In his recent budget speech, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty made it clear there are still tough times ahead for Canada. Though it appears members of Parliament were excluded from this sentiment.
The days of austerity – if they ever truly existed – for the nations backbenchers, cabinet ministers, the Opposition leader and other parliamentarians came to an end just before the Easter break, when it was revealed they’d be receiving a raise.
As of Monday, the base salary of MPs jumped by 1.6 per cent – the first pay increase MPs have seen since the House initiated a three-year freeze.
For many Canadians, a 1.6 per cent raise would barely register in their bi-monthly paycheque. However, it will bring the base salary of MPs up by about $2,500 to $160,200. The prime minister’s pay jumps $5,000 to $320,400. And cabinet ministers like Flaherty – whose budget speech warned Canadians of how the world economy remains fragile, global growth remains fragile and Canada is not immune – will see their pay jump by $3,600 to $236,900.
It must be nice.
A January StatsCan report helps put this wage increase into context with what the rest of Canadians have, and generally continue to experience. The report shows median incomes nationally saw little change between 1982 and 2010. Things actually worsened in B.C., where median income dropped from $31,500 in 1982 to $27,500. Not surprisingly, those above the median income did much better. The top one per cent of the 25.5 million who filed their taxes accounted for 10.6 per cent of Canada’s total income.
The same report also shows the nation’s wealthy paid more in taxes in 2010 than they did 30 years earlier.
As for our MPs, their wage gains may be offset by changes to the parliamentary pension plan, that will see them contribute 50 per cent, as opposed to the current 14 per cent. (Taxpayers cover the rest.) But this doesn’t kick in until 2017 – after the 2015 federal election.
