The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is launching a court challenge to force the Bank of Canada to release records disclosing the compensation it pays to its senior officials.

“The Bank of Canada is a Crown corporation owned by Canadians and Canadians have a right to know how much money its top officials are taking,” said Devin Drover, CTF General Counsel. “Access-to-information laws exist so Canadians can scrutinize how government institutions operate and the Bank of Canada is violating that fundamental principle by concealing records.

“Canadians don’t have a clear picture of how much the Bank of Canada governor is paid and the government refuses to follow the law and provide that clarity.”

An access-to-information request asked for documents showing compensation paid to Bank of Canada governors and senior deputy governors between 2012 and 2023, including salaries, bonuses and performance pay.

The Bank of Canada refused to release the records, claiming the information was exempt from disclosure under the personal information provision of the Access to Information Act.

Open by Default founder Matthew Malone filed a complaint with the Office of the Information Commissioner. While the commissioner’s report found that some information had been improperly withheld, it largely sided with the government.

The CTF is partnering with Malone to file a legal challenge in Federal Court in response to the commissioner’s decision. The CTF is arguing that government compensation records are not exempt from disclosure and is seeking the court to order the Bank of Canada to release the records.

Provincial government routinely provide compensation transparency, but the federal government does not. Other countries also provide greater transparency.

“Freedom of Information rules mean that, as a public authority, the Bank of England is obliged to disclose certain types of information, both proactively and on request,” wrote the Bank of England when disclosing the exact salary paid to its governor of about $900,000 CAD. In fact, Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed his total compensation as Bank of England governor was more than $1 million CAD.

“It’s wrong that Canadians can’t find out how much they’re paying the Bank of Canada governor when it’s easy to get that information in other countries,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “It’s particularly ironic that a Google search show’s how much the Bank of England paid Carney, but the Bank of Canada won’t say how much it paid him. 

“The Canadian Taxpayers Federation we will continue to fight Crown corporation executives that want to keep their pay hidden from the people who are paying the bills.”

The CTF’s court application can be found here.