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Quebecers should be alarmed at the number of municipal and provincial employees who are earning high-rolling salaries, said the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

The federation published a list Tuesday morning detailing how many employees of each public organization or municipal body earn more than $100,000.

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Among the highlights: the City of Montreal, with about 30,000 employees, has 5,700 employees who earn more than $100,000.

Of the 1,688 Quebec government organizations that responded to the federation’s access-to-information requests, 43,469 employees earn an annual salary over $100,000. Collectively, they cost Quebec taxpayers more than $5.3 billion a year.

The highest-paid employee was Hydro-Québec president and CEO Éric Martel, who earns a salary of at least $559,886. Although, it has been reported that Martel’s salary with bonuses exceeds $800,000.

“It is a lot of money,” said Renaud Brossard, the Quebec director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “You know, the average Quebec taxpayer earns about $50,000 per year. That results in $5,500 in annual taxes. So just to pay for those salaries, we’re talking about the income taxes from 980,000 Quebecers. Making this list public will empower taxpayers to better know how their money is spent and to help their government make decisions.”