Report on Canada Parliament's approval of their PM's, Ministers'
and MPs' salaries and other perks.
.....................................................
Raise boosts MPs' base salary to $150,800
Extra earnings on top; critics blast increase as too
secretive
Tim Naumetz, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Wednesday, April 18, 2007
MPs have quietly pocketed a $3,100 pay hike, which takes their
annual base salary to $150,800.
The automatic April 1 increase, based on private-sector
settlements, also applies to separate salaries for extra duties --
jobs ranging from committee vice-chairman up to prime
minister.
MPs also get a $22,000 yearly expense allowance, primarily for
living costs in Ottawa, and 64 free return airline tickets each
year to share with their partners and dependants.
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NDP MP Peter Stoffer said it is ironic that MPs were cashing their
bigger paycheques while Parliament was set to legislate striking CN
employees back to work.
"It's a bit hypocritical," said Mr. Stoffer.
The increase brings Prime Minister Stephen Harper's annual pay to
$301,600.
His salary is low compared to the remuneration for bank presidents
and senior executive officers in the private sector, but as Mr.
Harper has joked, he lives in the best public housing in the
country at rent-free 24 Sussex Drive.
Liberal MP Rodger Cuzner said he believes most MPs earn their wages
and are busy with work in Ottawa as well as their ridings.
He defended the CN back-to-work legislation, saying he supports it
because rail transportation is "an essential service."
The Canadian Taxpayers' Federation said it supports the level of
salaries MPs earn, but believes Parliament should be more
transparent about pay rates and perks.
No news releases are issued announcing the increases.
"Nobody would argue we should be paying them peanuts," said the
federation's national research director, Adam Taylor. "We're more
critical about the lack of openness displaying this stuff."
Commons Speaker Peter Milliken yesterday appeared at the Commons
procedure and House affairs committee to explain details of a
$10-million increase in the House budget to $410.5 million for the
2007-08 fiscal year.
Ontario Premier David McGuinty has a salary of $196,620. Ontario
MPPs now earn $110,775 after controversial raises that took effect
this year.
U.S. President George W. Bush, by comparison, is paid $400,000
annually, but also has a bigger government house than Mr. Harper.
Members of Congress in Washington are paid $165,000 a year.
The U.S. congressional calendars, however, suggest senators and
representatives are in session longer each year than Canadian MPs,
who have almost five months of break during the year.
What An MP Can Earn on Top of Their Salary
Prime minister: $150,800
Minister: $72,200
Minister of state: $72,200
Commons Speaker: $72,200
Leader of the Opposition: $72,200
Leaders of other parties: $51,400
Whip: $27,200
Committee chair: $10,700
Committee vice-chair: $5,500
..............................................................................
Very good Mr. Kramnave for the source. (as reproduced above) This
is a good piece of evidence which confirms once and for all beyond
all doubts that our PM at S$2,500,000.00 pa is grossly
overpaid.
From this report it is clear that there is a lot of unhappiness
(not necessarily because Canadian politicians lack the political
daring and courage to face the ministers' pay issue squarely as put
it by MM Lee) by their countrymen and parliamentarians with the
ministers' and MPs' pay increases calling it hypocrisy and lack of
openness in increasing their own ministers and MPs; salaries while
denying their own countrymen of due wage increases.
There is no notes provided to show how their motion was introduced
and whether the Canadian constitution contains a provision for such
self-approval of their own salaries.
We are more than convinced now by such evidence that for a small
country like the little red dot it is much easier to govern and
therefore our PM should be paid at most up to say 2/3 of Canada
PM's gross pay of C$301,600.00 pa) assuming our PM is extremely
talented and competent.
On top of our PM's salary of S$2,500,000.00 pa he would be paid a
few months bonuses and at least S$1,500,000.00 pa in life pension
so his total gross salary at the end of the day would be very much
higher than S$4,500,000.00 pa.
Let our PM and Ministers be more accountable and not engage in such
conflict of interest in exercise of their power and refer their
additional pay packages and other packages over the contracted
figures based on public service structure originally adopted back
in 1970s including all the bonuses and life pension to the people
in the party manifesto in the next election for sanction or
referendum by the citizens.
In the same report reference has been made to US President's salary
which was only US$400,000.00 for running a more onerous superpower
of very much larger population and size. So it is not true that our
PM and MPs are doing a more responsible or more talented job and
have to be paid much higher than equivalents or counterparts in US
or Canada.
