The Bureau of the National Assembly (BAN) had commissioned an independent advisory committee to deal with MPs’ salary conditions. When presenting its report on April 19, the committee called for MPs to catch up on their salaries.
Prime Minister François Legault said in a press conference on Thursday morning that it was time to catch up. There is an independent committee that has reviewed the file to ensure salaries are competitive.
Simon Jolin-Barrette conceded that the salary of elected officials was not a very popular topic. That is why we follow the recommendations of an independent expert opinion. Nor is it ever the right time to increase, revise, or reclassify elected officials’ salaries.
The recommendations of the previous report, prepared by Justice Claire L’Heureux-Dubé in 2013, were never implemented.
“Today, 20 years later, we face the same challenge, which is to find fair and reasonable compensation for MPs’ base pay,” endorsed former PQ-elect Martin Ouellet, co-chair of the independent advisory committee responsible for the MNAs’ base salary review , in an interview with Tout un matin on ICI Première.
Former deputy for riding René Lévesque, Martin Ouellet. (archive photo)
Photo: Francis Vachon/Parti Québécois
We came to the same conclusion, namely that the work of a deputy is similar to the work of managers and vice presidents of public companies. […] That works out to a total salary of $169,000 when you include the expense allowance, he explained.
The committee, which includes former Liberal MP Lise Thériault and human resources expert Jérôme Côté, recommends increasing MPs’ base salaries from $101,561 to $131,766.
Alongside Minister Christian Dubé’s Bill 15 on Health, which has more than 1,100 articles, Bill 24 on MPs’ remuneration is a featherweight number. It contains two articles. Section 1 states that each member will receive compensation of US$131,766, while Section 2 states that the contract will come into effect once accepted.
Thus, taking into account certain parameters related to the expense allowance, to which MNAs are also entitled, they would receive $169,950 per year.
A minister’s salary – equivalent to that of the first leader of the official opposition – would rise from $177,732 to $230,591. Eventually, the PM’s salary would increase from $208,200 to $270,120.
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Member of Parliament, an evolving role
Although the annual remuneration of deputies to the National Assembly has been indexed over the years, it has not increased for two decades. One of the elements justifying this catching-up process, according to the Advisory Committee, is the fact that the deputy function has evolved.
The committee noted that the precariousness of the role, the scale of the workload and the challenge of balancing work, family and personal life were particularly challenging. According to the report, elected officials spend an average of 63 hours a week at work and 10 hours on business trips.
Unsatisfactory working conditions discourage talent and it is democracy that suffers, we read in the report. He adds that, contrary to popular belief, job prospects or opportunities for retraining after a political career are rarer and more difficult.
“We’ve tried to find the right balance and we think it’s fair and just at that level. »
– A quote from Martin Ouellet, former PQ member and co-chair of the independent advisory committee responsible for analyzing elected officials’ compensation
Retirement planning, the blind spot
Unlike the L’Heureux-Dubé report, the current report does not provide information on the pension plan, transitional allowance and reimbursement of certain expenses. It was only about the new regulation of the annual compensation.
I understand that people are uncomfortable that we touch on the base salary but not on the other conditions, but unfortunately that was not part of our mandate, argued Martin Ouellet.
The Committee believes that there is a need to continue the reflection so that the working conditions and remuneration of elected officials are analyzed worldwide.
“It is a policy decision by the National Assembly office, which members provided direction for, and we stuck to that framework, which was not perfect. »
— A quote from Martin Ouellet
All parties represented in the assembly belong to the BAN according to their political weight. There are five CAQ deputies, three from the PLQ and one from the QS.
The 2013 proposals would have cost almost nothing, he continued, while the committee’s estimates put the total bill for citizens at 3 million more.
For the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, this increase doesn’t hold water, especially in the current economic context.
It’s a lack of solidarity on their part. “Under these circumstances, the $30,000 increase is beyond our comprehension,” said the federation’s Quebec director, Nicolas Gagnon.
A month ago, the organization also launched a petition to demand a pay freeze for elected officials. More than 15,000 signatures were collected.
Any increase is reasonable
CAQ MEPs are happy with this increase. Any increase is appropriate, said Beauce-Nord MP Luc Provençal.
It needs to be seriously considered, Saint-Jérôme MNA Youri Chassin said of the committee’s report. He considers this increase reasonable.
Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon believes a better salary will attract people into politics.
It is legitimate to look at the salaries of MPs and ministers. […] You have to think about the successor. “When you want to hire new employees, that’s important,” he said.
However, the discomfort was palpable among other CAQists, who simply avoided answering questions from journalists.
Unrest among opposition parties
This salary increase has also caused unrest among the opposition parties.
The elected members of the Parti Québécois are still hesitating over whether to vote with Caquiste lawmakers on the bill. They tell us: “Can we count on you because we don’t want to be alone?” “It’s a bad start for our support,” said PQ MP Pascal Bérubé.
The Matane-Matapédia MP on Wednesday condemned the actions of the Legault government, which he says is putting pressure on MPs to vote for a pay rise.
I feel pushed by the CAQ. “These are six MPs who come to me to convince me that we have to support the CAQ on this matter,” he said.
The PQ MP also believes that the CAQ would also like to increase MP salaries to keep their ranks cohesive.
“It seems that in the CAQ caucus they are struggling to keep their MPs happy. And one of the CAQ’s solutions is to give them a raise. »
– A quote from Pascal Bérubé, PQ MP for Matane-Matapédia
Interim Liberal leader Marc Tanguay said he was in principle in favor of a pay rise for MPs. He wants to wait for the bill before debating it.
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, QS parliamentary leader and political party co-speaker, invited CAQ MPs to use next week’s parliamentary recess to poll their fellow citizens on MPs’ base salary increases. What I hear on the pitch is that it doesn’t make any sense. In his opinion, this approach fuels cynicism.
La Formation Solidaire claims that there is a problem in the process, which Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, speaking at a press conference, described as flawed, in particular because of the committee’s incomplete mandate and on the merits because he believes that the significant increase , Immediate and retrospective pay for elected officials, it’s strong coffee.
comparative
Quebec lawmakers’ salaries would remain lower than their federal counterparts, which totals $194,600 but still exceeds that of their counterparts in other provinces, accounting for expense allowance.
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Elected federal officials’ salaries have increased by 21% since 2013. In British Columbia, elected officials’ pay has increased by 13%, while Ontario has opted for a freeze since 2009. In Alberta, MPs suffered two 5% cuts in 2015 and 2019.
Avoid inconveniences with an automatic mechanism
Previous reports recommended an increase in the salaries of elected officials, but they were reluctant to implement it due to a conflict of interest.
The committee recommends increasing annual pay similar to that of heads of government agencies to prevent parliamentarians from voting for their own pay rise.
It is also proposed to set up a standing committee charged with regularly reviewing working conditions.
With information from Hugo Lavallée, Véronique Prince and The Canadian Press