Notley says UCP responsible for chief medical officer of health’s record bonus

EDMONTON – Alberta’s Opposition NDP leader says the United Conservatives must bear the responsibility – and the fallout – for the record-setting six-figure bonus payment to the chief medical officer of health during COVID-19.

Rachel Notley says she isn’t passing judgment on whether the payout to Dr. Deena Hinshaw is merited.

But she says the payout has to be set against a government that, at the same time, was trying to cut the pay of front-line health workers in collective bargaining.

The government’s sunshine salary list shows that Hinshaw received a bonus of almost $228,000 for COVID-19 work in 2021 – the highest such cash benefit payout to any provincial civil servant since the list went public.