mr.x
May 22nd, 2007, 07:27 AM
B.C. NDP to give pay increase to charity
Updated Thu. May. 17 2007 8:59 PM ET
Canadian Press
VICTORIA -- B.C. New Democrats will vote against a bill raising their salaries by 29 per cent but will donate their raise to charity if the legislation passes, NDP Leader Carole James said Thursday.
With the government accepting no amendments to the MLA wage and pension bill, James said her members will likely have no choice but to be saddled with a pay hike she calls "obscene."
But the Opposition leader said the pension issue is a different matter -- her members will take the reinstated plan if the bill passes because New Democrats believe all workers deserve a pension.
She said, however, that it's a far richer plan than her party would have come up with.
The legislation proposes an increase to the base pay for provincial politicians of at least 29 per cent and the re-establishment of a pension plan that was scrapped 11 years ago.
Bill 37 follows recommendations from an independent panel appointed by Premier Gordon Campbell for an across-the-board increase in every MLA's salary to $98,000 a year from the current $76,100. The premier would see his salary increase by 54 per cent to more than $186,000.
For weeks before the introduction of the legislation, the New Democrats have maintained the increase is too large. "It is an obscene pay increase," James said.
But if the Liberal majority on the legislature pushes the bill through, as is likely, she said her members will donate the extra money to charities in their communities and report where every penny has gone.
In a move patterned after similar legislation introduced in Ontario just before Christmas, the B.C. Liberals added an opt-out clause to the bill, giving MLAs opposed to the increase the opportunity to turn it down permanently.
But James said her caucus isn't even considering that option.
"We're not going to play the Liberals' game around opt in-opt out," she said. "We will be participating in the pension plan. I've said all along that I believe that MLAs do deserve a decent pension."
Liberal house leader Mike de Jong said the Opposition stance shows bad judgment on James' part.
"I have never seen such a botched example of leadership," he said shortly after a 50-minute speech to the house that frequently referred to the difficulty politicians have in dealing with the prickly issue.
"Talk about leading a caucus into the valley of death, time and time again."
Late Thursday in the legislature when James rose in the house to speak put her party's position on the record during second reading of the bill, every Liberal MLA stood up and left.
B.C. politicians have wrestled uncomfortably with the issue of pay increases for years.
In November 2005, a joint Liberal-NDP plan to raise politicians' pay by 15 per cent turned into a failed political experiment when it was introduced in the legislature and dropped days later after a public outcry.
At the time, James said she could no longer support a deal that enraged the public while calling for a more public process to handle the pay issue.
Reached in Edmonton where his B.C. cabinet is holding a joint meeting with Alberta's executive council, Campbell said James's response isn't fooling anyone.
"I've never seen so many somersaults from a group of people in all my life," he said, adding that in the end the New Democrats will wind up taking the salary boost and the pension.
"This kind of phony posturing doesn't accomplish anything."
De Jong, meantime, has made it clear the governing Liberals intend to support the pay increase in a free vote in the legislature.
The salary increase will make B.C. MLAs the third-highest paid provincial politicians in Canada.
Ontario politicians are currently paid $110,775 annually, followed by Quebec politicians, who make $98,005.
Federal MPs currently earn $150,800 annually.
Prior to the legislation, B.C. politicians ranked sixth among provincial politicians.
Updated Thu. May. 17 2007 8:59 PM ET
Canadian Press
VICTORIA -- B.C. New Democrats will vote against a bill raising their salaries by 29 per cent but will donate their raise to charity if the legislation passes, NDP Leader Carole James said Thursday.
With the government accepting no amendments to the MLA wage and pension bill, James said her members will likely have no choice but to be saddled with a pay hike she calls "obscene."
But the Opposition leader said the pension issue is a different matter -- her members will take the reinstated plan if the bill passes because New Democrats believe all workers deserve a pension.
She said, however, that it's a far richer plan than her party would have come up with.
The legislation proposes an increase to the base pay for provincial politicians of at least 29 per cent and the re-establishment of a pension plan that was scrapped 11 years ago.
Bill 37 follows recommendations from an independent panel appointed by Premier Gordon Campbell for an across-the-board increase in every MLA's salary to $98,000 a year from the current $76,100. The premier would see his salary increase by 54 per cent to more than $186,000.
For weeks before the introduction of the legislation, the New Democrats have maintained the increase is too large. "It is an obscene pay increase," James said.
But if the Liberal majority on the legislature pushes the bill through, as is likely, she said her members will donate the extra money to charities in their communities and report where every penny has gone.
In a move patterned after similar legislation introduced in Ontario just before Christmas, the B.C. Liberals added an opt-out clause to the bill, giving MLAs opposed to the increase the opportunity to turn it down permanently.
But James said her caucus isn't even considering that option.
"We're not going to play the Liberals' game around opt in-opt out," she said. "We will be participating in the pension plan. I've said all along that I believe that MLAs do deserve a decent pension."
Liberal house leader Mike de Jong said the Opposition stance shows bad judgment on James' part.
"I have never seen such a botched example of leadership," he said shortly after a 50-minute speech to the house that frequently referred to the difficulty politicians have in dealing with the prickly issue.
"Talk about leading a caucus into the valley of death, time and time again."
Late Thursday in the legislature when James rose in the house to speak put her party's position on the record during second reading of the bill, every Liberal MLA stood up and left.
B.C. politicians have wrestled uncomfortably with the issue of pay increases for years.
In November 2005, a joint Liberal-NDP plan to raise politicians' pay by 15 per cent turned into a failed political experiment when it was introduced in the legislature and dropped days later after a public outcry.
At the time, James said she could no longer support a deal that enraged the public while calling for a more public process to handle the pay issue.
Reached in Edmonton where his B.C. cabinet is holding a joint meeting with Alberta's executive council, Campbell said James's response isn't fooling anyone.
"I've never seen so many somersaults from a group of people in all my life," he said, adding that in the end the New Democrats will wind up taking the salary boost and the pension.
"This kind of phony posturing doesn't accomplish anything."
De Jong, meantime, has made it clear the governing Liberals intend to support the pay increase in a free vote in the legislature.
The salary increase will make B.C. MLAs the third-highest paid provincial politicians in Canada.
Ontario politicians are currently paid $110,775 annually, followed by Quebec politicians, who make $98,005.
Federal MPs currently earn $150,800 annually.
Prior to the legislation, B.C. politicians ranked sixth among provincial politicians.