A small group of heads of organizations working in the areas of environment, nature and animal protection earn a salary equal to, and in some cases much higher than, that of all provincial premiers.
Posted at 7:21 am.
Pierre Saint-Arnaud The Canadian Press
A comprehensive analysis by The Canadian Press of approximately 1,477 T3010 returns filed with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for 2022 and 2023 shows that directors of 17 of the organizations audited received compensation in the range of $200,000 to $250,000 -Dollars sometimes received much more1. This is a tiny percentage, 1.15% of the total.
This range was chosen as a reference point because it represents the compensation of Canada's two highest-paid provincial premiers (Doug Ford: $208,974, François Legault: $208,200)2.
The Canadian Press analysis, conducted from June 2022 to November 2023, targeted organizations recognized by the CRA as registered charities (OBE), classified under the environmental and animal welfare categories. The latter included several OBEs with a conservation mission3.
The T3010, public documents that can be viewed on the CRA website, contains a section where we find the ten highest salaries of organizations, organized by range. The ranges that caught our attention are the three ranges from $200,000 to $350,000 and the fourth, highest, which simply says “$350,000 and up.”
A mass of volunteers and small staff
Before we go any further, we would like to mention that the work of the vast majority of these organizations relies on volunteers or a workforce with modest incomes. In fact, 864 (58.5%) of the total employ exclusively volunteers. Just over 200 of these OBEs (13.7%) have no employees earning more than $40,000, and nearly 220 (14.8%) have no employees earning more than $80,000. In other words, more than 87% of charities pay their employees less than $80,000 or nothing at all.
None of the major OBEs in Quebec dedicated to these missions – whether Greenpeace Quebec Section, Équiterre, the Rivières Foundation, the Quebec Section of the Society for Nature and Parks (SNAP), the various SPCAs, to name a few – do This does not pay a salary that ranges between $80,000 and $120,000.
Pay ducks
At the other end of this census, however, is Ducks Unlimited Canada, based in Stonewall, Manitoba. Ducks Unlimited's 2023 filing says two earn “more than $350,000,” three earn $250,000 to $300,000 and four earn $200,000 to $250,000. The organization employs 565 full- and part-time employees. Governments donated just over $27 million to Ducks Unlimited in 2022-23, and a quarter of the $140 million in revenue came from donations.
Their spokesperson, Janine Massey, explains this exceptional compensation by saying that “Ducks Unlimited Canada is the largest conservation organization in Canada,” managing more than 2.5 million hectares of habitat across Canada. “It is difficult to compare environmental nonprofits because of the wide variety of their missions, scope and complexity of operations,” she continues. “We regularly conduct competitive compensation reviews and adjust our compensation accordingly to ensure we attract and retain high quality employees. »
Targeted comparisons
This competitive pay argument is raised repeatedly by the small group of organizations that responded to our request for clarification. However, he comes across the fact that almost 99% of others don't even come close to these salary levels. The comparisons cited were not reported to La Presse Canadienne.
“It emerged as a small industry for everything related to sustainable development and the green movement,” notes Sylvie St-Onge, professor of management at HEC and expert in compensation management, governance and boards of directors. “When they compare themselves, they compare themselves to others in the industry who are like a core group of well-heeled people. »
Second, in this inventory, the Toronto-based Nature Conservancy of Canada did not respond to our email. This organization, which received nearly $86 million from governments and more than $138 million from various donors in 2022, has one person making between $300,000 and $350,000 and three making somewhere between $200,000 and $250,000 collect. This NPO has 514 full- and part-time employees.
An NPO monitoring and evaluation organization, Charity Watch, points out that the American chapter of that organization, Nature Conservancy, pays its CEO $818,838 and the other two highest earners $785,410 and $697,759.
The Alberta Conservation Association, which is 82% funded by public agencies, primarily the Government of Alberta, paid compensation in the range of $300,000 to $350,000 in its fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, and two of those were $200,000 to $250,000. This organization, based in Sherwood Park in suburban Edmonton and employing 93 people, also did not respond to us.
“The Most Expensive Cities in Canada”
At the David Suzuki Foundation in Vancouver, where one manager receives compensation of $250,000 to $300,000 and three others collect between $200,000 and $250,000, spokesman Charles Bonhomme tells us that they “pay for the well-being of their team sets in”. to treat them fairly and to introduce a four-day week. »
He adds that the offices are “located in the most expensive cities in Canada: Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.” According to 2021 Statistics Canada data, the average salary in these three cities was $55,300, $56,700 and $53,300, respectively. The foundation continued to “enlist the expertise of an HR consulting firm to help us conduct a salary review across the company” and that this ranking “no longer reflects our current team.” We will therefore have to wait for the T3010 of 2023 to see what this revision has brought. The foundation employs almost a hundred people.
Next is World Wildlife Fund Canada, which employs around 110 people and almost 80% of its revenue comes from donations. One of its executives receives compensation between $250,000 and $300,000 and two others receive compensation between $200,000 and $250,000. In addition, there are more than 4.2 million fees paid for specialist and consulting services for which there is no information in T3010.
In its response, the organization again cites the comparison argument: “The total compensation of the directors of the World Wide Fund for Nature Canada.” […] is comparable to that of similar national charities, including in the environmental sector. The work we do is important and complex, and we believe we need to hire the best people to achieve the greatest reach. »
As well paid as they are, the amounts these executives receive pale in comparison to that of WWF's American CEO, who rakes in more than $1.127 million.
Nature United, affiliated with the aforementioned Canadian Society for the Conservation of Nature, employed 36 people, according to the 2022 statement. For leading the organization, one manager receives compensation ranging from $250,000 to $300,000, another between $200,000 and $250,000.
Its communications director, Jacqueline Nunes, reiterates that salaries are based on “a robust review process” that ensures they are “within the 50th percentile of comparable organizations,” i.e. the median. She adds that as a nonprofit organization, we take our finances very seriously and would not compensate our executives more than necessary to provide the strong leadership needed to work towards a Canada where people, nature and ecosystems are united, communities etc. are so crucial to enabling economies to thrive. »
Salmon and the oceans
The Oceans North Conservation Society, whose mission is “to promote the protection of Canada's northern oceans and the resulting well-being of the populations and communities that rely on their natural wealth,” has no less than five people, including compensation, which is in the range of 200,000 to 250,000 US dollars. Oceans North employs 30 people and 96% of its $8 million in 2022 revenue came from “sources outside Canada (governmental and non-governmental),” which are not detailed in the CRA documents. The organization did not respond to our request.
Another organization dedicated to marine conservation, Oceana Canada, also pays compensation in this range, but only one. He also did not respond to La Presse Canadienne's request. Oceana Canada, whose 2022 revenues of nearly three-quarters (70%) of $3.3 million came from unspecified “sources outside Canada,” employs 20 people.
The Pacific Salmon Foundation, which works to protect this species, employs around fifty people, including two people who receive compensation between $200,000 and $250,000. Almost half of the organization's 14 million in revenue, which did not respond to our request, comes from public bodies and just over 40% from various donations.
On the other side of the country, the Atlantic Salmon Federation based in St. Andrews, New Brunswick (not to be confused with the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Foundation) also has someone earning compensation in the $200,000 to $250,000 range . Its spokesman, Neville Crabbe, argues that the association “engages in research, river restoration and awareness-raising to save salmon and protect vital habitats in Quebec, the Atlantic provinces, Maine and Greenland.” »
He adds: “A recent external review found that our salary structure is competitive with other large and medium-sized Canadian non-governmental organizations working in the environment and conservation sectors.” Whether people in the private sector or non-governmental organizations work, they should be paid fairly and appropriately for the quality of their work. » The federation, which employs 32 people, derived 22% of its 2022 revenue from $6 million from government sources and 16% from miscellaneous donations. A significant portion, nearly $3 million, came from sources outside Canada, which the organization brought in hand with its American counterpart, the US Atlantic Salmon Federation.
Short or forceful answers
The response from the Canadian Wildlife Federation, of which just over 90% of the $34 million in revenue listed in its 2023 report comes almost equally from government and donations, was very succinct: “The CWF is one of the largest Non-Governmental Organizations of Canada Conservation Organizations. “All employees' salaries are determined based on independent market assessments,” writes Pam Logan, communications director, about the compensation found there at $200,000 to $250,000 for one person.
Although no compensation at SNAP-Québec comes close to the prime ministerial scale set by The Canadian Press, this is different at its parent company, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, where we find total compensation of $200,000 to $250,000. Board Chairman John Grandy vigorously defends this compensation: “This idea that nonprofits are underfunded – and that they limit access to talent through low salaries or a lack of infrastructure – has been proven wrong over a decade now. ” ,” he writes. “We believe our salaries fairly reflect the current salaries of similar organizations as well as the earning potential earned by experienced managers.” SNAP Canada, whose revenues are a quarter from government and a little less than half from various donations comes from, employs around a hundred people.
The Natural Step (Canada) Inc. did not respond to our request for comment. This organization, which employs 19 people, offers compensation in the range of $200,000 to $250,000. Half of the revenue in 2022 came from the sale of goods and services, especially training, the other half from donations (34.5%) and public funds (15%). Its mission calls for “a strong economy that thrives within the boundaries of nature” by “leveraging the influence of intellectual leaders through a flexible, collaborative and synergistic platform of initiatives.”
Generous SPCAs
In Canada, there are just over 120 Animal Cruelty Prevention Societies (SPCA) among registered animal welfare charities. Only four of them (3.3%) offer their executives compensation of more than $200,000.
First up is the British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the only one with an individual in the $250,000 to $300,000 range. It also provides compensation of $200,000 to $250,000 for two people. However, this SPCA, of which three quarters (74%) of its 2022 revenue of 66.6 million came from donations, employs almost 600 people.
The Ontario SPCA (more than 225 employees), the Niagara SPCA and Humane Society (43 employees), and the Toronto Humane Society (187 employees) all report compensation between $200,000 and $250,000 for their 2022 T3010s. Only one responded to our request, the one from Ontario. Its vice-president, Alison Cross, writes: “The Ontario SPCA believes in compensating its employees for their work and dedication in accordance with the standards of the provincial charitable industry.” Salary ranges have been established […] using benchmark salary data from a national survey of similarly sized nonprofits.”
This inventory is inevitably incomplete. For example, according to T3010, the Learning Through Trees Project Canada has no employees in Canada and therefore has not paid salaries in the two years of its registration, i.e. 2021 and 2022, with the exception of professional and consultant fees. This subsidiary of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) of the United States still received more than $12.7 million in 2021 and more than $13.7 million in 2022 from the federal government and $750,000 to the highest level of leadership.
Inner discomfort?
This investigation by The Canadian Press raised eyebrows among the few organizations that pay salaries of this level, and the news was passed on to several of them when we asked for explanations. We have received some anonymous offers of internal information from people who are clearly disturbed, not to mention shocked, by the compensation we are reporting here. We have not relied on this information as public data speaks for itself.
However, the wage differences discussed here should in no way overshadow the work of these organizations, which, together with all OBEs in environmental, nature and animal protection, are doing enormous work to repair the damage to ecosystems. Biodiversity, nature and climate.
But Sylvie St-Onge remembers: “The environment is important.” When we talk about sustainable development, it is also about social responsibility. At some point it's like sending a contradictory message with the values that should exist. Somewhere there is a board that either didn’t do their job or found a reason for it,” she says as she reads these numbers.
Vocation comes before ambition
In her opinion, it would be better for such organizations to look for people who are motivated by a calling rather than by ambition: “The discourse is always: we want to have the best, but in these organizations it is not both when it comes to the best .” the expertise you need, but the best in terms of mobilization, faith and belief in mission compliance. Someone who doesn't come so much for the money. »
Some environmental activists who were not authorized to speak to the media also told us of a much more conciliatory approach from some of the organizations mentioned above, particularly those with a conservation mission, when it comes time to demand tough measures. Environmental Protection.
The approximately 1,474 NPOs still on the ARC list and their tens of thousands of employees and volunteers could not disappear overnight without leaving a huge void that would cause fauna and flora to suffer terribly. The aim of this analysis was simply to shed light on a small minority of exceptions to compensation in this sector, which generally has difficulty recruiting and retaining employees.
1. Compensation reported on the CRA website includes salaries, wages, commissions, allowances, bonuses, fees and charges paid to individuals working for a registered charity and the value of benefits, whether taxable or not. that are granted to them.
2. In Quebec, the remuneration of Prime Minister Legault and his ministers includes the remuneration as deputy and the additional remuneration of the Prime Minister and ministers. The 30% increase approved last June increased the Prime Minister's remuneration to $270,120 and that of his ministers, which stood at $177,732 as of March 31, 2023, to $230,591, but the T3010 of the audited organizations is not exceeded Granted beyond March 2023.
3. The number of OBEs in these two categories at the start of the review in June 2022 was 1477, i.e. 996 respectively). We excluded from the analysis all private and public foundations whose finances, executive compensation, and contributions to their causes have previously made headlines. Although the Rivières Foundation, the David Suzuki Foundation and the Pacific Salmon Foundation use the term “foundation” in their corporate names, due to their financial structure and operations, they are not foundations within the meaning of the tax law, but rather “registered charities”. exempt from tax on their income and can issue receipts for the donations received.