compensation levels of saskatchewan provincial court ......3 ii. background past reports the...

Compensation Levels of

Saskatchewan Provincial Court Judges

Report Prepared for the

Saskatchewan Provincial Court Commission

Prepared by:

Jim Marshall

Senior Policy Fellow

Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy

November 14, 2011

2

Disclaimer:

This paper was prepared under contract from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and

Attorney General by the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy.

All analysis, discussion and conclusions of the paper are the responsibility of the author

and do not represent the position of the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General or of the

Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy.

i

Table of Contents

I. Introduction……...…………………………………………………………………… 1

II. Background....………………………………………………..……………………. 3

III. Volume of Production Indicators……..………………………………………….. 9

IV. Value of Production Indicators …….…………………………………………… 13

V. Ability to Pay……………………..……………………………………….……… 21

VI. Comparability………………………………….…………………………..……. 27

VII. Summary and Conclusion……………….............................................................. 41

1

I. Introduction

This report has been prepared to support the considerations of the Saskatchewan

Provincial Court Commission on the current level of compensation of Saskatchewan

Provincial Court judges. The report will examine a number of factors which the

Commission may want to consider in assessing current compensation levels and in

making recommendations of future compensation levels for Provincial Court judges,

including the recent history of compensation practices in Saskatchewan and elsewhere

within Canada, current and projected economic conditions in the province and

appropriate salary comparisons.

The report will also consider and discuss the unique nature of compensation

considerations for Provincial Court judges, the need to preserve judicial independence

and the characteristics of all public sector activities which distinguish them from other

parts of the economy and the inherent difficulties those characteristics present in

establishing appropriate compensation levels without the usual market signals often

employed in compensation analysis.

In response to these difficulties in analysis, the report will consider several important

considerations in addressing the need to establish fair and reasonable compensation levels

for Provincial Court judges including expectations of economic circumstances, changes

in conditions since the last review, comparisons of judges’ current salary levels with

other economic and social indicators, other compensation packages and pay levels in

other Canadian jurisdictions.

Finally, the examination of these considerations will be summarized to help the

Commission in its deliberations.

3

II. Background

Past Reports

The Saskatchewan Provincial Court Commission produced its first report in 1999

following independent Commission reports in each of 1991, 1993, and 1998. Subsequent

Commission reports were prepared in December of 2002, in December of 2005 and in

November of 2008.

In the 2002 Report the Commission recommended establishing salary levels for

Provincial Court judges in a relative scale with the Administrative Judges to receive

$3000 per year more than the base, Associate Chief Judges to receive $5,000 more than

the base and Chief Judges to receive $10,000 more than the base. Temporary Judges

were to receive a fixed per diem payment of $650 per day. It was also recommended that

salary levels for each of the classifications be adjusted annually on April 1 by a factor

equal to the rate of increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Saskatchewan in the

previous calendar year.

The 2002 Commission also made recommendations with respect to pension benefits both

in terms of establishing eligibility criteria and indexation of pensions. In the latter, the

Commission recommended that future pension benefits be indexed at a rate equal to 75

per cent of the rate of change in the CPI in the previous calendar year up to a rate of CPI

increase of 5.0 percentage points and at a rate of 50 per cent of CPI increases in excess of

5.0 percentage points.

The 2002 Commission also made a number of specific recommendations with respect to

options available for pension payments, early retirement eligibility, extended health and

dental coverage for retired judges, annual and sabbatical leave provisions, fixing a

northern allowance at 5 per cent of salary, changes to pension benefits to comply with

provisions of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and changes to survivor pension benefits in

the case of judges who die while holding office.

The key economic factors considered by the 2002 Commission included the need to

attract excellent candidates, remain comparable to national standards of judicial

remuneration, the fiscal capacity of the Province of Saskatchewan, past and future

increases in the cost of living and salaries paid in the private bar and elsewhere in the

public sector.

The 2005 Commission report focused on questions of appropriate comparators for

judges’ remuneration, especially in light of the principle of maintaining judicial

independence, concluding that there was a need to make discretionary choices in the use

of comparator groups. The Commission made special note of the crucial role that

compensation arrangements play attracting excellent candidates to the judiciary.

The 2005 Commission report recommended a base salary for the period from April 2006

to March 2007, which was derived from the national average salary for provincial and

4

territorial judges (omitting the maximum and minimum values in the calculation) and

noted that Nunavut could also be excluded from the calculation because of “the

difference in mandate since there are federal responsibilities there" (p. 16). The

Commission further recommended that the value of this base salary be increased in April

of 2007 and April of 2008 by the rate of increase in Saskatchewan CPI in the previous

calendar year.

An incremental amount of $10,000 added to the base salary was recommended for the

Chief Judge and an incremental amount of $5,000 per year was recommended for the

Associate Chief Judge. It was also recommended that Administrative Judges receive a

salary premium of $3,000 per year above the base salary and that Temporary Judges

receive a daily rate of pay determined by dividing the annual base by the number of days

available.

The 2005 Commission made several additional recommendations on the calculation of

pension benefits and the eligibility for the northern allowance and expanded the

professional allowances available to judges from $3,000 to $3,500.

The 2008 Commission also focused on appropriate comparators for examining the

salaries of judges and concluded the “proper comparator to use when assessing

appropriate salary” should be the “simple” national average paid to judges in Canadian

provinces and territories, excluding Saskatchewan and Nunavut (p. 39).

The Commission specifically rejected a comparator based on the salaries in “have”

provinces versus “have not provinces”, suggesting “this measurement serves no purpose”

(p.39) and also rejected the idea of salary adjustments based solely on the “Cost of

Living” or based on projections of national average salaries and also rejected the

determination of salaries based on a single comparator factor such as the salaries in Court

of Queen’s Bench (p.39-40).

The final recommendations of the Commission included:

retaining vacation leave at 30 days;

retaining the indexation of pensions at the previously established level; and,

the continuance of contributions of judges entitled to a full pension.

The Commission also noted that there was agreement to implement a number of changes,

including:

an incremental salary premium for the Chief Judge of 7.5 per cent above the basic

salary for judges;

an incremental salary premium for the Associate Chief Judge of 5 per cent above

the basic salary for judges; and,

an incremental salary premium for Administrative Judges of 2.5 per cent above

the basic salary for judges.

5

There were additional recommendations to allow for early retirement options, earlier

entitlement to disability benefits and to recognize northern and administrative allowances

in the calculation of pension benefits.

On the salaries, for judges other than the Chief Judge, the Associate Chief Judges and

Administrative Judges, the Commission recommended rates of:

$220,916 as of April 1, 2009 (8 per cent increase);

$229,753 as of April 1, 2010 (4 per cent increase); and,

$238,943 as of April 1, 2011 (4 per cent increase).

In each case, Temporary Judges would be paid at a rate of 1/220 of these salaries for each

day in office.

Historically, the salary levels established for judges are shown in Table 1, below.

