Top doc, top dollars: 47% raise puts Manitoba's public health chief on top of the pay heap

Manitoba’s chief public health officer is now the second highest paid person on the provincial government’s payroll, thanks to a massive pay raise he received between April 2021 and March 2022. During this period Dr. Brent Roussin earned $634,301, an increase of 47% from the previous year and $224,300 more than his starting salary of $410,000 in 2019, according to the Winnipeg Free Press. In addition to his government employee paycheque, Dr. Roussin also billed $226,626 last year for clinical services. Read: Dr. Deena Hinshaw's record $227K cash bonus raises eyebrows among Alberta's healthcare workers “It looks terrible,” said University of Manitoba professor and ethicist Arthur Schafer, who described Dr. Roussin’s pay increase as “extraordinary” in light of Manitoba’s dubious status as the province with the second-highest COVID-19 death rate. “If one wants to be uncharitable one could say he’s been, if not a disaster, certainly not a success on the job,” added Schafer. “And yet he’s getting a huge reward from a government that doesn’t reward any of its other officials.” Only one Manitoba government employee got paid more than Dr. Roussin last year. That top spot went to former chief provincial psychiatrist Dr. Richard Zloty, who earned close to $894,000 after being in the role for more than a decade. Read: A new breed of celebrity in the age of COVID-19: the chief medical officer Dr. Roussin’s wage increase puts him on a higher pay grade than other chief medical officers in the country, including Alberta’s Dr. Deena Hinshaw, whose 2021 take-home pay of $591,545 caused an uproar recently. By comparison, Ontario’s Dr. Kieran Moore earned $235,314 in 2021 while Quebec’s former top physician, Dr. Horracio Arruda had a base salary of $305,000. In Saskatchewan, Dr. Saqin Shahab earned $411,416 from 2020 to 2021. Meanwhile Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam was reappointed in June with a maximum base salary of $324,400, according to Health Canada. A Manitoba government spokesperson declined to comment on Dr. Roussin’s pay raise, citing “provisions” in employment agreements that prevent the province from speaking out on “personnel matters.” Read: 'Inferior' Manitoba law hampers public health action on COVID-19

Top doc, top dollars: 47% raise puts Manitoba's public health chief on top of the pay heap

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