Members of Parliament will receive legislated pay increases Wednesday (April 1), but the news of a pay raise didn’t sit well with Conservative MP Tamara Jansen so she is donating hers to charity, her office announced in a press release.
“With an international pandemic causing so many people to lose their jobs, I couldn’t in good conscience accept a bump in pay,” said Jansen, the MP for Cloverdale-Langley City. “I can’t control whether or not I receive the money, but I can control what I do with it.”
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Jansen will be donating an amount equal to her raise to the Surrey Relief Fund. The charity is working to assist non-profit organizations that are directly responding to the pandemic by supporting vulnerable populations, according to the press release.
Funds donated will be shared amongst Surrey/North Delta Meals on Wheels, Cloverdale Community Kitchen, Surrey Food Bank and the Fraser Regional Aboriginal Friendship Centre.
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Jansen is challenging others to support the cause.
“This is obviously a difficult time for many people, and I want to encourage everyone who is able to join me in donating to support those who are in need,” she said. “I believe that if we all can pitch in and help each other, we will come through COVID-19 even more tightly-knit as a community than before it began.”
Jansen unseated Liberal incumbent John Aldag in the Cloverdale-Langley City riding during the October federal election.
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