Table 1: Compensation Paid to Saskatchewan Provincial Court Judges as of April 1,

2002 to 2011

Effective April 1 Judge

Administrative

Judge

Associate Chief

Judge Chief Judge

2002 $143,000 $146,000 $148,000 $153,000

2003 $158,000 $161,000 $163,000 $168,000

2004 $161,634 $164,634 $170,190 $175,900

2005 $165,190 $168,190 $170,190 $175,190

2006 $195,000 $198,000 $200,000 $205,000

2007 $198,900 $201,900 $203,900 $208,900

2008 $204,552 $207,552 $209,552 $214,552

2009 $220,916 $226,439 $231,962 $237,485

2010 $229,753 $235,497 $241,241 $246,984

2011 $238,943 $244,917 $250,890 $256,863

Source: Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and Attorney General

6

The range of salaries, indicating their trend since 1999 is illustrated in figure 1, below,

showing the level of salary for Saskatchewan judges and the Chief Judge since 1999.

$100,000

$150,000

$200,000

$250,000

1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011

Do

lla

rs

Figure 1: Range of Judges' Salaries in Saskatchewan, 1999 to 2011

Judge Chief Judge

Source: Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and Attorney General.

Figure 1 illustrates that, since 1999, annual salaries have increased from a level of

$112,961 to current levels of $238,943 for judges and from a level of $122,991 to current

levels of $256,863 for the Chief Judge. This represents an overall increase of 111.5% in

the basic salary for judges over the period.

Current Conditions

The result of the 2008 recommendations established the remuneration rates in effect as of

April 2011 as shown in Table 2, below.

7

Table 2: Total Compensation Paid to Saskatchewan Provincial Court Judges as of

April 1, 2011

Chief Judge – Annual Salary $ 256,863

Associate Chief Judge – Annual

Salary $ 250,890

Judge – Annual Salary $ 238,943

Pension and Additional Retirement

Benefits

Basic allowance of 3% times the average salary over

the best 3 years plus the sum of additional allowances

on which contributions were made, to a maximum of

70%, reduced by 5% until the earlier of age 60 or a

combination of age and service equal to 80, with an

accrual increase for judges who retire after age 58 with

more than 18 years of service and a combination of age

and service exceeding 80.

Contributory 5%. Pensions are indexed to 75% of CPI

up to 5% then 50% of CPI thereafter.

Northern Allowance 5% of annual salary.

Professional Allowance $ 3,500

Remunerations for Judges who

Perform Administrative Duties 2.5% of annual salary.

Annual Sick Leave 18 days

Annual Vacation 30 days

Group Life Insurance Minimum 2 times salary with optional coverage up to

$500,000, the first $25,000 of coverage being paid for

by the province.

Disability Benefits Minimum service requirement is 3 months, but after

that the benefit is up to one year at 100% of salary,

after use of accumulated sick leave, and thereafter 70%

of salary if the disability is permanent.

No employee premiums.

Dental Plan No employee premiums.

Extended Health Plan No employee premiums.

Monetary Allowance for Travel

and Meals

Actual and reasonable traveling and sustenance

expenses.

Source: Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and Attorney General

As of April, 2011, the salary levels for Saskatchewan Judges, other than the Chief Justice,

Associate Justices, Administrative Judges and others for which a premium is added to

salary compared to those in other provinces and territories as shown in Table 3 below.

This table shows the range of salaries for Judges from a low of $199,722 in Manitoba to a

high of $262,113 in Ontario. Only Ontario and The Yukon have current salaries for

Judges in excess of the Saskatchewan salary level for 2011.

8

Table 3: Comparison of Salaries of Saskatchewan Provincial Court Judges to other

Provinces and Territories as of April 1, 2011

Jurisdiction Judges Salary as of

April 1/11

Ratio to

Saskatchewan

British Columbia $231,1382 96.7%

Alberta $220,0001 92.1%

Saskatchewan $238,943 100.0%

Manitoba $199,7223

83.6%

Ontario $262,113 109.7%

Quebec $227,488 95.3%

New Brunswick $204,700 85.7%

Nova Scotia $207,577 86.9%

Prince Edward Island $216,2684

90.5%

Newfoundland & Labrador $209,448 87.6%

Northwest Territories $233,255 97.6%

Yukon $242,819 101.6%

Simple Average $224,456 93.9%

Simple Average less


1 The Alberta Provincial Court Commission has reported, recommending that the base salary for a Provincial Court

Judge in Alberta increase to $250,000 in 2009/2010; to $255,000 in 2010/2011; and to $257,550 in 2011/2012. The

Alberta Government has not yet responded to the Report.

2 The British Columbia government rejected the recommendations of the British Columbia commission and set this

salary. However, the salary for 2011/2012 is the same whether as recommended by commission or as proposed by the

government in any event. There is currently litigation on this issue between the Government and the judges.

3 The Manitoba government rejected the recommendations of the Manitoba commission for a salary of $211,862 for

2010/2011 and set this salary. There is currently litigation on this issue between the Government and the judges.

4 Prince Edward Island uses a national average. Given the uncertainties about the current national average referred to in

the three previous footnotes, this salary figure is under review


From this table it appears that, as of April 1, 2011 the simple average of salaries in all

provinces and territories was lower than those in Saskatchewan, averaging just 93.9 per

cent of the current rate of pay in Saskatchewan. The average salary for judges in Canada

(excluding Saskatchewan) is even lower at just 93.4 per cent of current Saskatchewan

salary levels. Only Ontario and the Yukon have current salary levels for judges higher

than those in Saskatchewan.

9

III. Volume of Production Indicators

Traditional economic theory holds that each player in a production process will receive

compensation in accordance with the contribution he or she makes to the value of the end

product. While there are constant relative and absolute movements in the rate of

compensation, these reflect movements towards the ultimate allocation that each person

is rewarded according to the value of their production. If it were true that each person

was rewarded according to the value of their production, it would also be true that an

entire occupation would receive payment according to that occupation’s contribution to

overall output.

On the basis of this approach, salaries would change over time according to changes in

two factors: the level of production and the value of the goods produced. In the first case,

if overall production levels increase, say because of increased effort or improved

production techniques, those responsible for that increased output would receive an

increased salary, not on a per item basis, but in total. In the second case, if the value of

the goods produced increased because of a higher social valuation of them, those

responsible for their production would receive an increase in payment on a per item basis,

reflecting the higher social valuation of those goods and, therefore, an increase in their

total compensation.

Thus, a person engaged in production could receive increased remuneration either

because they produced more things or because the value of the things they produced had

increased, or both.

In the contrary, it would also be the case that either a reduction in production or a

reduction in the value of things produced would lead to a reduction in the amount paid to

those engaged in producing those things.

The theoretical connection between the value of production and the rate of pay for

individuals and groups of individuals working together is well established and fairly

readily determined in cases where the product of their effort is sold in markets and,

therefore has a clearly established social value according to the amount people are

prepared to pay for their product.

In some instances, however, the product of activity is not exchanged in open markets and,

while that product may well have a positive social value, the determination of that value

is very difficult. This is often the case in public sector activities where the contribution

of public servants to society may very well be positive but, because the goods and

services they produce are not sold to clients, the exact value may be undetermined.

