The House of Commons says it had no choice but to increase the salary of a New Brunswick MP, whether he wanted the raise or not.
In an affidavit filed in Federal Court, House clerk Eric Janse says all members of Parliament must be paid the amounts set out in legislation, and it would be illegal and inconvenient to deviate from that.
Miramichi-Grand Lake Conservative MP Mike Dawson filed an application for judicial review in Federal Court in June, trying to stop Parliament from awarding him the $8,800 raise.
Janse filed his affidavit in response last month.
âThe House Administration is of the view that the applicant’s sessional allowance must, as a matter of law, be paid in the amount prescribed by the Parliament of Canada Act, including all applicable annual adjustments,â it says.
MP must accept pay raise, House of Commons says
Allowing Dawson to turn down the increase would also require House staff âto undertake administrative measuresâ for Dawson alone âto establish and maintain a separate calculation of the Applicant’s sessional allowanceâ every year for as long as heâs an MP.
The base salary for members of Parliament was $208,900 last year and rose April 1 to $217,700.
Under federal legislation, MP pay is indexed to a formula based on private-sector salary hikes.
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But Dawson believes itâs wrong to accept an $8,800 raise when many Canadians are struggling with the cost of living.
Dawson said that as a business owner, he was expected to easily deduct federal taxes from his employeesâ pay and this shouldn
