The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is heading to Federal Court in an effort to force the Bank of Canada to disclose how much it pays its top executives, arguing Canadians have a right to know the salaries and bonuses of officials running the country’s central bank.The advocacy group announced it is challenging the Bank of Canada’s refusal to release compensation records for its governor and senior deputy governors after an access-to-information request seeking details on salaries, bonuses and performance pay between 2012 and 2023.“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, general counsel for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.Drover said access-to-information laws are intended to allow the public to scrutinize how government institutions operate, but argued the central bank is blocking transparency by withholding 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,” he said.The Bank of Canada rejected the request, citing provisions in the Access to Information Act that exempt personal information from disclosure..Matthew Malone, founder of the transparency group Open by Default, filed a complaint with the Office of the Information Commissioner over the refusal. The commissioner’s report concluded some information had been improperly withheld but ultimately sided largely with the government’s position.The taxpayers federation is now partnering with Malone to challenge that ruling in Federal Court. The group argues that compensation paid to public officials should not be shielded from disclosure and is asking the court to order the central bank to release the records.The federation noted that many provincial governments routinely publish compensation details for senior public officials, while the federal government provides far less transparency.Other countries also disclose similar information about central bank leaders. The Bank of England, for example, has publicly released the salary of its governor — roughly $900,000 CAD — citing freedom-of-information rules requiring disclosure by public authorities..Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney previously confirmed his own compensation while leading the British central bank exceeded $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, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.“It’s particularly ironic that a Google search shows how much the Bank of England paid Carney, but the Bank of Canada won’t say how much it paid him,” he said.“The Canadian Taxpayers Federation will continue to fight Crown corporation executives that want to keep their pay hidden from the people who are paying the bills.”