10

Such is clearly the case in the operation of court services where the products are not

exchanged in open markets. In fact, the exact nature of the product is unclear in that

while the courts are engaged in producing “justice”, the broader social benefits of social

stability and security, possibly the true products of the courts, are broadly dispersed to

society and not exchanged among individuals.

In these cases, where the nature of the product and/or the quantity of product are

unknown or uncertain, it is often the case that analysis turns to the use of proxies or

substitutes as an approximation for estimating the value of a product and, therefore, for

estimating changes in productivity over time. Unfortunately, there are very few measures

of productivity available that examine the product of judges or the court system at all.

Statistics Canada does maintain some data on the caseloads of the justice system and an

examination of that may provide some insight on the workload of the justice system over

time as shown in Table 4 below.

Table 4: Number of Criminal Court Cases in Saskatchewan, 2003 to 2010

2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10

Number of

Cases 22,373 22,623 21,410 17,654 22,127 22,605 23,198

Number of

Judges’

Positions

47 47 47 47 48 48 48

Cases per

Judge 476 481 456 376 461 471 483

Source: Statistics Canada Table 252-0043 and Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and

Attorney General.

Statistics Canada notes that their definition of “case” “combines all charges against the

same person having one or more key overlapping dates (date of offence, date of

initiation, date of first appearance, date of decision, date of sentencing) into a single

case” (Statistics Canada Table: 252-0043).

From the data in table 4, there is no discernible change in the number of cases per judge

in the Saskatchewan system except for a dramatic drop in 2006-07, a year in which there

was a public service job action which disrupted court services and may have been

responsible for a drop in the number of cases. By 2009-10 the case load per judge was

actually about the same as the level of five years earlier in 2004-05.

One measure of the complexity of cases may be provided by data included in Table 5

below which examines the number of guilty cases handled by the court system in

Saskatchewan.

11

Table 5: Number of Guilty Criminal Court Cases in Saskatchewan, 2003 to 2010

2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10

Number of

Guilty Cases 15,091 15,243 14,424 12,122 14,634 15,251 15,444

Number of

Judges’

Positions

47 47 47 47 48 48 48

Cases per

Judge 321 324 307 258 305 318 322


Attorney General.

As with Table 4, the results in Table 5 show no particular pattern or discernible trend,

except for the drop noted in 2006-07, the year court services were disrupted by outside

factors. By 2009-10 the number of guilty cases per judge in Saskatchewan was about the

same as the level of 2004-05, five years earlier.

Besides the difficulty in defining productivity of judges merely by the number or type of

cases they consider, it may not be advisable to consider salaries in the context of case

loads or to link the two concepts in any way. Basing salary, even notionally, on case load

activity could jeopardize judicial independence if it were to suggest that rewards to

individual judges, or to judges as a whole, were in any way based on increasing the

number of cases they dealt with.

In some public sector activities, population data is used to indicate the scope of the client

base served and population data is shown in Table 6, below for Saskatchewan over the

period 2003 to 2008.

Table 6: Population of Saskatchewan, 2004 to 2010

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Population

June 30 997,263 994,996 991,260 996,152 1,010,300 1,024,691 1,040,735

Number of

Judges’

Positions

47 47 47 48 48 48 48

Population

per Judge 21,218 21,170 21,091 20,753 21,048 21,341 21,682

Increase

from

Previous

Year (%)

n.a. -0.2% -0.4% -1.6% 1.4% 1.4% 1.6%


Attorney General.

12

As with the earlier comparisons, Table 6 shows little in terms of trends in the population

served per judge. By 2010, the population served per judge had increased by only 2.4 per

cent from the level in 2005, five years earlier and only 2.2 per cent above the level of

public served six years earlier, although growth in population served has averaged about

1.5 per cent per year in the last three years of the period, very little increase in the

population occurred between 2004 and 2007.

More to the point, measures of the number of cases handled or population served are not

necessarily indicative of the true “outcomes” of the justice system and, as such, may not

be adequate reflections of the productivity of the justice system or any of its components.

While the work load may not have changed, in any direction, there can still be a change

in productivity if the value of the product has changed, by either increasing or decreasing.

Unfortunately, the value of output from the court system or any of its players is very

difficult to determine, especially in dollar terms. It is this difficulty in assessment that

leads to the use of proxies for value as will be seen below.

13

IV. Value of Production Indicators

As discussed above, total productivity is comprised of measures of both volume of

production and value of that production. In the case of the justice system, estimations of

the value of production are extremely difficult since the product is not exchanged in

markets in a way that would establish a price or nominal value for the product.

As a proxy, analysts sometimes resort to overall measures of economic performance to

stand in as replacements for the value of the justice system as a whole and for the role or

contribution of any of its participants.

There has been some body of work identifying the role that important social systems such

as the justice system, the political system and other such institutions play in contributing

to overall economic performance. It is argued that stable social structures contribute to

overall social stability and, therefore, to a climate supporting economic development and

growth. While this field is in its infancy and has so far focused on developing

economies, there is mounting evidence that strong social institutions are important, albeit

indirect contributors to economic performance.

In addition to this indirect contributory role of social institutions to overall economic

performance, another argument offered revolves around the suggestion that, while there

is no direct valuation of the product of the justice system, it would be reasonable to

assume that the product of the justice system continues to retain its relative valuation

within society over time. On the basis of this argument, analysts sometimes refer to

overall economic output valuations as proxies for the value of product of the justice

system, at least in a relative sense.

Table 7, below examines the increases in Judges’ salary levels between 2006 and 2010

(the latest year for which there are economic accounts) compared with two key indicators

of economic performance for Saskatchewan.

Table 7: Rate of Growth in Judges Salaries and Real Gross Domestic Product for

Saskatchewan, 2006 to 2010.

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Cumulative

Increase in Judges Basic

Salary 18.0% 2.0% 2.8% 8.0% 4.0% 39.1%

Saskatchewan Real GDP

Growth -1.6% 3.6% 4.6% -3.8% 4.0% 6.7%

Per Capita Real GDP

Growth -1.5% 2.7% 3.2% -5.2 2.4% 1.4%

Source: Statistics Canada Table 384-00133, 051-0001 and Catalogue 13-016-X and

Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and Attorney General.

14

The table illustrates a comparison between the rate of growth in the basic salary level for

judges in Saskatchewan with the growth rate in Real Gross Domestic Product (Real

GDP) on a total and per capita basis for 2006 to 2010.

On this basis it can be seen that while the salaries for judges increased by 39.1 per cent

between 2005 and 2010, the total Real GDP of the province increased by 6.7 per cent

over the same period and the per capita Real GDP increased by 1.4 per cent.

Real GDP measures the volume of output for the Saskatchewan economy by removing

the effect of price increases and, therefore, indicates the volume of output in the economy

grew by 6.7 per cent in total or 1.4 per cent on a per capita basis over the five-year

period. This would suggest that an average Saskatchewan person produced about 1.4 per

cent more, by volume, in 2010 than was the case in 2005.

A longer term perspective on this comparison is provided in Figure 2, below which

compares the history of salary levels for judges (base salary) with the history of real GDP

in Saskatchewan and real GDP per capita in the province. Since these data are all

measured on different scales, the comparison has been conducted by calculating each on

a scale of 1999=100.

2010=203.4

2010=122.2

2010=118.6

0

50

100

150

200

250

1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011

19

99

=1

00

Figure 2: Growth in Judges' Salaries Compared to Real GDP,

1999=100

Judge Real GDP Real GDP/cap.

Source: Statistics Canada 384-0013 and 051-0001 and Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and Attorney General.

Figure 2 illustrates that, from 1999 to 2010, the last year for which the economic data are

available, the basic salary level for judges had increased by 103.4 per cent as compared to

an overall increase of 22.2 per cent in the volume of economic output in the province and

an increase of 18.6 per cent in the volume of output per person in the province.

15

Table 8, below, compares the increases in the salaries for judges with the increases in

Nominal Gross Domestic Product (Nominal GDP), or gross domestic product including

the effect of price increases.

In this case, the economic indicator, Nominal GDP, shows the effect of both increases in

volume of production in the overall economy and any changes in the value of the

products produced.

Table 8: Rate of Growth in Judges Salaries and Nominal Gross Domestic Product

for Saskatchewan, 2005 to 2010.

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Cumulative


Salary 18.0% 2.0% 2.8% 8.0% 4.0% 39.1%

Saskatchewan Nominal

GDP Growth 3.7% 11.5% 29.1% -11.7% 9.6% 44.5%

Per Capita Nominal

GDP Growth 3.8% 10.6% 27.3% -13.0% 7.9% 36.9%

Source: Statistics Canada Table 384-00133, 051-0001 and Catalogue 13-016-X and


Table 8 illustrates that the Saskatchewan economy produced goods in 2010 which were

worth about 44.5 per cent more in total and 36.9 per cent more on a per capita basis than

was the case in 2005. In the same time frame, the basic salary levels for judges grew by a

cumulative amount of 39.1 per cent. On this basis, it would appear that the output of the

economy as a whole grew at a rate that was about the same as the rate of increase in the

salaries paid to judges within the province.

Figure 3, below, compares these data on a longer term basis, from 1999, again using the

base of 1999=100 as was the case in Figure 2, above. This comparison illustrates that the

basic salary for judges has grown slightly faster than the growth in the value of economic

activity in the province, rising by 103.4 per cent between 1999 and 2010 while the total

value of output in the province rose by 106.5 per cent and the output per person in the

province rose by 100.3 per cent.

16

2010=203.4

2010=206.5

2010=200.3

0

50

100

150

200

250

1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011

19

99

=1

00

Figure 3: Growth in Judges' Salaries Compared to Nominal GDP,

1999=100

Judge GDP GDP/Cap.


Another indicator of economic performance, Personal Income, is shown in Table 9,

below on a per capita basis and also compared to the increases in the salary level for

judges between 2004 and 2010.

Table 9: Rate of Growth in Judges Salaries per Capita Personal Income for

Saskatchewan, 2005 to 2010.

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Cumulative


Salary 18.0% 2.0% 2.8% 8.0% 4.0% 39.1%

Personal Income Per

Capita Growth 5.8% 8.9% 13.5% -1.3% 3.6% 33.7%

Source: Statistics Canada table 384-00133 and Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and

Attorney General.

In this case, it can be seen that personal income per capita grew by 33.7 per cent between

2005 and 2010 while the basic salary level for judges increased by about 39.1 per cent in

the same time frame, indicating that the rate of pay for judges has changed slightly more

than the incomes earned by Saskatchewan people from all sources over the five years

ending in 2010.

17

A longer term perspective on this comparison is provided in Figure 4, below, which

illustrates the trend in the basic salary for judges in Saskatchewan since 1999 against the

trend in personal income per capita over the same period. Figure 4 illustrates that,

between 1999 and 2010, the basic salary for judges in Saskatchewan rose by 103.4 per

cent while the personal income per person for Saskatchewan residents rose by 70.3 per

cent over the same period.

2010=203.4

2010=170.3

0

50

100

150

200

250

1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011

19

99

=1

00

Figure 4: Growth in Judges' Salaries Compared to Personal Income,

1999 = 100

Judge Personal Income/Cap


Other proxies for the value of production are sometimes found in examining price

indicators, including the Consumer Price Index (CPI), an index of prices of 283 items in a

fixed basket of goods, and the Gross Domestic Product Price Index or deflator. The

former represents an index of the prices of products in a representative basket of goods

purchased by typical consumers. The latter is an index of the prices of goods produced

within the economy, weighted according to their relative size of production. In this

sense, CPI can indicate how processes have changed for the things we consume and the

GDP Price index shows how prices have changed for the things we produce.

These indicators are compared to the rates of salary increase for judges in Table 10,

below, again from 2006 to 2010.

From Table 10, it can be seen that, between 2006 and 2010, the basic salary for judges

grew by 39.1 per cent and, over the same period, the prices of products purchased by

consumers rose by 11.0 per cent and the prices of goods produced in Saskatchewan grew

by 35.4 per cent.

18

Table 10: Rate of Growth in Judges Salaries, the Consumer Price Index and the

Gross Domestic product Price Index for Saskatchewan, 2006 to 2010.

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Cumulative


Salary 18.0% 2.0% 2.8% 8.0% 4.0% 39.1%

Consumer Price Index for

Saskatchewan 2.1% 2.8% 3.3% 1.0% 1.4% 11.0%

GDP Price Index for

Saskatchewan 5.4% 7.7% 23.4% -8.2% 5.4% 35.4%

Source: Statistics Canada Table 384-00133, 051-0001, Catalogue 13-106-X and


A comparison of the increase in the basic salary for judges and the change in the

Consumer Price Index for Saskatchewan since 1999 is illustrated below in Figure 5. The

Figure illustrates that, up to 2010, the salary level for judges increased by 103.4 per cent

while consumer prices grew by a cumulative 29.0 per cent over the same period.

2010=203.4

2010=129.0

0

50

100

150

200

250

1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011

19

99

=1

00

Figure 5: Growth in Judges' Salaries Compared to Consumer Prices,

1999 = 100

Judge CPI

Source: Statistics Canada 326-0021 and Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and Attorney General.

19

2011 Forecast

The data referenced above for indicators of the value of overall production in

Saskatchewan were limited to 2009 or 2010, the last year for which economic accounts

are available by province.

There are a number of forecasting agencies which provide forecasts or estimates of

economic activity by province and their forecasts are shown below in Table 11.

Table 11: Forecasts of Economic Indicators for Saskatchewan, 2011

Agency and Date of Forecast Real GDP Growth CPI Increase

RBC Economics Research

(September, 2011) 4.3% 2.5%

Scotia Economics

(October, 2011) 3.1% n.a.

