MLA pay raises catch eye of Taxpayers’ Federation

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This article was published 10/03/2024 (622 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba MLAs are set to get a pay bump April 1, but the overseer of their salary and allowances is — for the first time in seven years — digging into whether the compensation is appropriate.

MLAs have a base salary of $102,998, which is indexed to inflation. It’s set to increase to $106,602 next month.

The fact they are paid 1.7 times more than the average Manitoban doesn’t sit well with a watchdog of the public purse.

“A good place to start for the commissioner would be, maybe, capping the raise that MLAs can get every year,” said Gage Haubrich with the Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation.

It is preparing a submission to Manitoba’s independent commissioner for MLA pay, allowances and retirement benefits, Michael Werier.

“They’re doing different jobs (than average Manitobans) but it’s definitely difficult to be in charge and govern someone dealing with the issues and the cost of life when you make 1.7 times more than they do and get a guaranteed raise every year,” said Haubrich.

One local expert on politics said it’s difficult to answer the question, “What should politicians be paid?”

“There is no other occupation which is fully comparable to being a politician which might serve as a benchmark,” Paul Thomas, professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba, said this weekend.

Thomas notes being a politician is a “precarious” occupation, as you can be fired by voters at the next election. There are also no agreed upon criteria on what constitutes “good performance” in elected public office – members of the public might want to pay those they like more money, and those they dislike less money, he said.

And while it’s not clear how pay correlates to quality of candidates, Thomas said: “As a former premier quipped to me, ‘If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.’”

Not surprisingly, MLAs didn’t want to discuss their pay.

A spokesperson for NDP caucus chair Mike Moyes said because he is involved in preparing a submission to the commissioner, it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to comment.

The Progressive Conservatives didn’t have much to say, either.

“The process to review MLA salaries and allowances is rightfully out of the hands of elected officials, and in the hands of an independent commissioner,” PC caucus chair Greg Nesbitt said in an email. “We look forward to meeting with the commissioner soon to put forward the views of our caucus.”

Werier said his review process takes several factors into consideration, including input from lobby groups, the state of the Manitoba economy, its standing compared to other jurisdictions across the country, and what other provinces pay their MLAs.

“It’s a unique situation because the only real comparables you have in looking at salaries are other provinces,” Werier said. He’s seeking input from the public before April 15.

His role as an independent commissioner who sets MLA pay and allowances — rather than leaving it up to the politicians — was created by legislation passed in 2007. At the time, Manitoba’s premier was the lowest-paid in Canada — even earning less than Winnipeg’s mayor.

Werier, who was the first independent commissioner in charge of MLA pay, allowances and retirement benefits, is appointed by the Legislative Assembly Management Commission that oversees the financial management of the assembly and establishes budgets and administrative policies for assembly offices. The commissioner is mandated to do a review of MLA pay after an election — except when there’s less than 42 months between elections, as was the case with the Sept. 10, 2019 election that occurred 40 months after the April 19, 2016 election.

The last review was conducted in 2017, and it showed Manitoba MLA salaries were in the middle of the pack among provinces. The commissioner at that time received 110 written responses from the public, and sought input from 15 groups including those that represented business, labour, MLAs and the taxpayers federation.

The watchdog group says it has its eye on Manitoba and salary increases indexed to inflation.

“Sometimes that can lead to huge raises,” said Haubrich.

Saskatchewan, for instance, bases MLA salary adjustments on the previous year’s rate of inflation. With inflation at a 40-year high of 6.8 per cent in 2022, members in Saskatchewan were on track for a pay hike of $7,023 in 2023 and opposed it.

“Last year, Saskatchewan capped MLA annual raises to about three per cent,” Haubrich said.

Manitoba’s MLA salary adjustment is based on the average annual inflation rate for the previous five years, which avoids sudden spikes in the cost of living and large pay raises. This year, members can expect a 3.5 per cent pay increase, for instance.

A matter of greater concern for MLAs may be their constituency office rent allowance, which is currently $1,620 per month.

In January, some NDP MLAs reported it was almost impossible to find affordable space. A few have been forced to meet with constituents in community centres and in shopping mall food courts.

Rookie MLA Mike Moroz, who represents River Heights, sets up shop at Crescentwood Community Centre Friday afternoons so constituents can meet with him.

Radisson MLA Jelynn Dela Cruz has been connecting with constituents at Kildonan Place while MLA JD Devgan does the same at Garden City Community Centre, an NDP spokesperson said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca