Québec Solidaire co-speaker Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois announced on TVA Nouvelles that if lawmakers’ salaries were increased, he would pass his pay rise on to community organizations.
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Given that Quebec Solidaire does not have enough political clout to block the increase desired by the CAQ majority, this is the solution Mr. Dubois intends to use to assert his position.
“I will give everything to the organizations in my constituency,” he assures us, but explains that there will be no “party line on personal finance” from the united MPs, so they are free to accept the increase or not.
Since the deputy job involves about “60 hours” of work per week, Emmanuelle Latraverse points out, the hourly rate for elected officials is about “$33,” so some adjustment is appropriate for many. .
“That famous $100,000-a-year base salary is something only 10 out of 125 lawmakers do, including 7 from Quebec Solidaire,” Mr. Dubois nuanced from the start.
“115 out of 125 reps do a lot more…it can be $160,000, $170,000, $200,000 a year,” he adds.
The QS co-speaker nonetheless acknowledges that the question of “the value of an MP” is excellent but is up to a “body that is not only independent but has full mandate to review all amounts received from members .” ” to decide the question.
“And this committee should be decision-making, meaning its recommendations should be binding,” he adds.
In a bid to win over those who would stand in solidarity with his cause, Prime Minister François Legault called Mr Dubois an apostrophe during Question Time in the National Assembly on Tuesday.
“One of the things I think of is a young father who wants to offer his children as much as possible. I think it’s normal for him to be offered compensation that is competitive with what that person could get in the public or private sector…why should it be any different for politics? Why shouldn’t a father be able to go as far as possible for his children? Why?” the prime minister asked his supportive counterpart.
Mr Legault’s speech particularly annoyed Mr Dubois, who first wishes to recall that “no one goes into politics, as Mr Legault says, to earn as much money as possible for their children”.
“People rarely go into politics for financial reasons. Regardless of the party, they go into politics to defend their values, their social project, their vision of Quebec,” added Mr. Dubois, who refuses to exploit political commitment.
The QS co-spokesman also reminded that not only politicians want what is best for their children, but that “nurses, teachers, workers, self-employed people also want what is best for their children.”
“These people work hard too, they also make sacrifices. Right now these people are seeing grocery bills skyrocket due to inflation. “There’s interest rate increases, rent increases, and these people can’t afford a $30,000-a-year raise,” Mr. Dubois argued nonetheless.