The House of Commons has stated that it was necessary to increase the salary of a Member of Parliament from New Brunswick, regardless of the MP’s willingness to accept the raise. In a sworn statement submitted to the Federal Court, House clerk Eric Janse emphasized that all MPs must receive the stipulated amounts as outlined in legislation, and any deviation from this would be unlawful and impractical.
Miramichi-Grand Lake Conservative MP Mike Dawson had filed a petition for judicial review in June seeking to prevent Parliament from granting him an $8,800 raise. Janse filed a response affidavit last month, asserting that the parliamentary act mandates payment of the sessional allowance at the specified rate, inclusive of all applicable annual adjustments.
Granting Dawson the option to decline the raise would necessitate unique administrative actions by House staff solely for Dawson to manage and maintain a distinct calculation of his sessional allowance annually for the duration of his tenure as an MP. Last year, the base salary for MPs was $208,900, which increased to $217,700 on April 1.
According to federal laws, MP salaries are linked to a formula based on increases in private-sector wages. Despite this, Dawson believes it is inappropriate to accept an $8,800 raise at a time when many Canadians are facing financial hardships. He compared the simplicity of deducting federal taxes from employee salaries as a business owner to the electronic nature of processing pay increases, suggesting that it should be as straightforward.
Although Dawson has been donating his raise to charity, he maintains that he should have the right to voice his objection to the raise entirely. House of Commons Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia’s spokesperson, Olivier Duhaime, confirmed that neither Scarpaleggia nor Janse would comment on the matter. Full legal arguments in the case are anticipated to be submitted within the next two months.