Yellowknife, N.W.T. - Salaries for senior public employees have been published in some provinces, such as Ontario, but they're still a mystery in the NWT.

Frame Lake MLA Wendy Bisaro tried to shed some light on just how much those in upper management make in their roles and put the question to human resources minister Glen Abernethy.

Bisaro said more needs to be known than simply salary ranges.

"The minister mentioned three salary ranges, so if I'm interested in a particular employee in a department, will I be able to figure out which salary range he or she falls into?"

Abernethy said that's something his department is not willing to publish.

"We won't be posting individuals' salaries, that would be inappropriate and a conflict of information but that would be consistent with what we do for all employees, Mr. Speaker. We don't tell anybody what Jane or John Doe in any other profession makes, so why would we do that for senior management?"

Bisaro referred to the 2009-2010 report from the Information and Privacy Commissioner, which recommended better transparency when it came to government spending.

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