Who are the top-earning lawyers in Ontario's public sector 2014?

Who were the biggest earners among public-sector lawyers last year?

While lawyer and Ontario Securities Commission chairman and chief executive officer Howard Wetston was the top earner this year, his salary of $703,629 was down slightly from the year before, when he earned $715,073.

As for organizations that have been under the microscope in recent years, Karen Hacker, general counsel for the Toronto organizing committee for the 2015 Pan American & Parapan American Games, earned $273,437 in 2014.
That’s up from $270,190 the year before. In total, there were six people in legal counsel roles from the organizing committee for the Games on the sunshine list of public sector employees earning more than$100,000 a year.

Over at Ornge, general counsel and corporate secretary Susan Kennedy earned $161,538 last year. And at eHealth Ontario, general counsel David Rounthwaite took in $274,658, according to this year’s list. That was a big jump from the $220,037 he earned the previous year.

In the courts, Ontario Court Chief Justice Annemarie Bonkalo’s salary for 2014 was $322,591. That’s up from $304,677 the year before. As for Ontario Court judges, most earned $287,938, up from $271,421 the year before.

On this chart, Law Times lists, in descending order by salary, the top earners from the Ministry of the Attorney General as well as law professors and other legal professionals working as counsel, general counsel, solicitors, directors of legal services, and in other senior roles among various municipal and provincial bodies and regulators. The list also covers the broader public sector, including hospitals.

The rest of the Ministry of Finance’s salary disclosure list is available online.

Click here to compare this year's salaries with last year's Law Times list.

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