About 98 per cent of eligible managers in the Ontario Public Service received bonuses last year, despite assurances from the cash-strapped government that it's serious about freezing pay in the broader public sector.

The controversy over awarding bonuses when the province is awash in red ink was revived this week when the head of eHealth Ontario returned his hefty bonus.

Greg Reed, CEO of the provincial agency, received the $81,250 bonus on top of his $329,000 salary in June. He offered to pay back the money after coming under heavy fire from opposition parties.

According to documents obtained by The Canadian Press, about 8,700 of 8,900 eligible civil servants received performance pay in 2011, costing the provincial treasury $35.6 million.

The documents, obtained under freedom of information laws, said the highest bonus awarded to a manager was 12 per cent of his or her pay, while the lowest was 0.46 per cent. The average was 3.6 per cent.

The government wouldn't disclose employee-by-employee numbers, saying it's the personal information of individual employees.

However, the names of those making more than $100,000 are disclosed on the province's annual ``sunshine list'' of top public sector pay.     The list has grown steadily over the years. There were about 78,910 names on the list in 2011, up 10 per cent - or 7,432 workers - from 2010. In 2009, the list contained about 64,078 names.

The government said employees who received a bonus had their salaries frozen, which has saved the province $34 million since 2009. The total cost of performance pay has also dropped by 30 per cent since 2009.

(The Canadian Press)