CIBC World Markets

(August, 2011) 3.6% 2.7%

BMO Capital Markets

(October, 2011 ) 2.8% 2.8%

TD Economics

(September, 2011) 2.8% 2.5%

Laurentian

(July, 2011) 4.2% 2.9%

Simple Average 3.47% 2.68%

Source: Canadian Chartered Bank websites as indicated.

These forecasts indicate an expectation of growth in the Saskatchewan economy of

between 2.8 per cent and 4.3 per cent, in real terms, for the 2011 calendar year. The

average of real growth rate forecasts for 2011 is 3.47 per cent, higher than the 1.4 per

cent average annual growth in real GDP in Saskatchewan experienced over the past five

years and shown in Table 7 above.

Five of the six agencies have forecasted consumer prices (CPI) to rise at a rate of between

2.5 per cent and 2.9 per cent in 2011. This averages to an expectation of a 2.68 per cent

increase in consumer prices, compared to the actual increases in the past five years which

have averaged 2.1 per cent per year as shown in Table 10 above.

20

As a comparison, the basic salary for Saskatchewan judges increased by 4.0 per cent in

April of 2011, significantly above the rate of increase in the CPI for Saskatchewan in

2010 and shown in Table 10 above. This increase was also more than the expected

growth in Real GDP for Saskatchewan for 2011 and the expected increase in consumer

prices (CPI) for Saskatchewan for 2011 as forecasted by Canadian chartered banks and

shown in Table 11.

21

V. Ability to Pay

The issue of ability to pay is sometimes raised in consideration of appropriate pay levels

on two counts.

First, in traditional employer/employee relationships any limitation on an employer’s

ability to pay will affect employees directly in terms of the number of jobs that employer

is prepared to offer at any given pay level. If employees establish pay rates which result

in a total labour bill beyond the employer’s ability to pay, those pay rates will only result

in lost jobs and, potentially, an overall drop in the payments to the employees, as a

whole.

Secondly, especially in the absence of any other information, the financial health of an

employer in a traditional employer/employee relationship can be used as a proxy for the

productivity of the employees. An improvement in the overall financial health of a

company, for example, can be at least partially attributed to the efforts of the employees

of that company, although there may be a multitude of factors and a wide disparity in the

direct contribution or responsibility of any one employee or group of employees.

Similarly, a decline in the financial health of an employer may be indicative of declining

productivity among employees, although, again, that relationship may be tenuous at best.

Nevertheless, it is common to examine changes in the ability to pay of employers in

attempting to establish pay levels in traditional relationships and, while judges are not to

be construed as employees of the government of Saskatchewan, an examination of the

fiscal health of the government of Saskatchewan may be indicative of the overall capacity

of the province to support those who are engaged in public service in any way.

2005-06 to 2010-11

Table 12 below examines the revenues, expense and surplus or deficit of the Government

of Saskatchewan on a General Revenue Fund basis from 2004-05 to 2010-11.

From the table, it can be seen that there has been a fair degree of fluctuation in the

provincial government’s finances over the last six fiscal years with overall surpluses

occurring in each of the last seven years but declining from a high of $1.97 billion in

2008-09 to a low of $96 million in 2010-11.

22

Table 12: Financial Indicators for the Government of Saskatchewan by Fiscal Year,

2004-05 to 2010-11 (in millions of dollars)

Fiscal Year Total Revenue Total Expense

Surplus

(Deficit)

2004-05 $7,792 $7,027 $765

2005-06 $8,218 $7,678 $540

2006-07 $8,643 $8,245 $398

2007-08 $9,847 $8,564 $1,283

2008-09 $12,325 $10,355 $1,970

2009-10 $10,266 $10,098 $168

2010-11 $11,061 $10,965 $95

Source: Saskatchewan Ministry of Finance, Public Accounts, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011.

Another view of this history is presented in table 13, below, which examines the rates of

growth in provincial government revenue and expense in each of the last five fiscal years

and compares that to the growth rates in the basic salary levels of judges in Saskatchewan

in each of those years.

Table 13: Year over Year Change in Financial Indicators for the Government of

Saskatchewan by Fiscal Year, 2004-05 to 2010-11 (in percentage growth)

Fiscal Year Total Revenue Total Expense

Base Judge

Salary

2005-06 5.5% 9.2% 18.0%

2006-07 5.2% 7.4% 2.0%

2007-08 13.9% 3.9% 2.8%

2008-09 25.1% 20.9% 8.0%

2009-10 -16.7% -2.5% 4.0%

2010-11 7.7% 8.6% 4.0%

Cumulative Change 41.9% 56.0% 46.6%

Source: Saskatchewan Ministry of Finance, Public Accounts, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 and


23

The table reveals the volatility in both revenue and expense over the period as revenues

have increased at annual rates between -16.7 per cent and 25.1 per cent in any one fiscal

year and expenses have varied in growth from a low of -2.5 per cent to a high of 20.9 per

cent. Less volatility has been seen in the growth of judges’ salaries which have increased

by as little as 2.0 per cent in 2007 to as high as 18.0 per cent in 2006.

An examination of the cumulative effect of changes over the past five years is also

included in Table 13 to help overcome some of the apparent volatility in year-to-year

changes. In examining these data, it becomes clearer that, over the last six years, overall

provincial government revenue has grown by 41.9 per cent, expense has grown by 56.0

per cent and the pay scale for Saskatchewan judges has grown by 46.6 per cent.

2011-12 Estimates

Table 14, below, provides the up to date financial comparisons for the government of

Saskatchewan on a General Revenue Fund basis to be consistent with the historical data

presented above.

Table 14: Government of Saskatchewan General Revenue Fund Financial

Summary, 2010-11 and 2011-12 (in millions)

2010-11

Actual

2011-12

Original

Budget

First Quarter

Update

GRF Total Revenue $11,061 $10,794 $10,858

GRF Total Expense $10,965 $10,679 $10,786

GRF Surplus* $95 $115 $72

* Before Inter-Fund transfers.

Source: Ministry of Finance, Public Accounts 2011 and 2011-12 1st Quarter Financial

Report.

From Table 14, it appears that the original budget for 2011-12 expected a significant drop

in revenue from the previous year and a decrease in the expenses of government, to

maintain the net financial outcome (or surplus) near last year’s level of almost $100

million. The revised outlook for 2011-12 released in July of 2011, suggests a slightly

improved performance for 2011-12 revenue, but still down from last year and slightly

24

higher expenses than originally budgeted for a slightly reduced surplus from the original

budget.

Another perspective on these changes is provided in Table 15, below, which illustrates

the data from Table 14 in percentage growth terms and compares the government’s

financial situation in 2011-12 to the increase in the salary level for judges this year.

Table 15: Comparison of Growth Rates in General Revenue Fund Revenue and

Expense, 2010-11 and 2011-12

2011-12 Budget

Growth from

2010-11 Actual

2011-12 First Quarter Update

Growth from

2010-11 Actual

Growth from

2011-12 Budget

GRF Total Revenue -2.4% -1.8% 0.6%

GRF Total Expense -2.6% 1.6% 1.0%

2011 Increase in Base

Judges’ Salary 4.0%

Source: Ministry of Finance, Public Accounts 2010-11 and 2011-12 1st Quarter Financial

Report and Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and Attorney General.

