Wednesday, April 5, 2006

not a shabby wage, while others live in poverty ...

is mayes worth it?
MP pay hike puts salaries in top 2%
BILL RODGERS, OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF, April 5, 2006

OTTAWA --
Members of the House of Commons will pocket another $3,400 this year, hiking their annual paycheque to $147,700 and putting them into the top 2% of Canadian income earners.

The amount -- a 2.4% increase -- doesn't include accommodation and other allowances, extra pay for cabinet ministers and the leaders of the political parties, and a boost for MPs who chair Commons committees or serve as parliamentary secretaries.

The hike, quietly posted on the Parliament of Canada website on April Fool's Day, shows MPs' salaries have jumped $16,300 since 2001 when MPs gave up a tax-free allowance in exchange for a higher pay rate linked at the time to increases in the annual salary of the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

That link proved too rich and controversial so federal politicians turned to the private-sector wage index.

The prime minister's salary, which is double that of an MP, jumps to $295,400 a year.

Cabinet ministers receive an annual pay packet of $218,500. The leaders of the NDP and Bloc Quebecois receive $198,100.

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