First

Session, 48th General Assembly

Elizabeth II, 2016

BILL 61

AN ACT TO PROVIDE THE

PUBLIC WITH TRANSPARENCY REGARDING PUBLIC SECTOR COMPENSATION

Received and Read the First Time .................................................................................................

Second Reading .................................................................................................................................

Committee ..........................................................................................................................................

Third Reading .....................................................................................................................................

Royal Assent ......................................................................................................................................

HONOURABLE

CATHY BENNETT

Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board

Ordered

to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Bill would require the

disclosure of compensation information for employees of government and public

bodies whose total compensation is greater than the prescribed threshold.

A BILL

AN ACT TO PROVIDE THE PUBLIC WITH

TRANSPARENCY REGARDING PUBLIC SECTOR COMPENSATION

Analysis

Short title

Definitions

Disclosure by government

Disclosure by public body

Total compensation amount rounded

No disclosure required

Exemptions - employees

Exemption - category of employees

Disclosure re: exemptions

Powers of minister

Audit by comptroller general

Regulations

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

Short title

1. This

Act may be cited as the Public Sector

Compensation Transparency Act .

Definitions

2. In

this Act

(a) "chief executive officer" means the

person responsible for the day to day operation of a public body;

(b) "employee", unless otherwise

indicated, means an individual who is, or was, employed by the public sector

during the year;

(c) "government" means a department

created under the Executive Council Act or

a branch of the executive government of the province;

(d) "leave payout" means the amount paid

to an employee for accumulated, unused leave;

(e) "minister" means the minister

appointed under the Executive Council Act

to administer this Act;

(f) "public body" means an entity designated in the regulations as a

public body;

(g) "public sector" means government or

a public body;

(h) "threshold" means the amount

prescribed in the regulations; and

(i) "total compensation" means the total

amount of compensation paid in a year to an employee, but does not include

leave payout or an amount paid in lieu of notice upon termination of

employment.

Disclosure by

government

3. Before

July 1 of each year the minister shall disclose the following information with

respect to each employee of government whose total compensation during the

previous year was greater than the threshold:

(

a) the name of the employee;

(

b) the title of the position the employee held on

December 31 of the previous year, or where the employee discontinued employment

with government during the year, the title of the position the employee held at

the time he or she discontinued employment;

(

c) the department in which the employee was employed

on December 31 of the previous year, or, where the employee discontinued

employment with government during the year, the department in which the

employee was employed at the time he or she discontinued employment; and

(

d) the amount of total compensation paid to the

employee.

Disclosure by

public body

(1) Before

July 1 of each year the chief executive officer shall disclose to the minister and the public,

in the form and manner determined by the minister, the following information

with respect to each employee of the public body whose total compensation

during the previous year was greater than the threshold:

(

a) the name of the employee;

(

b) the title of the position the employee held on

December 31 of the previous year, or where the employee discontinued employment

with the public body during the year, the title of the position the employee

held at the time he or she discontinued employment; and

(

c) the amount of total compensation paid to the

employee.

(2) The minister may, on application by a public

body, extend the deadline for disclosure by a public body.

Total

compensation amount rounded

5. The

total compensation amounts referred to in paragraphs 3(

d) and 4(

c) shall be

rounded to the nearest multiple of one hundred dollars.

No disclosure

required

6. Where

a public body does not have employees whose total compensation was greater than

the threshold during the previous year, the chief executive officer shall

advise the public and the minister in the form and manner determined by the minister.

Exemptions - employees

(1) The

deputy minister of a department or the chief executive officer of a public body

may exempt information from being disclosed regarding an employee where

(

a) a written application is submitted in the time

period prescribed in the regulations, by, or on behalf of, the employee to

(

i) the deputy minister of the department where

the employee is employed, or

(ii) the chief executive officer of the public body

where the employee is employed; and

(

b) the deputy minister of the department or the chief

executive officer of the public body is of the opinion that disclosure of the

information could reasonably be expected to threaten the safety or mental or

physical health of the employee.

(2) Where an employee is dissatisfied with the

decision of the deputy minister or chief executive officer under subsection

(1) he or she may appeal the decision to the President of Treasury Board.

(3) The President of Treasury Board may exempt

information from being disclosed regarding an employee where

(

a) the employee submits the appeal in the time

prescribed in the regulations; and

(

b) the President of Treasury Board is of the

opinion that disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to

threaten the safety or mental or physical health of the employee.

Exemption - category

of employees

(1) The

Lieutenant-Governor in Council may exempt information from being disclosed

regarding a category of employees where the Lieutenant-Governor in Council is

of the opinion that disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected

to threaten the safety or mental or physical health of those employees.

(2) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may

prescribe in the regulations other grounds to exempt information from being disclosed

regarding a category of employees.

Disclosure re:

exemptions

(1) Where

information is exempted from disclosure under this Act

(

a) the minister shall disclose to the public that

information has been exempted with respect to employees of government; and

(

b) the chief executive officer of the public body

shall disclose to the minister and the public that information has been exempted

with respect to employees of the public body.

(2) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may

prescribe in regulations the information to be included in the disclosure under

subsection (1).

Powers of

minister

10. The

minister may

(

a) establish a process for correcting disclosure

under this Act;

(

b) aggregate or republish all or part of the

information disclosed under this Act;

(

c) require a public body to provide information

to determine whether the public body is complying with this Act; and

(

d) make public the failure of a public body to

comply with this Act.

Audit by comptroller

general

11 .

(1) The minister may direct the comptroller general

to audit the records of a public body to determine whether the public body is

complying with this Act.

(2) A

public body shall permit the comptroller general to review the records of the

public body.

Regulations

12. The

Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations

(

a) prescribing the threshold;

(

b) designating entities as public bodies under

this Act;

(

c) prescribing the specific categories of

compensation for which amounts shall be specifically identified in the total

compensation amount referred to in paragraphs 3(

d) and 4(c);

(

d) prescribing the time within which an

application and appeal shall be submitted under

section 7;

(

e) prescribing the time within which a decision

under

section 7 shall be communicated to the employee who filed the application

or appeal;

(

f) prescribing the grounds on which the

Lieutenant-Governor in Council may exempt information from being disclosed

regarding a category of employees;

(

g) prescribing the information to be included in

a disclosure under subsection 9(2);

(

h) re-defining or further defining a word or

expression defined in this Act ;

(

i) defining

a word or expression used but not defined

in this Act ; and

(

j) generally, to give effect to the purpose

of this Act.

Queen's Printer