From Table 15, it can be seen that, while the salary level for judges increased by 4.0 per

cent in 2011, this would have compared very favourably in the context of the original

budget projections for a 2.4 per cent decline in revenue in 2011-12 and even the revised

current expectation of an overall decline of 1.8 per cent in provincial government revenue

in 2011-12.

Relevance of Ability to Pay

There are at least two reasons why “ability to pay” may have a much reduced relevance

in considering appropriate compensation levels in the case of Provincial Court judges.

It must be remembered that, for traditional employer/employee relationships a

consideration of the ability of employers to pay any given compensation may be a proxy

for or, a reflection of, the productivity of employees. In instances where employers

derive their revenue from the sale of products, the financial health of the employer is at

least partially a reflection of the level and value of production within the entity and one of

the factors contributing is the productivity of individual employees and classes of

employees.

25

But the nature of activity within the public sector suggests very little connection between

the productivity of government employees and the financial health of governments.

Governments derive their revenue predominantly from tax revenue, not the sale of

products. As such, the level of government revenue is dependent on the condition of the

tax base, or the level of economic activity within the jurisdiction, not the productive

effort of the employees of government. To the extent that overall financial health is

affected by the revenue flow from taxes, it is not an indicator of the productivity of

government employees and, therefore, cannot serve as an adequate proxy for productivity

as it might in the private sector.

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the relationship between government and an

independent judiciary is not one of a traditional employer-employee relationship. The

judiciary, as well established, is not an entity of the government but functions

independently of government organizations. In this sense, government merely represents

the administrative mechanism through which an independent judiciary accesses funding

from the public, whom they serve.

These two key arguments would suggest that previous commissions have acted

appropriately in placing little emphasis on the ability to pay argument in establishing

compensation levels for judges.

27

VI. Comparability

It would appear that greater emphasis has been placed on matters of comparability in the

past and this may reflect a strong interest in being assured that the judiciary can continue

to attract suitably capable candidates.

The maintenance of attractive and comparable salary levels recognizes that, regardless of

the actual rate of turnover or replacement within the judiciary, a jurisdiction will remain

capable of attracting quality candidates when replacements are required and in retaining

skilled and experienced judges.

Inter-jurisdictional Comparability

Several inter-jurisdictional comparisons of salaries for Saskatchewan judges were

examined in earlier chapters of this report, especially in Table 3, above which examined

Saskatchewan judges current (2011) salaries in comparison to those in other provinces

and territories in Canada. Table 16, below, examines the same information with the

current Saskatchewan salary expressed as a percentage of each of the other jurisdictions.

From table 16, it appears that the basic salary for judges in Saskatchewan in 2011 was

lower than the salaries paid in two of the eleven other jurisdictions and exceeded the

salaries paid in nine. The current salary level in Saskatchewan ranges from a low of 91.2

per cent of those paid in Ontario to a high of 119.6 per cent of those paid in Manitoba.

Table 16 also illustrates the average salary paid to provincial and territorial court judges

in other jurisdictions noting that the simple average of current salaries is $224,456. The

current Saskatchewan basic salary for judges is higher at $238,943 or 6.4 per cent above

the average of Canadian jurisdictions.

In comparing the Saskatchewan salary levels to the simple average of Canadian

jurisdictions (excluding Saskatchewan), it can be seen that the Saskatchewan salary levels

compare at 107.1 per cent of the average of the provinces and territories. As seen before,

Saskatchewan salaries were only lower than those in Ontario and Yukon.

28

Table 16: Basic Salaries for Judges in Saskatchewan in Comparison to Other

Canadian Provinces and Territories, 2011

Actual as of

April 1/11

Saskatchewan as a

Percentage of each

Jurisdiction

British Columbia $231,1382

103.4%

Alberta $220,0001

108.6%


Manitoba $199,7223

119.6%

Ontario $262,113 91.2%

Quebec $227,488 105.0%

New Brunswick $204,700 116.7%

Nova Scotia $207,577 115.1%

Prince Edward Island $216,2684

110.5%

Newfoundland & Labrador $209,448 114.1%

Northwest Territories $233,255 102.4%

Yukon $242,819 98.4%

Simple Average Salary $224,456 106.4%

Simple Average Excluding


1 The Alberta Provincial Court Commission has reported, recommending that the base salary for a Provincial Court

Judge in Alberta increase to $250,000 in 2009/2010; to $255,000 in 2010/2011; and to $257,550 in 2011/2012. The

Alberta Government has not yet responded to the Report.

2 The British Columbia government rejected the recommendations of the British Columbia commission and set this

salary. However, the salary for 2011/12 is the same whether as recommended by the commission or as proposed by the

government in any event. There is currently litigation on this issue between the Government and the judges.

3 The Manitoba government rejected the recommendations of the Manitoba commission for a salary of $211,862 for

2010/2011 and set this salary. There is currently litigation on this issue between the Government and the judges.

4 Prince Edward Island uses a national average. Given the uncertainties about the current national average referred to in

the three previous footnotes, this salary figure is under review


29

Another comparison of current Saskatchewan salary levels is provided in Table 17,

below, which considers the Saskatchewan salaries relative to the national average for

such salaries and compares that ratio to Saskatchewan’s position on a number of other

economic indicators.

Table 17: Comparison of 2011 Salary Levels for Saskatchewan Judges to Economic

Indicators, Saskatchewan and Canada.

Indicator

Saskatchewan

Level

National

Average

Ratio of Sask.

to National

Average

Basic Salary for Judges

(April 2011) $238,943 $224,456 106.4%

Personal Income per person

(2010) $37,481 $37,810 99.1%

Personal Disposable Income per

Person (2010) $30,546 $29,722 102.8%

Gross Domestic Product per

person (2010) $60,784 $47,630 127.6%

Real Gross Domestic Product per

person (2010) $39,708 $38,846 102.2%

Intercity Index Of Consumer

Price Levels (October, 2009) 97* 100** 97.0%

* For Regina, all items. Regina is the only Saskatchewan city included in the survey.

** Average of eleven Canadian cities, all items.

Source: Statistics Canada Tables 384-0013 and 326-0015 and Catalogue 13-016-X and


From Table 17, it appears that current salaries for Saskatchewan judges, at 106.4 per cent

of the simple average of Canadian provinces and territories, are quite comparable to

Saskatchewan’s standings in other economic indicators where the province’s

performance stands between 97.0 per cent of the national average (in the case of the

intercity index of CPI) and 127.6 per cent of the national average in the case of Nominal

Gross Domestic Product per person.

30

An historical perspective on these comparisons is shown in Table 18, below which

considers the same ratios as illustrated in Table 17 above in comparison to the ratios for

2008.

