Dr. Deena Hinshaw received almost $228,000 in cash benefits in 2021
Alberta's chief medical officer of health received almost $228,000 in cash benefits during the 2021 calendar year.
That was on top of a salary of $363,634 and "non-cash benefits" of about $5,200 for Dr. Deena Hinshaw last year.
It's the largest cash benefit payout for a provincial employee since records started in 2016.
The numbers are listed on the Alberta government's salary disclosure page.
In total, 107 provincially-paid employees -- most in management positions and working in health -- received cash payouts in 2021.
Twelve people, including Hinshaw, logged six-figure cash bonuses.
The so-called "Sunshine List" discloses the compensation of almost 2,000 people.
Health Ministry spokesperson Steve Buick confirmed the payments to CTV News, calling them standard practice in an emergency.
He says Hinshaw's bonuses were calculated using her base hourly rate and the number of overtime hours she worked in 2021 beyond 45 hours a week.
The COVID-19 pandemic has killed 4,665 Albertans and has required sometimes-frequent public health updates from Hinshaw throughout the last two years.
Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt says he understand the pandemic-related payouts -- but he doesn't think every Albertan will.
"This is just going to add to the discussions about 'was Hinshaw providing advice to the Kenney government? Was she providing advice that she felt that they needed? Was she operating independently?' Those discussions I think are going to continue and she's going to be under an even deeper microscope," Bratt told CTV News.
He also says it will pose some questions about a personnel move in April.
"In several respects, you have to contrast Hinshaw's bonus with, for example, the firing of Verna Yiu as Alberta Health Services CEO, or with the efforts of -- at least in 2020 -- trying to hold the line and rolling back wages for doctors and nurses," Bratt said.
AHS head Dr. Verna Yiu said 750 health employees are requesting exemptions from the provincial vaccination mandate
The province set aside a COVID-related contingency fund last year to help with increased health spending during the pandemic.
It tells CTV News that the $2.4 million in total special services compensation for 2021 is around .04 per cent of the $10 billion total cost of the province's pandemic response.
A statement also thanked all employees for their added work over the last two years.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.