Despite belt tightening across many departments, the Government of the Northwest Territories paid out more than $1.2 million in bonuses last year.

Twenty-two managers working for the health authorities, many of which are running deficits, received a total of $108,000 in bonuses.

The Minister for the Department of Human Resources, Glen Abernethy, said balancing a budget may only be one part of an employee's performance review.

“Every job is different… budget might be one of the criteria, but it might not be all of the criteria. You'd have to look at more than just money,” Abernethy said.

He said bonuses are a part of managers’ employment packages and are an incentive for them to do a better job.

Eight senior civil servants received between $20,000 and $30,000 in bonuses last year.

Senior bureaucrats are not guaranteed the extra pay — Abernethy said bonuses are based on whether employees exceed their job expectations.

“It's usually a discussion — setting targets, whether you've met them [and an] opportunity to discuss whether you feel you've met and exceeded them,” Abernethy said.

“We want to get good people in here. We want to provide decent packages as far as compensation and benefits.”

Managers receive up to 15 per cent of salary in bonuses

As part of a managers' compensation package, they can receive up to 15 per cent of their salary in bonuses.

The premier awards the bonuses to deputy ministers and each department has a limited budget to dispense the extra cash.

Thirteen deputy and associate deputy ministers received between $10,000 and $30,000 each; 140 senior managers got up to $10,000 each.

Before his cabinet appointment, Abernethy was a frequent critic of government bonuses.

Over the past four years, he says criteria have become more stringent and less money is being given out.