Table 18: Comparison of Salary Levels for Saskatchewan Judges to Economic

Indicators, Saskatchewan and Canada

Indicator

2008 Ratio of

Sask. to National

Average

Current Ratio of

Sask. to National

Average


99.7% 106.4% (2011)

Personal Income per person 99.3% 99.1% (2010)

Personal Disposable Income per Person 103.5% 102.8% (2010)

Gross Domestic Product per person 134.4% 127.6% (2010)

Real Gross Domestic Product per person 103.3% 102.3% (2010)

Intercity Index Of Consumer Price

Levels * 95.0% 97.0% (2009)

* Regina (the only Saskatchewan city included) compared to an average of eleven

Canadian cities.

Source: Statistics Canada Tables 384-0013 and 326-0015, Catalogue 13-0016-X and


From Table 18, it appears that there has been an overall relative improvement in the

salary levels for Saskatchewan judges, growing from 99.7 per cent of the national

average in 2008 to their current level at 106.4 per cent of the simple national average.

During that period, the latest available data suggest there has been a slight decline in the

relative performance of the Saskatchewan economy, falling slightly relative to the

national average of these economic indicators except for the intercity index of the

Consumer Price Index.

31

Table 19, below, examines the ratios of current Saskatchewan earning indicators to the

national average for a number of specified categories, to provide a comparison to the

ratios illustrated (Table 17) above for Saskatchewan judges.

Table 19: Comparison of 2011 Salary Levels for Saskatchewan Judges to Wage

Rates in Selected Occupations, Saskatchewan and Canada.

Indicator

Saskatchewan

Level

National

Average

Ratio of Sask.

to National

Average


(April 2011)

[Weekly]

$238,943

[$4,595.06]

$224,456

[$4,316.46] 106.4%

Average Weekly Wages of all

Employees (June, 2011) $851.85 $834.53 102.1%

Average Weekly Wage of

Business, Finance and

Administrative Occupations (June

2011)

$743.66 $772.06 96.3%

Average Weekly Wage of

Occupations in Social Science,

Education, Government Service

and Religion1 (June , 2011)

$1,031.82 $1,019.51 97.5%

Average Weekly Wage in

Management Occupations2 (June,

2011)

$1,418.15 $1,404.91 100.9%

1 includes judges and lawyers.

2 includes public administrators.


Attorney General.

Table 19 indicates that, while the wage rates paid in other occupations in Saskatchewan

tend to be very near or slightly below the national average for those occupations,

Saskatchewan judges’ salaries are currently at 106.4 per cent of the national average for

judges.

The data on Table 19 are illustrated in Figure 6, below, for comparative purposes. Figure

6 illustrates that current salary level for judges far outstrip the current levels of salaries

for other Saskatchewan workers in the selected occupational categories, being between

three times and six times as high as the comparator occupations. It must be remembered,

however, in making this comparison, that while the judges’ salary is for a very specific

occupational group, the other comparators represent very broad categories of workers.

32

$0

$1,000

$2,000

$3,000

$4,000

$5,000 $4,595

$852 $744$1,032

$1,418

Figure 6: Average Weekly Wages, 2011

* Annual Salary

divided by 52

Similar data is available to compare compensation levels in various industries is shown

in Table 20, below, which compares the relative salary of Saskatchewan judges within a

Canadian context to compensation levels in various industries, including the financial

sector and the professional services sector and in public administration in general. The

table examines 2010 data, the last full year for which such data exist.

Table 20 illustrates that the current salaries of Saskatchewan judges, at 106.4 per cent of

the national average compare very favourably with the relative position of Saskatchewan

salaries in other comparable industries where, in 2011, Saskatchewan compensation

levels in ranged between 88 per cent and 102 per cent of the national average

33

Table 20: Comparison of 2011 Salary Levels for Saskatchewan Judges to Wage

Rates in Selected Industries, Saskatchewan and Canada.

Indicator

Saskatchewan

Level

National

Average

Ratio of Sask.

to National

Average


(April 2011)

[Weekly]

$238,943

[$4,595.06]

$224,456

[$4,316.46] 106.4%

Average Weekly Wages of Total

Employees all Industries (June,

2011)

$851.85 $834.53 102.1%

Average Weekly Wages: Finance,

Insurance, Real Estate and

Renting and Leasing (June, 2011)

$919.75 $855.04 93.0%

Average Weekly Wages:

Professional, Scientific and

Technical Service1 (June, 2011)

$1,088.15 $967.25 88.9%

Average Weekly Wages: Public

Administration2 (June, 2011)

$1,108.17 $1,048.74 94.6%

1 Includes law offices.

2 Includes courts of law.


Attorney General.

As was the case in comparing the salary levels by occupation in Figure 6, the salary

levels by industry can be seen in Figure 7, below, which shows levels in 2011 for judges

as compared to the selected industry comparators. The salary levels of Saskatchewan

judges appear to be far higher than is the case for average workers in the industry

comparators, ranging from 4.1 to 5.4 times as great as their comparators.

But, as noted in Figure 6, the salary for judges illustrated in Figure 7 is for a very specific

occupational category while each of the industrial groups compared in Figure 7 represent

a broad range of types of employees in each industry.

34

$0

$1,000

$2,000

$3,000

$4,000

$5,000 $4,595

$852 $920 $1,088 $1,108

Figure 7: Average Weekly Wages, 2011

* Annual Salary

divided by 52

Figures 6 and 7 illustrate that current salary levels for judges can be viewed as being

more than five times (539.3 per cent) the rate of pay of an average Saskatchewan worker,

who must support that salary.

In this sense, Figures 6 and 7 are indicative of the relative positions of judges’ salaries

within the context of the overall society in which they operate and, while the broader

categories of earnings include a wide variety of skill sets and earning capacity such that

they may not be strictly comparable to judges as a category of worker, they offer some

comparison of overall earnings within Saskatchewan.

A longer term trend analysis is provided in Figure 8, below which compares the rate of

increase in the salaries of judges in Saskatchewan with the increases that have occurred in

weekly wage rates for all employees in the Saskatchewan economy taken together.

Figure 8 it is indicative of general trends in salaries and wages and compares the rates of

increase in those salaries over a longer period of time to eliminate the effects of

temporary anomalies in rates of increase.

Figure 8 indicates that, from 1999 to 2011, the salary levels of Saskatchewan judges has

risen by 111.5 per cent while the weekly wages of the total of Saskatchewan workers rose

by only 61.6 per cent up to the month of June of 2011.

35

2011=211.5

2011=161.6

0

50

100

150

200

250

1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011

19

99

=1

00

Figure 8: Growth in Judges' Salaries Compared to Average Weekly

Wages, Total Employees in Saskatchewan, 1999 = 100

Judge Total Employees

Source: Statistics Canada 282-0071 and Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and Attorney General.

Table 21, below examines the rates of pay for Crown Lawyers across Canada by

comparing the maximum pay level in each jurisdiction and illustrating those maxima in

comparison to the ratio of Saskatchewan judges’ salaries to the current salary level in

each jurisdiction as shown in Table 16, above.

