deputy heads.

“Mr. Speaker, we have made it a priority under Sivumut Abluqta to continue to improve the fair and transparent practices of this government,” Taptuna said.

To that end, Taptuna said the GN has added a condition to the employment contracts offered to all DMs and heads of Crown agencies that requires the annual publication of their salaries and bonuses.

The GN’s top bosses are also required to file detailed confidential disclosure statements with the Integrity Commissioner listing their investments in real property, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, self-directed RRSPs, and any partnerships in various types of businesses.

DMs and Crown agency heads must also disclose any personal assets to the Integrity Commissioner that have a value greater than $10,000 and are not used for either transportation, household, educational, recreational, social or aesthetic purposes.

And they must also disclose any liabilities greater than $10,000, including mortgages, loans, and unpaid property or income tax.

Blank copies of these 17-page disclosure forms are now available for the public to download at the Department of Executive section of the GN’s website.

And as of this past March 1, members of the public may also go to that page to download a document that sets out the GN’s policies for appointing and compensating deputy heads.

The document, entitled “Deputy Head Employment and Compensation Terms,” says all such appointments are the prerogative of the Nunavut premier, who makes them with the help of the Senior Personnel Secretariat.

The document says the GN sets pay levels for deputy heads according to their skills, experience and the size and complexity of their departments.

That means the heads of bigger departments get paid more than the heads of smaller departments.

And the deputy minister of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs, the highest ranking non-elected official at the GN, gets slotted into the highest pay band.

The pay band system works like this:

• Pay band 19: Culture and Heritage, Environment, Economic Development and Transportation, Nunavut Housing Corp., Nunavut Arctic College, Qulliq Energy Corp.;

• Pay Band 20: Finance, Justice, Community and Government Services, Education, Health, Family Services; and

• Pay Band 21: Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs.

The document does not disclose what salary ranges those pay bands cover. But a senior manager’s handbook published in September 2010 gives the following information:

• Pay Band 19: $134,940 to $192,771 per year;

• Pay Band 20: $138,374 to $197,677 per year; and

• Pay Band 21: $141,896 to $202,709 per year.

Such employees are eligible for performance pay, which consists of merit pay and bonuses.

They also get northern allowance, a bilingual allowance if eligible and $3,000 per year to cover entertainment expenses and the use of their private vehicle for government business.

They make take up to five weeks annual leave each year and up to 10 days of “managerial leave” to compensate for long work hours and high stress.

Deputy heads must avoid any personal financial activities that could be affected by any information not available to the public that they might receive through their jobs.

They are also not allowed to speak publicly on behalf of any organization other than the GN, and they must ensure that any volunteer or community activities do not put them into a conflict of interest or into conflict with the GN’s confidentiality policies.

All deputy heads hold their jobs at the pleasure of the premier.