The Ontario Public Sector Salary Disclosure list was recently released.
Better known as the sunshine club, the list is comprised of every person in the public sector from the province on down that made $100,000 or more in 2024.
There are 377,665 people on the list, including hundreds who work in Chatham-Kent.
Trevor Jones, MPP for Chatham-Kent–Leamington, made $136,469 in 2024.
At the municipality, there are 392 names on the sunshine list, topped by Chatham-Kent CAO Michael Duben at $335,885.
Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, acting medical officer of health ($317,850), was second.
Gary Conn, chief of police who retired in mid-June of last year, walked away with wages of $284,544 for 2024.
His replacement, Kirk Early, made $277,549. He was deputy chief for the first half of the year.
Rounding out the municipality’s top five is Cathy Hoffman, general manager of corporate services at $243,985. She is to retire at the end of the month.
As for the mayor, Darrin Canniff, he grabbed a paycheque of $136,032, good for 100th place on the municipality’s top 100 wage earners for 2024.
In total, the municipality has 132 police personnel, 168 non-union positions, and 59 fire staff comprise the majority of the list.
It is interesting to note one Chatham-Kent councillor earned more from public coffers than the mayor did in 2024. West Kent Coun. Melissa Sharpe-Harrigan, executive lead for the C-K Ontario Health Team, scooped up $153,945. That’s on top of her $43,000 councillor pay.
At the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, Lori Marshall, who retired in late June of 2024, took home $308,509 last year.
In total, 360 CKHA personnel made the list.
Aaron Ryan, vice-president and CFO ($243,291); Meredith Whitehead, vice-president and chief nursing executive ($199,000); Caen Suni, vice-president of clinical programs ($198,998); and Lori Paget, registered nurse ($182,903), round out the top five.
The Lambton Kent District School Board has 1,268 people in the sunshine club for 2024.
John Howitt, director of education, who is retiring at the end of the month, made $266,885 to lead the way.
Brian Mckay, associate director of corporate services ($217,440); Emily Dixon, superintendent of education ($197,661); Gary Girardi, superintendent of education ($193,555); and Benjamin Hazzard, superintendent of education ($193,555) comprise the rest of the board’s top five.
At the St. Clair Catholic District School Board, there are 485 people on the list, led by director of education, Scott Johnson, who retired just last month. He made $237,000 in 2024.
Amy Janssens, associate director of corporate services and treasurer ($192,000); James Duff, executive manager of human resources ($178,292); Marcie Myers, manager of financial services ($178,171); and Antonio Montanino, manager of facility services ($177,842) make up the rest of the board’s top five.
Other notables in different parts of the public sector include Chatham-Kent Community Health Centres physician Dr. Vishal Chawla ($423,927); Michael Silvaggi ($316,826), president of St. Clair College; Rob MacDonald, crown attorney ($261,833); and Teri Thomas-Vanos ($183,014), executive director of Linck, Child, Youth and Family Supports.
The sunshine club is a list that was first reported in 1996. The threshold of $100,000 in annual salary has remained unchanged in the nearly three decades of reporting.
