Government watchdog calling on Manitoba government to control spending on public sector salaries

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is responding to the recent release of Manitoba's sunshine list, saying the government needs to "rein in" spending on salaries.

The government's public sector compensation disclosure for 2023 highlighted all provincial employees making more than $85,000 a year.

The CTF said of those listed, 22,496 employees made more than $100,000 – saying it's an 83 per cent increase compared to 2020.

"That's an important number because the average Manitoban only makes $63,000 a year," said Gage Haubrich, the prairie director of the CTF.

"So we're looking at huge salaries that the government is handing out to people. It's important to highlight that this is a lot of money and it's costing taxpayers a lot of money."

That 83 per cent increase equates to an additional $1.1 billion to be paid to employees.

Haubrich also pointed out the NDP government has hired 694 more employees since being elected, totalling $39.8 million.

"When we're looking at the premier and the finance minister, they both said they want to give Manitobans a balanced budget by the end of their term, but it's going to be really difficult to do that if they keep hiring employees and keep handing out six-figure salaries."

He said the average government employee makes 8.5 per cent more than the average Manitoban, and government employees retire 2.1 years earlier.

It's not just the salaries that Haubrich is worried about. He said when more people are hired, more money is spent on things to help with the job.

"You have to pay for office space for these people, the pensions, everything else along with that. It's a huge expense to the government. The government needs to be careful when it's spending this money."

Speaking to CTV News Winnipeg Wednesday, Finance Minister Adrien Sala said the government is hiring people to fill holes that were left due to cuts from the previous government.

"That resulted in poor services for Manitobans in areas that count," said Sala. "We're doing the important work of hiring up to make sure Manitobans get access to the services that they need and rely on."

Sala said Manitobans had to wait months for services like health cards and vital stats and that was directly due to a lack of staff.

When asked about how the province will balance the budget while also hiring more employees, he said it is all planned for.

"That budget included the costs associated with hiring back folks that the last government had cut. And again, we're doing that hiring in balance with the need to be fiscally responsible, and that's exactly what we're committed to do."

Sala said Manitobans should feel "confident that they have a government that's focused on fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability" and one that is working to balance the books by the final year of their term.