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Aug 01, 2022 • 14 hours ago • 2 minutes read • 31 comments Dr. Deanna Hinshaw, Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer. Photo by Ian Kucerak/Postmedia
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Alberta’s top doctor took home nearly $600,000 between her salary and cash benefits in 2021.
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Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deanna Hinshaw earned $363,633.92 in salary and $227,911.35 in “cash benefits” last year, according to the Alberta government’s Sunshine List, updated last month, which reveals compensation and salary for civil servants who earn above a certain threshold.
This ranks as the highest cash bonus as well as the highest total payout to an Alberta government employee since the province began disclosing this information in 2016.
The compensation covers a year in which Hinshaw was the public face of Alberta’s response to COVID-19, including the introduction of a vaccine and the implementation of public health measures.
In a statement to Postmedia, Alberta Health said 107 government employees received “special service” compensation in 2021 for extra work during the pandemic response.
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The agency said those payments were made in accordance with criteria set by the Public Service Commission, with similar compensation paid out during previous emergencies such as the 2013 floods in southern Alberta and the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfires.
“The total includes compensation for special services to the Chief Medical Officer of Health, determined using a formula for managers based on additional hours worked,” said Steve Buick, press secretary to Health Minister Jason Copping.
“Given the scale of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a tremendous amount of additional work was needed from Alberta’s top public health practitioner.”
Hinshaw’s overtime pay compensates for time worked over 45 hours during the week.
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Salary disclosures from previous years show that Hinshaw received a base salary of $363,633.92 in 2020 and $332,164.64 in 2019. She received no fringe benefits in either year.
The compensation level is appropriate given Hinshaw’s responsibilities last year, said Mount Royal University political scientist Dwayne Bratt.
“I didn’t think giving her a bonus based on a formula was necessarily bad. I can see it was justified,” he said.
“You’re talking about the whole of 2021, and my guess is that she probably worked a 70-hour week every week of 2021, so I don’t have a problem with that.”
Bratt said there could be political fallout from revealing Hinshaw’s compensation, with the topic likely to come up as candidates vie to replace Prime Minister Jason Kenney as leader of the United Conservative Party.
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He said there had already been some public uproar over the compensation, with opponents making two arguments. One is that the scale of the payments is excessive, especially in the context of the government’s proposed back pay of some health workers earlier in the pandemic. The other is the allegation that the money represents “payback” from the UCP, a notion Brat rejects outright.
“I think those are unfair criticisms, especially the idea that she was bribed,” Bratt said.
“But it just throws a hand grenade into the United Conservative leadership race. . . . If (candidates opposing the COVID-19 restrictions) hear that Hinshaw got a bonus for advising on these health restrictions, that’s going to be a huge political issue after today.”
jherring@postmedia.com
Twitter: @jasonfherring
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