The government is planning to amend its transparency legislation to impose salary and benefit limits on 64 more public sector agencies, including scandal-plagued Ornge and eHealth.

Although the NDP has long called for controlling the compensation of public sector management, the announcement still drew accusations of hypocrisy as it comes on the same day the Liberals shut down an opposition bill to have two key witnesses testify in committee about the gas plant scandal.

Deb Matthews, the Treasury Board president, said the proposed amendment will set out "bands" of compensation levels on a sector-by-sector basis, and will use comparisons with other jurisdictions to determine what those levels should be.

"This bill is going to give us the tools we need to actually collect the information that we don't currently collect on compensation, including all of the benefits, retirement bonuses," she said. "I think it's important we get that information, and then do the work that's required to set bands of appropriate compensation levels sector by sector for executives ... I'm not going to pre-judge what those bands turn out to be."

Bill 8, the legislation being amended, was introduced last March but died on the election call. Reintroduced in the summer, it will require cabinet ministers and opposition leaders to publicly post all expense information, and all MPPs to post any out-of-riding expenses.

It also brings in penalties for destroying records (a direct response to the gas plant scandal), extends the Ontario Ombudsman's oversight to universities, municipalities and school boards, and allows the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth to investigate children's aid societies.

Before the amendment, the bill already had measures for hard caps and other compensation controls on public sector bodies such as hospitals, universities, school boards and hydro agencies (including Ontario Power Generation, which has been heavily criticized in the past for exorbitant salaries.)

Along with Ornge and eHealth, other notable agencies affected by the amendment include Metrolinx, the LCBO, the OLG, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the 14 health authorities (Local Health Integration Networks) across the province.

Asked whether Pan Am Games organizers would be affected by the new rules, Matthews said it will take too much time to determine the fair compensation levels. "The Pan Am games will have come and gone by the time that we're in a position to control compensation," she said.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said the transparency bill allows too much wiggle room for salaries to rise.

"This legislation is weak, it's not going to make any impact whatsoever," she said. "If they were serious about capping those salaries, they would put hard caps in place and they would make it clear that those caps are not going to be mucked about with through negotiations."

The new transparency measures also provoked an opposition outcry that has become a common refrain: despite the Liberals' public pronouncements about committing to transparency, their actions don't reflect it.

In this case, the protests focused on an opposition bill tabled Wednesday afternoon to have two key gas plant scandal witnesses appear before the standing committee on justice policy.

The Liberals have rejected the request, claiming the committee has worked long enough and needs to write the report before hearing from Laura Miller (Dalton McGuinty's deputy chief of staff at the time) and Peter Faist (a computer expert who allegedly deleted sensitive files, and Miller's boyfriend.)

"We are absolutely committed to openness and transparency, but the committees have been working for three years," Matthews said. "The premier's been very clear, it's time to get that report written."

Tory MPP John Yakabuski was having none of that excuse, referencing the tabling of the transparency bill for a second reading.

"This is your opportunity to put some action onto those words, not hollow words which we usually get from the Liberal Party," he yelled during question period.

Horwath struck the same note when speaking to reporters afterward.

"We see the minister responsible for accountability and transparency is not allowing the two most important eye-witnesses of the gas plant scandal to actually have their day in court, if you will," she said. "They'll talk a good game on accountability and transparency, but when push comes to shove, they will not do the right thing by the people of Ontario."

Liberals plan to cap salaries at 64 more public sector agencies

Read this for free.