From Table 21, it appears that the maximum salary for Crown Lawyers in Saskatchewan

(at $142,200) represents a rate equal to 98.4 per cent of the national average of provincial

Crown Lawyers as compared to the salary for Saskatchewan judges (at $238,943) which

are about 106.4 per cent of the national average.

36

Table 21: Comparison of Maximum Salaries for Crown Lawyers in each

Jurisdiction, and Maximum Salaries for Saskatchewan Crown Lawyers and

Salaries for Saskatchewan Judges, 2011.

Crown Lawyers

Maximum

Salary, 2011

Saskatchewan

Crown Lawyers as

a Percentage of

each Jurisdiction

Saskatchewan

Judges as a

Percentage of each

Jurisdiction

British Columbia $179,910 79.0% 103.4%

Alberta $176,628 80.5% 108.6%

Saskatchewan $142,200 100.0% 100.0%

Manitoba $133,697 106.4% 119.6%

Ontario $200,924 70.8% 91.2%

Quebec $117,352 121.1% 105.0%

New Brunswick $115,804 122.8% 116.7%

Nova Scotia $125,065 113.7% 115.1%

Prince Edward Island $122,000 116.6% 110.5%

Newfoundland &

Labrador $132,087 107.7% 114.1%

Northwest Territories na na 102.4%

Yukon na na 98.4%

Average Salary $144,566 98.4% 106.4%

Source: Canadian Association of Crown Counsel/Association Canadienne des juristes de

l’Etat and Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and Attorney General.

Saskatchewan Comparatives

There is little available in terms of appropriate comparators within Saskatchewan, since

clearly, the role of Provincial Court judge is unique within the province. The data above

have presented comparisons with judge’s salaries in other jurisdictions and with salary

37

levels and growth rates in other professions and other industries both within

Saskatchewan and nationally.

While the establishment of the salary ranges for judges cannot in any way be construed as

a collective bargaining process, data are available to illustrate the current trends in salary

processes within Saskatchewan. Table 22 provides a comparison of the increases in the

salary levels for judges between 2006 and 2011 as compared to the outcomes of a number

of wage settlements over the same time period.

Table 22: Rate of Growth in Judges Salaries and Wage Settlements, 2006 to 2011.

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Cumulative

Judges Basic Salary 18.0% 2.0% 2.8% 8.0% 4.0% 4.0% 46.6%

Executive

Government Salaries

in Saskatchewan

6.1% 4.0% 4.5% 1.5% 2.0% 2.0% 21.8%

Saskatchewan

Teachers 3.3% 5.0% 4.0% 3.5% 2.17% 2.7% 22.4%

Saskatchewan Nurses 2.5% 4.1% 14.7% 5.0% 5.0% 5.0% 41.7%

Saskatchewan Health

Sciences 3.9% 4.0% 6.2% 2.0% 1.5% 5.3% 25.0%

Source: Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and Attorney General and Saskatchewan

Ministry of Finance, Personnel Policy Secretariat.

From Table 22, it can be seen that the salary levels for judges in Saskatchewan increased

by a total of 46.6 per cent between 2005 and 2011. In the same time frame, negotiated

salary settlements in Saskatchewan had a cumulative impact ranging between 21.8 per

cent and 41.7 per cent.

These data would suggest that there has been a tendency towards lower wage settlements

in the past three years in the Saskatchewan public sector but, in reviewing the past six

years, the increases in the pay rates for Saskatchewan judges have tended to be much

higher than other public sector groups. Of course, one should exercise caution in making

such comparisons as conditions applying to each group will be unique and other non-pay

factors are not easily included for comparison purposes.

38

These comparisons are also shown on a longer term basis in Figure 9, below, which

compares the growth in the basic salary for judges in Saskatchewan since 1999 with other

public sector groups in the province. Figure 9 illustrates that, while the salary level for

judges in 2011 is 111.5 per cent above the level of 1999, this growth has been much

higher than for other public sector groups. Nurses’ salaries are currently 76.5 per cent

above their 1999 levels in the province, teachers’ salaries are currently 47.5 per cent

above their levels at the beginning of the period and the salaries for employees in

executive government are 39.7 per cent above their 1999 level.

2011=211.5

2011=139.7

2011=147.3

2011=176.2

0

50

100

150

200

250

1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011

19

99

=1

00

Figure 9: Growth in Judges' Salaries Compared to Saskatchewan

Salary Settlements, 1999 = 100

Judge Exec. Gov't

Teachers Nurses

Source: Personnel Policy Secretariate and Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice and Attorney General.

Of course, the standard caution that salaries are only one basis of comparison for

compensation and that the choice of start date may be important in comparing trend lines

both apply in this comparison.

39

Economic Outlook

Table 23 presents an overview of the forecasts of several Canadian chartered banks for

the Saskatchewan economy for 2012 as a companion to the forecasts presented in Table

11 above.

Table 23: Forecasts of Economic Indicators for Saskatchewan, 2012

Agency and Date of Forecast

Real GDP Growth

CPI Increase

RBC Economics Research

(September, 2011) 4.1% 2.6%

Scotia Economics

(October, 2011) 2.9% n.a.

CIBC World Markets

(August, 2011) 3.2% 2.3%

BMO Capital Markets

(October, 2011) 2.9% 2.1%

TD Economics

(September, 2011) 2.3% 1.7%

Laurentian Bank

(July, 2011) 2.7% 2.1%

Simple Average 3.02% 2.16%

Source: Canadian Chartered Bank websites as indicated.

The current expectation is for an overall growth in economic activity between 2.3 per

cent and 4.1 per cent for 2012 with price increases in the range of 1.7 per cent to 2.6 per

cent, with the average of forecasted inflation at 2.16 per cent, slightly lower than the

recent past.

41

VII. Summary and Conclusion

This paper has examined a number of factors to be considered in evaluating the current

and potential salaries of Provincial Court judges in Saskatchewan.

While the theory suggests that judges, as with all other people, should receive

compensation in line with the value of their contribution to overall production, there are

several practical limitations in the application of this theory, in terms of determining and

valuing the production of judges.

In the absence of meaningful measures of either volume of production or value of

production, a number of proxies commonly examined have been developed to consider in

establishing appropriate compensation for Provincial Court judges. In that exercise, it

was notable that the salaries of judges in Saskatchewan have kept pace more or less with

the rate of economic growth and have exceeded increases in the cost of living in

Saskatchewan, at least as far as current data would allow comparisons.

With adjustments following the reviews in 2005 and 2008, the salaries for judges in

Saskatchewan have increased relative to national average from a ratio of 94.7 per cent in

2002 to 99.7 per cent in 2008 and 106.4 per cent in 2011, prior to the current review.

In comparison to salary levels in other industries, other occupations and relative to other

measures of economic performance, the achievement of national average level for judges’

salaries appears to have outperformed other sectors of the Saskatchewan economy where

performance has been at levels very near the national average in terms of incomes and

output.

In comparison to recent salary settlements within Saskatchewan, the increases in

compensation for Provincial Court judges have been at significantly higher than the

settlements in collective bargaining processes in the public sector.

compensation levels of saskatchewan provincial court ......3 ii. background past reports the...

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